7th Circuit Court

More Tech, Less Emotion Please, Federal Judges Suggest

Speaking last week at a 7th Circuit bar meeting, federal district judges had a few suggestions for the lawyers who appear before them. High on the list of dos: appropriate use of technology by those who have mastered it. But excessive emotion should be avoided, the judges agreed. Their advice…

May 27, 2008 10:39 PM CDT

7th Circuit Chief: Be On the Lookout for ‘Cranky’ Judges

Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook this week asked practitioners and judges to be on the alert for any aging, cranky judges who may need a call from his office. “I urge all of you—judges and lawyers alike—to keep in mind that you are the chief judge’s eyes and ears in dealing…

May 21, 2008 9:58 PM CDT

7th Circuit Upholds $30K Jones Day Sanction, Applies Rule 11

Saying that the sanction was on the lenient side, a federal appeals court has upheld a $30,000 penalty against Jones Day for filing a frivolous counterclaim and, in effect, recommended that federal judges feel free to apply Rule 11 more frequently. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb did not abuse her…

May 15, 2008 7:02 PM CDT

Reagan-Appointed Judges Now Conservative ‘Superstars’

Many federal appeals judges appointed by President Ronald Reagan are now at the height of their power, issuing conservative opinions on hot-button issues like affirmative action, so-called partial-birth abortions and gun rights. A USA Today story on how these judges are shaping the law said they were “young, brainy and…

May 12, 2008 2:20 PM CDT

Appeals Court Allows High School Student to Wear Anti-Gay T-Shirt

A federal appeals court has ruled that a suburban Chicago high school student may wear an anti-gay T-shirt to school. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction allowing the student to wear the shirt to protest a day of silence that promotes tolerance of gays,…

Apr 25, 2008 11:16 AM CDT

Rezko Trial Bombshell Claim: GOP Top Guns Tried to Oust US Attorney

Republican heavyweights allegedly tried to use their influence with the White House to get U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald removed from office as he was pursuing a politically charged case against a Chicago real estate developer, according to a prosecutor in the ongoing Illinois federal case. “In a bombshell disclosure before…

Apr 23, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

Posner Blasts Asylum Courts, Calls for Judicial Conference

Long a critic of “inadequate” and “ill-trained” asylum courts, the 7th Circuit’s Richard Posner reportedly offered up some remedies in a speech Monday. “This is a system of adjudication that is clearly inadequate,” Posner told a Chicago Bar Association audience. The National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports that Posner called…

Apr 22, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

Wily Tax Attorney Helps Win IRS Case from Beyond the Grave

His own case is still ongoing, some seven years after his death. But tax attorney Burton Kanter’s wily plan for avoiding excessive payments in a nearly 20-year-old income tax matter has now been okayed by an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel hearing a co-defendant’s case. And that 11th…

Apr 7, 2008 10:35 PM CDT

New Cash Register Receipts Law Rings Up Class Action Bonanza

A new federal law that requires merchants to remove from cash register receipts private information such as more than five digits of a credit card number apparently may have caught some major companies napping. Some 300 class actions have been filed during the 16 months since since the Fair and…

Apr 7, 2008 10:07 PM CDT

Out of Prison, Illinois Judge, 82, Still Claims Innocence

Convicted of participating in corrupt practices that sent a number of Illinois judges to prison under the 1980s federal sting operation known as Operation Greylord, Thomas Maloney served more than a dozen years for taking bribes. But he still doesn’t admit guilt, blaming “overreaching” prosecutors, “scumbag” witnesses and “weak” attorneys…

Mar 17, 2008 10:57 PM CDT

Court Says Craiglist Not Liable for Biased Housing Ads

A federal appeals court has ruled that Craigslist cannot be held liable for discriminatory housing ads posted on its website. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects the popular Internet classifieds company, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The ruling…

Mar 17, 2008 12:49 PM CDT

Rising Threats, More Security Efforts for Federal Judges

A rapid rise in the number of threatening comments made concerning federal judges and prosecutors is prompting enhanced security efforts. Among them: The U.S. Marshals Service now plans to monitor, as possible threats to the judiciary, individuals whose conduct to state and local government officials has raised red flags, reports…

Mar 10, 2008 4:38 PM CDT

Worried Lenders Watch for Appellate Ruling in Mortgage Class Action

A federal appeals court will soon decide a closely watched case that seeks to undo mortgage loans that are based on mistakes in disclosure documents. A Wisconsin couple is seeking class action status for their suit filed a few years ago against Chevy Chase Bank. Worried lenders fear a negative…

Feb 27, 2008 4:46 PM CST

ACLU Says School Should Have Allowed Anti-Gay T-Shirt

A student who wanted to wear a T-shirt to her high school that read “Be Happy, Not Gay” is getting some support from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU filed an amicus brief in the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the suburban Chicago student’s free speech…

Feb 19, 2008 1:52 PM CST

Debtor Sues Opposing Law Firm for Filing in Wrong Court

By filing suit in the wrong location, a Chicago law firm violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a downstate Illinois man contends. Friedman and Wexler filed suit in Cook County, where the law firm is located, rather than Madison County, where plaintiff Robert Harris and the company to…

Jan 25, 2008 8:15 PM CST