Appellate Practice

Lawyer blamed for reversed verdict feels vindicated by appellate ruling that judge abused discretion

A New York judge erred by reversing a jury’s defense verdict based on claimed misbehavior by a lawyer not directly involved in the case, a state appeals court has ruled. Saying that there was no way to determine from the record whether a lawyer attending a dental malpractice trial as…

Feb 11, 2015 12:25 PM CST

Subject of popular ‘Serial’ podcast can pursue appeal, court rules

The convicted murderer whose case is portrayed in the popular Serial podcast will be allowed to pursue an appeal based on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. In a Friday ruling, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals set a briefing schedule for Adnan Syed, now 33, who is serving a…

Feb 9, 2015 12:55 PM CST

Burglar’s suit, supported by judge, says state jailed him for 16 months without a conviction

Bryan Hiser is currently serving a Nevada prison term of 10 years to life as a habitual offender and he has a lengthy rap sheet for burglary and theft, according to prosecutors. According to a civil right lawsuit that was filed by Hiser, the state went ahead and imprisoned him…

Feb 6, 2015 10:45 AM CST

How many therapy ducks are too many? Veteran with PTSD and 6 ducks appeals

A former Ohio National Guardsman who served in Iraq and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression is appealing his October municipal-court conviction for keeping registered therapy ducks. Darin Welker, who had 14 ducks at his West Lafayette, Ohio, home when he was cited in June, says the therapy…

Feb 5, 2015 12:00 PM CST

Supreme Court’s ‘shadow docket’ would benefit from greater transparency, op-ed says

Even modest changes would bring welcome transparency to the U.S. Supreme Court’s orders docket, according to a law professor’s op-ed. Writing for the New York Times, University of Chicago law professor William Baude says the orders docket operates in such obscurity that he calls it the “shadow docket.” This docket…

Feb 4, 2015 6:45 AM CST

Are some opinions unpublished to avoid review? Thomas dissent highlights the issue

Justice Clarence Thomas pointed to a “disturbing aspect” of a recent ruling by a federal appeals court when he dissented last month from a Supreme Court decision to deny certiorari. In his Jan. 20 dissent (PDF), Thomas said the court should have granted cert in Plumley v. Austin to review…

Feb 4, 2015 6:15 AM CST

6th Circuit upholds $3.5M judgment against former assistant AG for stalking gay college student

An appellate court upheld a $3.5 million verdict, as well as sanctions, against a former assistant attorney general in Michigan who became notorious for using social media to attack the University of Michigan’s first openly gay student body president. The Detroit Free Press and The Ann Arbor News reported Monday…

Feb 3, 2015 4:24 PM CST

Federal appeals court agrees with FTC that Pom Wonderful ad claims were deceptive

Rejecting Pom Wonderful’s free-speech argument, a federal appeals court on Friday agreed with the Federal Trade Commission that the pomegranate juice marketer made deceptive advertising health claims which weren’t backed by sufficient medical evidence. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that one clinical…

Jan 30, 2015 5:25 PM CST

Forcibly shaven, convicted Fort Hood shooter appears in court beardless

In addition to being convicted of capital murder in the 2009 shooting massacre of 13 people at Fort Hood, a U.S. Army psychiatrist has lost the beard he fought to keep on religious grounds. During a court appearance Thursday in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, concerning the appeal process, Nidal Hasan was…

Jan 29, 2015 5:40 PM CST

SCOTUS, 6th Circuit agree judge was immune from suit over affair with party in case

The nation’s top court has declined to review a federal appeals court decision that a Detroit judge was immune from suit even though he had an affair with a woman seeking child support in a case on his calendar. A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Jan 26, 2015 3:45 PM CST

California court rules ballot initiative means parolees can’t be jailed again for using drugs

A California appeals court has ruled that parolees caught using drugs must get treatment instead of more prison, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The case, decided Tuesday by California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, pits 2000’s Proposition 36 against a 2011 state law passed through the…

Jan 23, 2015 1:30 PM CST

Capital defense lawyer suspended 1 year for late filing in death row appeal

A prominent capital defense lawyer has been suspended from practice before Texas’ highest criminal court for one year for missing a filing deadline in a death row inmate’s appeal. David Dow, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center, filed a motion to stop the execution of his client,…

Jan 20, 2015 2:15 PM CST

Supreme Court agrees to hear same-sex marriage cases

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether states can prohibit same-sex marriage without violating the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians. The court granted review of same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee that have been upheld by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals.…

Jan 16, 2015 3:52 PM CST

Judge orders Michigan to recognize hundreds of same-sex marriages

Updated: A judge has ordered the state of Michigan to recognize about 300 same-sex marriages performed during a brief period last year when such unions were legal. U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith, ruling in favor of eight same-sex couples Thursday, said those marriages are valid, the Associated Press, the…

Jan 16, 2015 2:10 PM CST

Lawyer seeks reversal of rare voting conviction he shares with suffragist Susan B. Anthony

A New York City lawyer found guilty of illegal voting in 1999 may be the only individual in the state convicted of not registering to vote from his correct address since suffragist Susan B. Anthony openly defied the prohibition against women voting and cast her ballot in Rochester in 1872.…

Jan 16, 2015 10:25 AM CST