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Criminal Practice
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September 10, 2025
11th Circ. Tosses Gun Conviction Over Alabama Loophole
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday threw out the conviction of an Alabama man charged with illegally having a gun after a prior felony, ruling that because the state offense to which he pled guilty did not require imprisonment, it did not trigger the federal firearm ban for felons.
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September 10, 2025
Denver Fights $14M Verdict Over Protester Abuse Claims
A Tenth Circuit panel pressed both sides Wednesday over whether jurors should have heard testimony from an investigator that Denver says unfairly tainted a trial which yielded a nearly $14 million verdict to 12 protesters over clashes with police during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the city.
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September 10, 2025
Fla. Panel Says State's Open-Carry Ban Is Unconstitutional
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday unanimously struck down a state law that restricted the open carry of firearms, saying the statute was incompatible with the Second Amendment because it was at odds with a "historical tradition of firearms regulation" in the U.S.
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September 10, 2025
Ohio Appeals Court Orders Retrial For Invalid Jury Trial Waiver
A state appeals court in Ohio has ruled that a pro se appellant accused of double murder and a weapons charge must be retried because he was unfairly denied a jury trial without verbally waiving his rights in open court.
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September 10, 2025
Fired FBI Officials Claim 'Campaign Of Retribution' In New Suit
Three former senior FBI officials sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court on Wednesday, accusing FBI Director Kash Patel of politicizing the agency and firing them as part of a "campaign of retribution" in a bid to keep his own job.
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September 10, 2025
Widow Must Repay IRS Refund Interest, US Tells 4th Circ.
An 80-year-old widow whose husband was imprisoned after hiding more than $20 million from the IRS should have to pay the agency millions of dollars for interest it mistakenly refunded the couple but which they never repaid, the U.S. government told the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday.
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September 10, 2025
Mass. Justices Reject Former State Senator's Immunity Claim
Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday that a former state senator is not immune from prosecution for using his State House staff to work on his reelection campaigns in 2018 and 2020.
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September 09, 2025
6th Circ. Revives Prisoner's Claim Over 'Cold Fan' Punishment
The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday partially revived a civil rights lawsuit brought by an incarcerated person in Michigan, finding that his First Amendment rights were violated and he was retaliated against for complaining about an industrial fan that blew excessively cold air into his cell.
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September 09, 2025
Atty Flashes Weed In NC High Court To Challenge Odor Test
A defense attorney on Tuesday pulled out a bag of weed in front of North Carolina's seven justices and a courtroom full of sheriffs to illustrate the outcome of letting officers conduct warrantless searches based on the smell of pot alone, saying such a test doesn't work in the age of legalized hemp.
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September 09, 2025
Ga. Judges Keep Trump's Interim US Atty In Atlanta Post
Judges of the Northern District of Georgia have voted to tap interim U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg as the district's top prosecutor, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday, keeping the Trump administration's pick to helm the Atlanta office in place for now.
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September 09, 2025
Gilgo Beach DNA Evidence Ruling May Propel New Methods
A recent ruling from the New York judge overseeing the Gilgo Beach serial killer case finding that the newer DNA testing method known as whole genome sequencing clears rigorous admissibility standards is a laudable decision that could help solve cold cases, according to proponents of the technology.
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September 09, 2025
Georgia Judge Likely To Toss 'Cop City' Protester Charges
A Georgia state judge on Tuesday said he intends to dismiss racketeering charges against 61 people who had protested Atlanta's planned police and fire training facility, nicknamed "Cop City," according to attorneys involved in the case.
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September 09, 2025
Pa. Court Orders Resentencing In 2 DUI Cases Over Treatment
A pair of drunk-driving cases in Pennsylvania will be sent back to the lower courts for resentencing after a state appeals court ruled Tuesday that recently decided state Supreme Court precedent requires prosecutors to prove in front of a jury that the drivers had previously completed a drunk-driving program in order to apply sentencing enhancements.
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September 09, 2025
Feds Fight Ex-Philly Labor Leader's Prison Release Bid
Prosecutors urged a Pennsylvania federal judge to reject the early release bid by the former business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 in Philadelphia, arguing Tuesday that he should not be freed from his six-year prison term to care for his disabled wife because her condition has not changed since he was locked up last year.
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September 09, 2025
Mich. Judge Throws Out Charges For Fake Trump 'Electors'
A Michigan judge on Tuesday dismissed all criminal charges against Republicans accused of acting as fake electors for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, finding that prosecutors failed to show criminal intent.
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September 08, 2025
10th Circ. Backs Dentist's Murder, Insurance Fraud Convictions
A dentist convicted of murdering his wife on a hunting trip in Zambia to collect nearly $5 million in life insurance who became the subject of a Hulu documentary must continue to serve a life prison sentence for murder and insurance fraud, the Tenth Circuit ruled on Monday.
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September 08, 2025
11th Circ. Grants Cop Immunity Over Repeat 911 Caller Arrest
An Eleventh Circuit panel has ruled that a pair of cops are shielded by qualified immunity for arresting a woman who repeatedly called 911 to report gunfire in her neighborhood despite knowing that the guns were being fired on a legal shooting range.
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September 08, 2025
Jury For Ex-Conn. Official Unlikely To Hear About Other Pleas
A federal jury scheduled to hear a former Connecticut budget official's corruption trial in less than a month should not be told that three construction executives pled guilty to conspiring to bribe him, a judge said Monday, agreeing that the evidence would cause unfair prejudice.
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September 08, 2025
Pa. Top Court Snapshot: Clickwrap Agreements, Mail-In Votes
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will return from its summer break with a couple of familiar issues, including the heavily litigated issue of discarding undated mail-in ballots and a much-anticipated review of common "clickwrap" agreements for apps and websites. Here are some of the cases the state's justices will hear in their Sept. 9-11 session.
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September 08, 2025
NJ Justices Question Parole Board Rule's Constitutionality
The New Jersey Supreme Court suggested Monday that a state Parole Board regulation posed a due process problem by categorically barring prison inmates from accessing their psychological evaluations even if the board applies the rule in a manner that it says is constitutional.
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September 08, 2025
Watchdog Wants Discipline For Atty Ensnared In Murder Case
Connecticut's legal ethics watchdog is targeting an attorney who was convicted of interfering with an officer in a high-profile murder case, saying in a court filing that he's "guilty of misconduct" and should face discipline from the state.
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September 08, 2025
Most Criminal Summonses In NYC Get Tossed, Study Finds
The vast majority of criminal summonses issued in New York City get dismissed in court, usually due to insufficiency of the information police officers provide in them, and they are issued disproportionately more to Black and Hispanic people, according to a study of official data released Monday.
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September 08, 2025
Appeal Limited To NJ US Atty DQ Ruling, 3rd Circ. Told
The federal government and defense counsel have agreed that the scope of a Third Circuit appeal is limited to the disqualification of New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases.
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September 08, 2025
NC High Court Snapshot: Pot Smell Test, Atty's Divorce Feud
North Carolina's top court will return from its summer hiatus in September to address whether law enforcement can rely on the smell of marijuana alone in the age of legalized hemp to justify a warrantless search. Here are some highlights of the high court's September lineup.
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September 08, 2025
Mass. Justices Asked To Find Atty Had Duty To Seek Plea Deal
A man who has spent more than four decades in prison for a 1983 murder asked Massachusetts' high court Monday to find that his defense attorney's failure to pursue a plea bargain with prosecutors entitles him to a new trial, in a case that could alter the standard for finding a lawyer's work was ineffective.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Prosecutors' Duty To Justice Sometimes Demands Mea Culpa
Two recent cases — U.S. v. Lucas and U.S. v. Echavarria — demonstrate that prosecutors’ special ethical duty to seek justice can sometimes be in tension with other obligations and incentives, but it nonetheless requires them to concede their mistakes in the interests of justice, say Eastern District of Texas law clerk Ian Stephens and Texas A&M University law professor Jemila Lea.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion
In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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FCA Working Group Reboot Signals EHR Compliance Risk
The revival of the False Claims Act working group is an aggressive expansion of enforcement efforts by the Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services targeted toward technology-enabled fraud involving electronic health records and other data, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss
Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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New Interpol Silver Notice Could Be Tool For Justice Or Abuse
Interpol has issued dozens of Silver Notices to trace and recover assets linked to criminal activity since January, and though the tool may disrupt organized crime and terrorist financing, attorneys must protect against the potential for corrupt misuse, say attorneys at Clark Hill and Arktouros.
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Justices' Resentencing Ruling Fortifies First Step Act Tools
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hewitt v. U.S. ruling clarifies that resentencing after vacatur must reflect the law in effect at the time of the new sentencing, ultimately strengthening the strategic tools available to defense attorneys under the First Step Act, says Benson Varghese at Varghese Summersett.
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The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine
The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Unpacking Enforcement Challenges Of DOJ's Bulk Data Rule
Now fully effective, the U.S. Department of Justice's new data security program represents the U.S.' first data localization requirement ripe for enforcement, but its implementation faces substantial practical challenges that may hinder the DOJ's ability for wide-ranging or swift action, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Series
Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator
Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma
Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.
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Opinion
Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law
Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.
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Opinion
4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding
As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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DOJ Actions Signal Rising Enforcement Risk For Health Cos.
The U.S. Department of Justice's announcement of a new False Claims Act working group, together with the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, underscore the importance of sophisticated compliance programs that align with the DOJ's data-driven approach, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery
E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.
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How To Strengthen A Case By Mastering Expert Witness Prep
A well-prepared expert witness can bolster a case's credibility with persuasive qualifications, compelling voir dire responses and concise testimony that can withstand cross-examination, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.