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At each year’s end, lists dominate the Internet as writers determine the best of the best and the worst of the worst. It’s arbitrary and lazy, but readers love lists. So who are we to deny the people? Thus, in the spirit of populist pandering, we bring you our top five list featuring the most interesting Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals cases from 2011. Adar v. Smith. In this Full Faith and Credit clause-based appeal, a California same-sex couple challenged a Louisiana policy that prohibits issuing revised birth certificates for Louisiana-born children with two, unmarried, adoptive parents....

US v. Agosto-Vega, 09-1158, concerned a challenge to a conviction of a company in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and its owner and principal officer for violating criminal provisions of the Clean Water Act. In vacating the conviction, the court held that the district court committed a structural error by excluding the public from the courtroom during the selection of the jury. However, in rejecting defendants’ claim that the government failed to present sufficient evidence at the first trial to allow the jury to conclude that they were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charges presented against them, the court held that the government proved the charges against defendants by sufficient evidence to establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt....

In a prosecution for drug-related offenses, grant of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence stemming from a protective sweep is affirmed where: 1) district court did not commit clear legal error as the court employed the correct legal standard in asking whether a warrant would have been sought if what actually happened had not occurred; 2) court did not commit clear factual error in concluding that the government did not establish that the agents were not prompted to seek the search warrant by information acquired during an unlawful protective sweep; and 3) district court did not abuse its discretion in denying government’s motion to reconsider as the language of the court’s order suggests that it did consider all of the arguments....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. In an earlier blog titled “Hotspots Can Be Black Holes of Hacking Danger,” you were informed that three major UK WiFi networks were possibly susceptible to hacker attacks, making network users vulnerable to potential fraudulent activities. And now recent press reports indicate that the UK Digital Economy Bill will not exempt from copyright crackdowns on universities, libraries and small businesses that provide open UK WiFi services....

The Gill v. OPM plaintiffs got a boost this week with another federal court decision that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutionally discriminates against gay marriage. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled in Golinski v. OPM that DOMA Section 3 “treats gay men and lesbians differently on the basis of their sexual orientation” without any legal basis, and that “the imposition of subjective moral beliefs of a majority on a minority cannot provide a justification....

Life lessons for lawyers don’t usually come from actors, unless we’re talking about Bob Odenkirk, Dylan McDermott, or Raymond Burr, and their corresponding, and critical, roles in shaping how we view the practice of law. However, a recent installment in Reuters’ “Life Lessons” series interviewed Mr. Alan Alda, which made us here at FindLaw think, first nostalgically about Hawkeye, then about what we lawyers could learn from Mr. Alda. (Disclosure: Reuters is FindLaw’s sister company....

Ah, those crafty Germans. The fine folks at Winfuture.de (h/t to Ars Technica) are who we have to thank for the latest leaks, videos, and pictures of a developer build of Windows 9. What have we learned from the latest leaks? As expected, the Start Menu is back with a ton of customizability – from bare-bones menu to full-on Windows 8 Start screen. Windows 9 will also pick up a couple of features off of its Apple counterpart: virtual desktops and a notifications center....

If there’s a single file type out there that makes life simpler, easier, and more efficient for lawyers, it’s the humble PDF. Forget .docs or .ppts. The portable document format (that’s the PDF in PDF) blows them all away. It’s simple to use, with the ability to add complexity. It’s file agnostic, allowing you to bring multiple file types together in a single document. And it does a good job at securing files and metadata....

A Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision is having its day in the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the 5th Circuit habeas case of Rafael Arriaza Gonzalez. Gonzalez did not file his habeas petition within the one year statute of limitations, reports Courthouse News. This raised several questions on whether or not his writ for habeas was properly denied by the Fifth Circuit and the lower courts....

Princeton Review just announced their top party schools for 2012. For enterprising lawyers, this list offers an opportunity to find a creative niche – party school attorney. One of the first pieces of advice any lawyer starting a solo practice will hear is to find a niche. It can be hard for a junior attorney to compete in established fields like estate planning or DUI law. But if you think outside the box, you can be successful in an area your competitors haven’t thought of....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action based on defendant’s alleged refusal to release plaintiff on bail after the court approved a property bond, summary judgment for defendant-sheriff is reversed where: 1) there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether defendant personally participated in the alleged due process violation; and 2) the district court failed to determine whether minimizing the enforcement costs of a property bond constituted a compelling interest for purposes of the Eighth Amendment Excessive Bail Clause....

The lack of diversity in the legal profession is nothing new. Law firms, small to large, tend to all say they want a more diverse team, but few actually do anything about it other than talk. And while many firms claim that the quality candidates they receive just are not diverse, this is largely a product of where firms solicit those candidates. As we approach the end of the year, law firms that pledged or committed to being more diverse should evaluate how they’ve done....

Remember fax machines? If you’re like many of us, you probably haven’t touched one in years. After all, didn’t faxes disappear into the technological netherworld, alongside beepers, dial-up internet, and the Walkman? No, they didn’t. Faxes are still around, and they’ve even been adapted for a very contemporary use: spam. And that fax spam, also known as junk faxes, is still causing lawsuits – 4,860 lawsuits last year, according to the Wall Street Journal....

Don Siegelman, the former Governor of Alabama, lost his motion for a new trial last week. Siegelman was convicted of bribery, mail fraud and obstruction of justice in 2006, following an investigation that many Democrats argued was politically motivated, but which Republicans claimed revealed extensive corruption. After a series of appeals, Siegelman moved for a new trial, based on allegations that U.S. Attorney Leura Canary participated in his prosecution after she had disqualified herself due to conflicts of interest....

In 2009, during GM’s reorganization, a new entity was created – “New GM.” Whereas Old GM would stay in bankruptcy and deal with the creditors, New GM bought old GMs profitable assets, essentially giving GM a fresh start. But that was all before the ignition switch fiasco. Now what? Economic Loss Claims GM has “agreed to address accident and death claims,” according to Bloomberg, however financial claims are a different story....

The Paris climate accords, agreed to in December by 195 nations, are one of the largest economic and environmental policy advancements in recent decades. The accords marked the first time that all countries have agreed to reduce climate change causing greenhouse emissions. The accords also committed nations to a global temperature rise of 3.6 degrees, just enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The impact of businesses can be seen throughout the accords, and we’re not talking climate change denying fossil fuel companies here....

It’s holiday time in the Gulf, and Fifth Circuit is closed for Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. So while the judges and clerks are spending time with friends and family, let’s celebrate with them, the Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi way! For yours truly, Christmas in Texas always meant food. And not just the clove-studded ham and puddings of a Dickens Christmas. Christmas in the Lone Star State means red and green tortilla chips, lots of liquor, and definitely tamales....

Attorneys strive to provide the best representation to their clients. Yet, sometimes lawyers are confronted with clients who have a diminished mental capacity. This can be especially true if an attorney’s practice focuses on elder law, disability benefits, or estate planning. Lawyers may be presented with an ethical dilemma. How do you represent these individuals without breaking confidentiality, and how do you ensure their interests are met? It may very well depend on the ethical rules in your jurisdiction....

In a move that has left beaver, salmon, and wildlife advocates pleased, the federal government and state have agreed to stop killing beavers in the state of Oregon in response to a threat of litigation by wildlife groups. If you’re wondering how wildlife groups can get what they want by simply threatening litigation, then you should probably take a look at their Notice of Intent to Sue. The notice letter goes to painstaking detail to explain exactly why beavers need to stop being killed, and how animals like beavers serve important roles in helping the threatened salmon population....

If you’ve got a question about managing your practice, if you’re looking to explore a new area of law, or if you’re just curious about the latest legal developments, well, you’re in luck. There are literally thousands of resources available. (Look, you’re reading one!) But with all the blogs, websites, and online resources available, it’s still sometimes nice to have a real, solid book to line your shelves. Here are some practice guides that could make a helpful addition to your legal library, all from our friends over at Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore....