9th Circuit Says Los Angeles Can’t Treat Personal Belongings of Homeless Individuals Like Trash

Upholding a federal court’s injunction that prevented the city of Los Angeles from treating as trash the personal belongings that homeless individuals left unattended for a short time, a federal appeals court Wednesday said government workers could seize their property only if it is has clearly been abandoned, poses an…

Sep 5, 2012 8:34 PM CDT

Marriage Proposal: Court May Weigh Levels of Scrutiny for Same-Sex Couples

Sep 1, 2012 8:09 AM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Why the Law Doesn’t Suck; Judge Alex Kozinski on the Big Screen

Bloggers write to win This week at Simple Justice, in honor of finding himself in possession of a copy of Writing to Win by Steven Stark, New York City solo Scott Greenfield decided to have a writing contest on his blog to give it away. The challenge? Finish this sentence:…

Aug 31, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio Must Stand Trial Over False Arrest Allegations, Appeals Court Says

Controversial Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joseph Arpaio must stand trial on allegations that he had two alternative newspaper executives jailed in retaliation for articles criticizing his activities, a federal appeals court has held. An en banc panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) Wednesday…

Aug 30, 2012 6:45 PM CDT

Jury Foreman in $1B Apple-Samsung Case Owns Patent for Smartphone-Related Apparatus

A video interview by Bloomberg of the foreman of a federal jury in California that awarded over $1 billion to Apple Inc. in a patent dispute case last week is likely to be watched with considerable interest by legal counsel for the losing party, Samsung Electronics Co. Among other potential…

Aug 28, 2012 11:01 PM CDT

Ex-Client Sues Firm re ‘Massive Overbilling,’ Partner Says ‘Meritless’ Suit a Bill Dispute Tactic

A former client has sued a New York-based law firm in federal court for malpractice, accusing Wilk Auslander of “massive overbilling for needless work” while defending several securities class actions. In the suit (PDF), which was filed Monday in the Central District of California, ex-client Westport Capital Inc. and two…

Aug 28, 2012 7:57 PM CDT

Federal Judge Nixes Most of Widow’s Suit re Hiker Killed By Mountain Goat in National Park

Saying that sovereign immunity prevents a widow from holding the government liable for a mountain goat’s fatal attack on her husband while he was hiking at Olympic National Park, a federal judge in Washington state has dismissed all but one of the claims in the multi-milliondollar suit. Park officials’ decision…

Aug 23, 2012 5:21 PM CDT

Forklift Accident Sets Off Chain of Destruction That Delays Howrey Wind-Down

A bankruptcy trustee says a fatal forklift accident at a Washington, D.C.-area warehouse is delaying the wind-down of Howrey. In a report (PDF) filed Monday in bankruptcy court in the Northern District of California, trustee Allan B. Diamond says a chain of destruction resulted when a forklift hit a storage…

Aug 21, 2012 8:34 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Blogger’s Advice to New Law Grads? Find Mentor to Answer ‘Dumb’ Questions

For All the New Grads A recent law school graduate and aspiring personal injury lawyer asked New York Personal Injury Law Blog’s Eric Turkewitz if he had any advice for him. Turkewitz recalled the piece of advice that he describes as one of the best things that happened to him…

Aug 17, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Pop Star Noelia’s Secret Wedding Photos Were Private, Federal Appeals Court Rules

In a case that the court said “reads like a telenovela, a Spanish soap opera,” a divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a Spanish-language celebrity gossip magazine violated the rights of a well-known couple when it published private wedding photographs apparently stolen by the couple’s driver.…

Aug 15, 2012 11:13 AM CDT

Sparks Continue to Fly at Apple vs. Samsung Patent Infringement Trial

A hard-fought megabucks patent infringement battle between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. continues to strike sparks at trial in federal court in San Jose, Calif. Lawyers for both sides regularly snipe at each other outside the courtroom, and an exasperated U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has taken on…

Aug 10, 2012 9:03 PM CDT

Lawyers in Jaycee Dugard Abduction Tort Case Say DOJ Tampered with Key Witness, Seek Severe Sanction

Lawyers representing a young woman who was kidnapped in 1991 at age 11 and held nearly two decades by a paroled California rapist are accusing a U.S. Department of Justice attorney of tampering with a key witness in Jaycee Dugard’s civil suit seeking damages from the federal government. In a…

Aug 7, 2012 3:40 PM CDT

Law Profs, Rights Groups Back Call for En Banc Review re Pro Bono Lawyer Sanctioned by 9th Circuit

A coalition of public interest groups and two law professors are supporting a call for en banc review of sanctions imposed on an Arizona pro bono attorney in a blistering opinion by a federal appeals court panel. In a June 21 opinion (PDF), the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

Aug 7, 2012 1:54 PM CDT

Possible Plea by Suspect in Slaying of Chief Ariz. District Judge to Be Mulled in Tuesday Hearing

A plea bargain has reportedly been reached concerning the suspect in the 2011 murder of Arizona’s chief federal district court judge and five others in a shopping-mall shooting spree that also severely injured a member of Congress and led to her eventual resignation. But there are still a number of…

Aug 7, 2012 12:23 PM CDT

Judge Kozinski Writes an Apology, Sort of, Regarding 9th Circuit Conference Site

If they could do it all over again, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may not have chosen the Hyatt Regency Maui as its 2012 annual conference site. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski recently noted this in a letter (PDF) to Jeff Sessions, ranking member of the Senate…

Aug 6, 2012 6:58 PM CDT