It may take a few years for President Trump to put up his wall, but in the meantime the Border Patrol is upping its game with flying drones. On a clear day, the drones can be seen patolling the skies along the border between the United States and Mexico. They help agents see where they cannot go so easily – the unpaved miles of desert, cactus, scrub brush, and gangly trees....
Unlike the traditional approach of the federal courts, the Florida Supreme Court is opening its doors ever wider to the electronic media. The state supreme court is broadcasting on Facebook, making it one of the first courts in the world to use social media for official live video. The inaugural program showcased Florida’s annual pro bono awards, and will soon feature oral arguments. It is a remarkable difference from federal courts, which have banned electronic coverage of court proceedings since 1946....
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed convicted-murderer Dustin John Higgs’s conviction and federal death sentence last week, finding that Higgs’s rights to due process of law were not violated by the withholding of Comparative Bullet Lead Analysis (CBLA) evidence at his trial. Higgs was convicted of killing three women in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge near Washington, D.C. after an unsuccessful set-up date. The government presented overwhelming evidence of Higgs’s guilt, as well as of his predominant role in the murders, at trial....
If you’re like the majority of attorneys, you got into this business to be paid. In an ideal world, you do the work and your clients pay you upon completion – promptly. Alas, this is not the ideal world. Fed up with the undeniable costs of having to maintain an accounts receivable, many attorneys have implemented means that just skirt the boundaries of legal ethics in order to defray the costs of lost money and time....
As the legal eyes and ears of a company, general counsel takes a front row seat in handling lawsuits and corporate legal matters. And while that role can make for high-profile recognition, it can also subject in-house attorneys to increased liability. Attorneys from Schiff Hardin released a white paper outlining strategies for general counsel to avoid personal liability. Below are salient take-aways from the publication. In-house counsel, how can you avoid personal liability?...
The Supreme Court’s decision in Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar upheld restrictions on judicial campaigns, and while it didn’t address the propriety of electing judges, Chief Justice Roberts did acknowledge that the practice of judges asking lawyers around town for donations can make things pretty awkward. Judicial elections have long represented a gray zone for ethics; normally, lawyers aren’t allowed to give judges anything of value, but during election season, everything is A-OK....
“The relevant question is not whether he purposefully defecated his pants, but whether he willfully spread his feces all over the bathroom resulting in a nuisance, hazard, and damage. Moreover, the refusal of the CSO to let Strong use the restroom before passing through security may have given Strong motive to soil the restroom.” Yeah, that just happened. Ronald Strong was approaching the security checkpoint at a Federal courthouse when nature came a callin’....
When it comes to planning vacations and holiday events and marketing, it is never too early to start. If you really want to do something spectacular for yourself or your office this year, you need to get your act in gear. Sure, there’s still plenty of time now, but that’ll change in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, you’ll be procrastinating those holiday tasks because, frankly, compared to most legal work, they’re very excusably neglectable....
Despite the fact that a ruling on similar sets of facts is expected in the coming months from SCOTUS, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that North Carolina’s congressional voting map had been unconstitutionally gerrymandered by the state’s Republican lawmakers. In issuing the ruling in the two consolidated cases, Common Cause v. Rucho and League of Women Voters v. Rucho, the court gave the state legislature a few weeks to fix it, lest the court step in to do so....
North Carolina is going to appeal the last week’s predictable ruling that overturned the state’s photo ID law, and it’s going at it alone without its attorney general. Yes, it’s dissent within the ranks. North Carolina AG Roy Cooper has said that the state tried its hardest to defend the controversial photo ID law – but it lost. Now his involvement in the suit has come to an end. Governor Pat McCrory almost immediately denounced Cooper (who will challenge him for his position in November) by painting the latter as a turncoat....
Ramirez v. Holder, No. 09-1629, concerned Mexican citizens’ petition for review of a decision dismissing their appeal of an IJ’s denial of the husband’s application for adjustment of status, claiming that the husband was entitled to adjustment of status under section 1255(i) based on the approved labor certification and Form I-140 petition. In denying the petition, the court held that under the Chevron analysis, the BIA’s interpretation of sections 1182(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) and 1255(i), in holding that the husband is inadmissible under section 1182(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) because he entered the U....
The digital estate. It’s a relatively new thing, springing from the increased availability of the Internet and the boom in social networking sites. Individuals leave email accounts, documents, blogs, profiles and a host of other information on the web. And most of it is password protected. Nonetheless, family members of the deceased want that information. In fact, they want it so badly that they’re now asking state legislatures to give an individual’s estate access to sites like Facebook after death....
FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. A new effort is being made in Congress to impose state sales taxes on online sales. H.R. 5660, aka the Main Street Fairness Act, was introduced earlier this month by Rep. Bill Delahunt (D. MA.). The bill, if it were to become law, would authorize the collection of state taxes on Internet sales, even if a given Internet seller does not have a physical presence with a specific taxing state....
They say there are two things that are certain in life: death and taxes. Between the two, most will say that taxes are preferable. Except perhaps those people who get audited. They might choose death. In any case, whether you have filed your tax returns this year or not, there is always next year to consider. Here are some tax tips for solo and small firm lawyers to file away:...
Deciding whether to engage co-counsel really is not a question in some cases. For example, if you are admitted to practice in one state and you need to file in another, there’s no question. You have to associate with local counsel. But if you have the option to bring in an attorney on a case in your own jurisdiction, then that is a question. Here are some answers: Choose Wisely You gotta love the observation of the Grail Knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when the greedy Walter Donovan drinks from the wrong cup....
Child Pornography Conviction Affirmed In US v. Allen, No. 09-50283, the court affirmed defendant’s conviction for Shipping by Computer, Visual Depictions of Minors Engaging in Sexually Explicit Conduct, holding that 1) even though a warrant was not sufficiently particular, the fruits of the challenged search were admissible under the good-faith exception; 2) the district court did not err when it found the information in the warrant was not stale; and 3) the district court did not err in finding the description of the pictures at issue supported the finding of probable cause....
Tech-savvy lawyers everywhere know that new developments in software, hardware and communications are happening every day. Maintaining an arsenal of up-to-date gadgets and apps may mean increased productivity. FindLaw’s Legal Technology Events page has recently been updated, adding in many new - and some free - webinars and conferences. Some events are live conferences, which may be coming to a city near you. Others are entirely web-based, meaning you can be learning legal technology in the comfort of your own home (and, dressed in pajamas)....
Netscape, Yahoo, Google. Each of these names were iconic during their times – some of them still are. But Yahoo’s time as a stand-alone company is finished. This new development was announced this week. Now, with $4.83B less in its coffers, Verizon is walking away with the spoils of acquisition war: Yahoo’s one-billion monthly subscribers. Verizon’s Bid When it was made clear that Yahoo was slated for the choppi – er, auction block, Wall Street regulars started salivating and getting their dollars (and lawyers) ready....
The Visa, Mastercard settlement is one for the record books. At $6.2 billion, it’s not the biggest bank settlement ever. Bank of America holds that record at $165 billion. However, the bank card settlement is the largest-ever in an antitrust case. And after generating 65 million pages of documents over 13 years, it was about time. Swipe Fees Judge Margo Brodie is considering whether to approve the deal, which would end more than 40 class actions that have been filed since 2005....
First it was Siri, then Alexa. Now it’s Amy, Debbie, Inga, Mia, Erica, Eva, and Cora. The voice of digital assistants is predominantly female. You can change the voice to male with some programs, but it’s really about stereotypes. In the ageless words of Jessica, she was just made that way. Stereotyped Bots Forbes writer Parmy Olson said “female” chatbots raise concerns about stereotyping. Seriously, why do so many chatbots sound like women?...
