7th Circ. Orders New Trial For Ex-ComEd CEO, Lobbyist

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday ordered the release of the former CEO and a former lobbyist of Commonwealth Edison on bond pending a new trial, just hours after hearing arguments on their bids to unwind convictions for allegedly funneling and hiding payments to ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's allies.

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House Dem Threatens Bondi Contempt Over Epstein Files

By Courtney Bublé

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is looking to hold former Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt if she does not appear before the committee to discuss the U.S. Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files.

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Evidence Cut In Weinstein's 3rd NY Rape Trial As Jury Picked

By Frank G. Runyeon

Six years after the first #MeToo verdict against Harvey Weinstein, a New York state judge on Tuesday began picking a jury for the disgraced producer's third rape trial in Manhattan and ruling on what evidence would come in.

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Ginsburg Hack Conviction Upheld For Man Who Blamed Cat

By Craig Clough

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Tuesday a former hospital transplant coordinator's conviction for illegally accessing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's healthcare records, upholding a ruling that the defendant was not improperly coerced when he told FBI agents a coworker or his cat may have been responsible.

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Tabloid Tells NY Court Epstein Files Release Isn't Complete

By David Minsky

An internet tabloid renewed its efforts to obtain investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and urged a New York federal court to reconsider a decision blocking a public records request to the FBI, arguing that a documents release pursuant to an act of Congress isn't complete. 

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Alphabet Investors Near Class Cert. In Google Probe Case

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge on Tuesday indicated she was leaning toward granting class certification for Alphabet Inc. investors in a suit against the Google parent company over an allegedly false statement CEO Sundar Pichai made to Congress in 2020 about the fairness of ad auctions.

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Crypto Co-Founder Alleges $58M Fraud, RICO Scheme

By Sydney Price

A co-founder of a cryptocurrency data company has accused his former partner and affiliates of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act through a $58 million fraudulent scheme that he says involved diverting virtual tokens from a company offering to offshore vehicles and attempting to shift the blame with retaliatory litigation.

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11th Circ. Grounds Jet Co.'s Defamation Suit Against Chase

By Chart Riggall

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday backed JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s early win in a lawsuit brought by a jet chartering company alleging it was defamed as it was placed on an internal blacklist, ruling that the bank hadn't made any false statements in explaining to customers why it blocked the company's transactions.

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Colo. Contractor Gets 10 Years For $1.4M Fraud Scheme

By Benjamin Morse

A Colorado state judge sentenced a Denver-area contractor to 10 years in prison for his part in stealing more than $1.4 million from homeowners through a home remodeling fraud scheme, the state attorney general's office announced Tuesday.

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Judge Narrows Scope Of Politician's Trial Over ICE Scuffle

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday significantly limited the extent of former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander's upcoming trial over a ticket he got for obstructing hallways at a building as he monitored Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Feds Charge Ex-High Museum Exec With Embezzling $600K

By Chart Riggall

The former chief operating officer of Atlanta's High Museum of Art has been charged with stealing from a federally funded program over allegations that he embezzled more than $600,000 from the institution, prosecutors said Tuesday.

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CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

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7 Mistakes To Avoid When Using Trial Graphics

With several federal district judges recently expressing frustration with the overuse of PowerPoint slides in trial presentations, now is a good time for lawyers to assess when and how they use visuals to make sure their messages are communicated as effectively as possible, say Mark Rosman at Proskauer and Dan Bender at Digital Evidence Group.

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Grassley Says Cruz And Lee Top His List If Alito Retires

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that if U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito were to retire then he would recommend the president nominate either Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, or Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

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Judiciary Panel Backs Legal Finance Project, Subpoena Rules

By Jeff Overley

Federal judiciary advisers agreed Tuesday to develop transparency obligations for litigation funders despite "vehement" views in the defense and plaintiffs bars, while also advancing controversial subpoena rules involving remote testimony and process servers.

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Analysis

IBM's FCA Deal Creates Unease Over DEI Enforcement Scope

By Madeline Lyskawa

IBM's agreement to pay the Trump administration $17 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act with policies aimed at increasing the diversity of its workforce continues to raise more questions than answers about what the administration views as illegal diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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Mintz Can't Halt Texas Malpractice Suit For Fee Fight In Mass.

By Elliot Weld

A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday declined Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC's request to halt a former client's legal malpractice case against the firm in Texas federal court while the two fight over a $2 million "success fee" the law firm claims it is owed.

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DC Circ. Halts Boasberg's 'Unnecessary' Alien Enemies Probe

By Britain Eakin

A split D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday halted for the second time U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's criminal contempt probe of Trump administration officials for willfully violating his order barring removals of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

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Grassley Hits 100 Judge Confirmations As 2 Clear Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the 100th district judge under Sen. Chuck Grassley's leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Investors Want Sanctions For Fake Citations In LGBCoin Suit

By Carolina Bolado

Investors in the "Let's Go Brandon" meme token urged a Florida federal judge Monday to issue "case-terminating sanctions" against the man behind the coin, saying he and his counsel have lied in discovery, disobeyed court orders and submitted fake legal citations in at least eight filings.

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Calif. Federal Judges Weigh Audio Access For Civil Jury Trials

By Dorothy Atkins

California Northern District federal judges are seeking public comment on modifying local court rules to allow jurists to audio stream civil jury trials in the district, which regularly presides over high-stakes courtroom fights involving tech giants such as Google, Meta, OpenAI and Apple.

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IOLTA Group Owed Notice Of Settlements, Mass. Justices Say

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court said Tuesday that a committee overseeing lawyers' trust accounts should have been given a chance to request potential leftover funds prior to a judge's approval of a class action settlement, but saw no reason to unwind the deal.

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