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Plus Other Criminal Matters US v. Richardson, No. 09-4072, concerned a challenge to the district court’s denial of a defendant’s motion to suppress and its quashing of his subpoena duces tecum in a prosecution of defendant for child pornography related crimes. In affirming the conviction, the court held that the statutory provision pursuant to which AOL reported defendant’s activities did not effectively convert AOL into an agent of the government for Fourth Amendment purposes....

A new underground light-rail will move on down the track near Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, following a federal appeals court decision. The Ninth Circuit upheld a district court decision turning down complaints that the proposed Metro rail system would disrupt business and harm the environment. The justices unanimously ruled that local and federal agencies had complied with environmental standards in reviewing the plan, including the choice to dig and then cover the tunnel that had been temporarily enjoined by the trial judge....

We recently came across a profile of hip eyewear company, Warby Parker’s corporate book clubs, and thought that having a company wide book club – formal or not – is a great idea. And, it’s not something limited to trendy companies that do good – your law firm can have a book club. Not convinced? Read on for three reasons why your law firm should have its own book club....

A Georgia CEO will not escape his jail sentence after being found guilty of violating the U.S. trade embargo on Iran, the Eleventh Circuit held today. Mark Alexander, who manufactured and sold industrial machines, had been found guilty of trading with Iranian businesses. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and currently forbids virtually all trade with the country. At trial, Alexander claimed the government case against him was a “scam” and that he had been pressured to sell the goods by colleagues....

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a conspiracy claim filed by a coalition of homeless and formerly homeless people this week, finding that the group had failed to make its case. On Wednesday, the circuit court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of all claims in A Society Without a Name, For People Without a Home, Millennium Future-Present v. Virginia, (ASWAN v. Virginia). In the suit, ASWAN alleged that the defendants had conspired to establish the Conrad Center on Oliver Hill Way, a site removed from Richmond’s downtown community, for the purpose of reducing the presence of the homeless population in the downtown area by providing services for them in a remote location....

In Gregory v. Thaler, No. 08-20423, the court of appeals affirmed the denial of petitioner’s habeas petition, holding that 1) petitioner’s conclusory statements regarding the content of the uncalled witnesses testimony were insufficient to demonstrate ineffective assistance; and 2) in any event, it was unlikely that either uncalled witness would have been available to testify on petitioner’s behalf. US v. Texas, No. 08-40858, involved defendants’ appeal from the district court’s order holding that defendant State of Texas denied students with limited-English proficiency (LEP students) equal educational opportunities in Texas public schools, thereby violating the court’s longstanding injunctive order and Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA)....

It’s a story of family saga fit for movie-making. Two brothers, persecuted by Cuban authorities under threat of extermination, flee to America to begin a new life. Decades later, they successfully obtain a judgment against the communist nation in the amount of $2.8 billion. But the island country has not paid a single dime of that money. And, with a recent decision on the brothers’ attempts to enforce, it looks like options are running out....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. This blog for years has highlighted the potential risks and liabilities presented by communications and activities on the Internet. The Internet provides the possibility of privacy violations, security breaches, intellectual property disputes, defamation, hack attacks, and even cyber warfare, among other threats. So what should companies do to be as safe as possible as they conduct business over the Internet?...

Counsel for Deutsche Bank is about to become incredibly busy. Both the Department of Justice and the City of Los Angeles have filed suit against the mega-lender this week, the former accusing the company of mortgage fraud, and the latter alleging that is has allowed its local properties to illegally fall into disrepair. The DOJ suit, filed in Manhattan, stems from the bank’s involvement in the FHA mortgage insurance program....

The Fifth Circuit permits evidence of experiments conducted under substantially similar conditions. Furthermore, if a party offers demonstrative evidence only as an illustration of general scientific principles, and not as a re-enactment of disputed events, it doesn’t have to pass the substantial similarity test. Here’s a recent example of how that policy affected a plaintiff’s case. The McCunes appealed, arguing that the trial judge erred in admitting a series of simulation videos created for Graco’s expert’s testimony....

The trial placing one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious venture capital firms in the spotlight has also placed sexual harassment in the spotlight. Last week, we learned that famed venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins didn’t even have a non-discrimination policy. That, in itself, isn’t proof of wrongdoing, but it does suggest that Kleiner Perkins may have been taking a casual attitude toward sexual harassment and sex discrimination. Like “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” let Kleiner Perkins’ situation be a warning so you don’t find yourself in the same situation....

Your company will be hacked. It’s as certain as death and taxes. In light of this, what the diligent in-house attorney can do is make sure all of the company’s affairs and records are in order. If a government investigation takes place, you should be ready. Below we cover data breach notification requirements along with some of the more important considerations that general counsel must be familiar with in the event of the inevitable data breach....

When it comes to the future promised by artificial intelligence, one of the great prospects is an inclusive world free from invidious, arbitrary discrimination. Although, at this time, this may be a lofty goal, there may be ways that you can utilize the technology of today to promote inclusivity and the hiring of a diverse workforce. The big problem with letting AI take over is that data does as data is....

Whether you work for a large firm or a small one, you’re bound to encounter the bureaucracy in at least some of its glorious forms. At big firms, for instance, corporate policies limit innovation because every action has to performed according to a prearranged script, and deviations from that script are either not allowed or need to be approved by five levels of management. On the other hand, at small firms, you’re in charge of your life, but you’re in more direct contact with the court system....

Full disclosure: I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan. So it was with constant, uninterrupted joy that I watched Monday’s molly-whopping of the New England Patriots by my hometown team. Uninterrupted, at least, until a wee little mistake by the referees in the fourth quarter. After the Chiefs’ Husain Abdullah snagged an interception and ran it for a touchdown, he immediately slid to the ground and prayed to Allah. A yellow penalty flag flew, giving the Patriots 15 yards on the ensuing possession....

The other monster has reared its ugly head, and the (top, top) secret is out: PRISM is a real thing. Just as you thought you may have been inundated with too much news about the National Security Agency (NSA) and Verizon scandal, The Washington Post and The Guardian both decided to drop a second bomb on us late last week, revealing information from a leaked Powerpoint slide presentation. This one doesn’t involve metadata from phone records, but content collected from Internet giants like Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and other sites that you likely use on a daily basis....

It’s well established that there’s no respondeat superior liability levied on ship owners for the negligent medical care of the ship’s crew, no matter how negligent they are. But what about an agency theory? That was an issue of first impression for the Eleventh Circuit in Franza v. Royal Caribbean Cruises. The short, short version: Pasquale Vaglio fell, hitting his head while Royal Caribbean’s “Explorer of the Seas” was docked in Bermuda....

The recent SCOTUS decision of Utah v. Strieff was notable in at least two ways. First it was noteworthy because of Justice Sotomayor’s almost Scalia-esque (in terms of passion, if not form) dissent. Some have called it the Court’s “Black Lives Matter” moment. But the Strieff opinion is also noteworthy because it may be the first time in the Court’s history in which a URL-link “shortener” was used in place of the real address....

In plaintiff’s Bivens action against an FBI agent and others arising from her extradition to South Korea for the murder of a fellow exchange student which resulted in an acquittal, district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claims except for her Fourth Amendment claim for malicious prosecution is reversed and remanded as the FBI agent is entitled to qualified immunity where plaintiff has not alleged a violation of her constitutional right to be free from malicious prosecution in the United States....

Some people in Washington think that what they do sets the standard for the rest of the world. We’re not talking about the president. We’re talking about the people who work for the mayor’s office. In a new study, they say that police body-cams don’t make a difference in changing police behavior. Maybe not in Washington, but they are making a difference elsewhere, as explained below. No Effect? The Lab@DC, a team of behavioral and data scientists, tracked the use of police body-cams over a two-year period....