Lawyer Makes Federal Case Out of Transit Ban for Arguing About Rider’s Constitutional Rights

In a one-year period between Oct. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, a Portland, Ore., transit agency issued only 23 bans to riders because they allegedly made excessive noise. One was to Jennie Bricker, who is not only an attorney but a partner of Stoel Rives, one of the city’s biggest…

Nov 2, 2012 4:23 PM CDT

You Gotta Fight for the Right to Tattoo

Nov 1, 2012 9:10 AM CDT

Vegas Judge, 5 Others Federally Indicted re Claimed $3M Fraud Scheme

A Nevada family court judge has been federally indicted, along with five other defendants, in a claimed $3 million fraud scheme that Clark County Judge Steven Jones allegedly used the power of his office to help promote. Jones has not been arrested but is expected to surrender Thursday to authorities,…

Oct 31, 2012 8:14 PM CDT

Inventive Kozinski Gives New Label to a Possibly Concurring Opinion

It’s not a dissent. It’s not a concurrence. It’s “Chief Judge Kozinski, disagreeing with everyone.” Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave that label to his opinion in an en banc immigration case on Friday, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog,…

Oct 24, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

9th Circuit Judge Betty Fletcher Dies at 89

Betty Fletcher, a judge with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, died Monday, the Associated Press reports. Fletcher, 89, was appointed to the court by President Jimmy Carter, and has been on the bench since 1979. She graduated from University of Washington Law School in 1956, according…

Oct 23, 2012 9:05 PM CDT

Class Action Filed Against Apple, Challenging AT&T Contract Deal

Software locks Apple installed on its early iPhones, which tied consumers into voice and data contracts with AT&T Mobility, violate antitrust laws, alleges a federal class action filed Friday in northern California. Apple entered a five-year exclusivity agreement with AT&T in 2007, CNET reports. The suit, Ward v. Apple Inc.,…

Oct 22, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

Arizona’s Citizenship Requirement for Federal Voting to Be Reviewed by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Arizona may require would-be voters to submit proof of citizenship before registering and voting in federal elections. Arizona is asking the court to overturn a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the Arizona requirement…

Oct 15, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

Fed. Circuit Says Trial Judge Abused Discretion in Smartphone Sales Ban, Aligns with Posner View

In a Thursday ruling in one of several recent patent cases related to smartphone technology, a federal appeals court said a U.S. District Court judge in California abused her discretion by granting a pretrial injunction sought by Apple Inc. that banned sales of the Galaxy Nexus marketed by Samsung Electronics…

Oct 12, 2012 9:38 PM CDT

Queried at LAX re Legal Body Armor, Arrested Passenger Is Denied Bail Based on Computer Contents

The hatchet in a checked bag for an airline passenger traveling through Los Angeles from Japan last week, en route to Boston, was legal, according to authorities. Ditto the gas mask, biohazard suit, handcuffs, leg irons and a number of other items obviously likely to catch a U.S. Customs and…

Oct 12, 2012 7:23 PM CDT

9th Circuit Splits 6-5 Over Immigration Provision, Sides with Applicants Who’ve ‘Aged Out’

In an en banc ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that children of immigrants who are given derivative visas can immigrate with their parents to the United States, even if they’ve “aged out” by turning 21 before their parents’ visas were processed. The Recorder reports that…

Sep 27, 2012 12:05 PM CDT

Federal Judge Says Ariz. Can Enforce ‘Show Papers’ Law; Top Pa. Court Calls for More Voter ID Review

Ruling this week on a controversial state law requiring individuals to provide identification, a federal judge in Arizona has OK’d a so-called “show me your papers” provision allowing authorities to check the identities of those thought to be possible illegal immigrants. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has asked a Commonwealth…

Sep 19, 2012 9:23 PM CDT

Hospital OKs Language-Discrimination Settlement of $975K; That May Be a Health Industry Record

Without admitting wrongdoing, a California hospital has agreed to pay a settlement of $975,000, among other conditions, to resolve a federal employment discrimination lawsuit contending that Filipino-American staff members were harassed for speaking their own language while other workers who spoke languages other than English were not. Delano Regional Medical…

Sep 18, 2012 11:02 PM CDT

Disbarred Attorney Who Stole Another Lawyer’s ID to Land BigLaw Job Gets 15 Months in Club Fed

Disbarred by consent in 2007, a former Nevada attorney nonetheless found a way to get a job at a prestigious law firm within less than a year. Douglas Allen, simply assumed the identity of a California lawyer with a similar name who is also licensed in Nevada, the Las Vegas…

Sep 18, 2012 10:07 PM CDT

DOJ Intervenes In LSAT Disability Bias Class Action, Says ‘Flagging’ of Tests Violates ADA

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to intervene on behalf in a class action filed against the Law School Admission Council in federal court in San Francisco over claimed discrimination against disabled test-takers in the administration of the Law School Admission Test. In what the LSAC has called a…

Sep 7, 2012 8:05 PM CDT

In ‘Reverse Benchslap,’ Judge Responds to Criticism by 9th Circuit’s Reinhardt

Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt didn’t get the last word in a dispute over a lower court’s alleged foot-dragging in a ballot dispute. On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay that allowed Nevada ballots to be printed with language giving voters the option…

Sep 7, 2012 1:26 PM CDT