Appellate Practice

Appeals Court Blocks Release of Chinese Muslims From Gitmo

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has halted the release of 17 Chinese Muslims from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. The three-judge panel wants the release blocked until it hears more legal arguments Nov. 24, the Washington Post reports. On Oct. 7, U.S.…

Oct 21, 2008 6:26 PM CDT

1st Circuit: Gov’t Must Pay $3.1M to Family of Man Slain By FBI Agent’s Informants

A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a $3.1 million award against the U.S. government to the family of a Quincy, Mass., fisherman killed in 1984 by leaders of the Winter Hill gang in Boston, after a rogue FBI agent leaked information to them. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of…

Oct 18, 2008 2:41 AM CDT

State Department Officials Consider DOJ Gitmo Filing to be Inflammatory

A Justice Department court filing describing 17 Guantanamo detainees as “a danger to the public” has reportedly stalled State Department efforts to find a country willing to accept the men. The State Department contends the legal brief harmed its efforts on behalf of the men, members of the Uighur Muslim…

Oct 16, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Supreme Court Considers Percentages in Voting Rights Case

The U.S. Supreme Court considered yesterday whether the Voting Rights Act protects the dilution of minority voting strength in “coalition” districts where minorities make up less than half of the population. The state of North Carolina argued the law protects voting strength in such districts, and lawsuits should be allowed…

Oct 15, 2008 4:04 PM CDT

Chief Justice Roberts Depicts a Hard-Boiled Detective in ‘Three-Dollar Steak’ ‘Hood

It reads like a chapter from a hard-boiled detective novel: Narcotics officer Sean Devlin is working undercover in a neighborhood “tough as a three-dollar steak. Devlin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He’d made fifteen, twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.” But it’s not.…

Oct 14, 2008 8:57 PM CDT

Supreme Court Denies Cert for Inmate Asserting Actual Innocence

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a death row inmate who claims the Eighth Amendment bars execution of those who are actually innocent. Troy Anthony Davis had received a stay of execution as the court considered his cert petition. The court’s refusal to hear the…

Oct 14, 2008 2:36 PM CDT

Tobacco Lawyer Hits Judge for Copying U.S. Arguments—Including Typos

A tobacco lawyer claims in an appellate brief that a federal judge who ordered cigarette makers to stop using “light” descriptions for cigarettes copied government language in her 2006 opinion—including two of its typographical errors. Arnold & Porter partner David Eggert claims in his brief that U.S. District Judge Gladys…

Oct 14, 2008 2:16 PM CDT

5th Circuit Ruling Likely to Nix IP Rocket Docket in Texas

An en banc ruling by a federal appeals court in a case involving a car crash is likely to put a crimp in the intellectual property “rocket docket” in the Eastern District of Texas. The ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Volkswagen was entitled…

Oct 14, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Faulty Eyewitness IDs, Flawed Procedures Helped Convict the Innocent

Faulty eyewitness identifications, often encouraged by flawed police procedures, were the reason why 18 of 19 men cleared by DNA evidence since 2001 were initially convicted in Dallas County, Texas, of crimes that they didn’t commit. Although the county has led the nation in the number of defendants exonerated by…

Oct 13, 2008 5:14 PM CDT

Court Asked to Rule in 3 Disputes over Fairness of W. Va. Justice System

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide this week whether the Constitution required the recusal of a West Virginia Supreme Court justice who received more than $3 million in campaign contributions from the chief executive officer of a corporate litigant. The case is one of three before the court…

Oct 13, 2008 12:39 PM CDT

Conn. Supreme Court Finds Gays Have a Constitutional Right to Marry

Connecticut has become the third state to allow gay marriages with a state supreme court ruling today finding a right to marry. The 4-3 decision (PDF) was based on equal protection provisions of the state constitution, report the Associated Press and the Boston Globe. The majority found that the state’s…

Oct 10, 2008 4:31 PM CDT

NY Appeals Court Tosses Conviction of PI Law Firm and Name Partner

A New York appeals court has overturned the conviction of a personal injury law firm and one of its name partners for conspiring to defraud insurance companies. The court said there was insufficient evidence against the law firm Silverman & Taylor in Freeport, N.Y., and against name partner Daivery Taylor,…

Oct 10, 2008 4:09 PM CDT

Lawsuits, Disciplinary Complaints Over Indiana Defendant’s Delayed Release

An Indiana judge is facing potential discipline after court commissioner under his supervision delayed the release of a convicted rapist apparently cleared by DNA evidence. Although former Master Commissioner Nancy Broyles held a hearing in March 2005 to consider DNA evidence in the case of Harold David Buntin, it wasn’t…

Oct 9, 2008 5:31 PM CDT

Judge Asked Too Many Questions, Requiring New Trial

In a rare rebuke to the chief judge in Baltimore, a Maryland appellate court has found that he asked too many questions during a jury trial of an armed robbery case last year, requiring a reversal of the defendant’s conviction and a new trial. The 125 questions that Baltimore City…

Oct 7, 2008 11:50 PM CDT

Laid Off After Many Years in Court Job, Georgia Lawyer Makes Lemonade

As budget cuts resulted in layoffs this week for four lawyers who have each worked at the Georgia Court of Appeals for well over a decade, at least one member of the group is looking forward to an exciting career change. After walking out the door for the last time…

Oct 2, 2008 7:02 PM CDT