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Here are a few good questions: What’s the difference between filtered cigarillos and cigarettes? How about pipe tobacco and roll-your-own cigarette tobacco? And why are cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, and pipe tobacco all regulated differently? If the lines between types of tobacco are blurry, then the regulations are even more so, though the FDA is stepping up their enforcement. Meantime, someone is suing the FDA for not regulating, specifically their inaction towards trans fat....

Many lawyers use visual aids during trial, including closing arguments. But Washington’s Supreme Court isn’t a fan of opinionated ones. The court recently threw out a conviction because the prosecutor’s visual aid in closing statements included inappropriate opinions – namely, the phrases “GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY” and “DO YOU BELIEVE HIM?” superimposed over images of the defendant. While that kind of presentation is certainly over the top, Washington’s justices felt it crossed the line....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. Social media outlets now connect billions of people around the globe on a constant basis. Facebook, by headcount, has become the largest nation on the planet, with approximately two billion users. A tremendous number of these users communicate with others via their social media accounts many times a day. Of course, there are many positive aspects of social media communications; but, regrettably, there are palpable negatives as well....

If your judge wants to hold you in contempt, you might want to request judicial recusal. But if you haven’t made the request before such an ominous turn of events, you have probably waited too long. Trying to toss a judge off your case as a last ditch maneuver can be like tossing a grenade: if you don’t throw it far enough … well, yeah. Judges generally have discretion whether to recuse themselves from cases....

Technology is essential to today’s legal practice, from your website, to your practice management software, to simple word processing tricks. But you’re a lawyer, not an IT specialist. So when it comes to setting up your firm’s intranet, evaluating cloud computing security, or figuring out what’s wrong with your email, sometimes it’s necessary to bring in a little help. Enter the legal tech consultant. A legal tech consultant can be a lifesaver for your practice, whether you’re rebuilding your firm’s computer infrastructure or just looking to improve your staff’s document management competency....

In plaintiff’s action challenging the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) assessment of a financial penalty against certain federal grant money used to fund Puerto Rico’s child support enforcement programs, after HHS had determined that Puerto Rico had failed to satisfy data reporting requirements or meet performance benchmarks in consecutive fiscal years, district court’s judgment rejecting plaintiff’s contentions is affirmed where: 1) the HHS’s decision not to accept and consider plaintiff’s untimely PEP data to determine its fiscal year 2001 performance for incentive purposes was neither arbitrary not capricious; and 2) the HHS’s interpretation of the notice provision was reasonable and entitled to deference....

Two things are certain: death and taxes. Government claims are a close third. That’s a one-sentence summary of United States of America v. Catala, decided by the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court said, as between the government and a general creditor, the government has priority to assets forfeited in a criminal case. Forfeiture laws are designed to separate a criminal from ill-gotten gains, the appeals panel said....

Disgraced North Providence attorney Robert Ciresi is appealing to the First Circuit Court of Appeals for a new trial, and bail pending the decision, one week before he reports to federal prison. In April, a federal jury convicted Ciresi of conspiracy, bribery, and Hobbs Acts extortion in a corruption and kickback scheme that implicated three North Providence town councilmen. The three councilmen pleaded guilty and are in prison. Ciresi, who had previously served as a North Providence Town Solicitor and Councilman, was the only one to proceed to trial....

Plaintiff’s wrongful termination suit against Puerto Rico’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Cortes-Rivera v. Dep’t of Corr. & Rehab of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 09-1858, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants, in plaintiff’s suit against Puerto Rico’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and its managing corporation, claiming that his contract to provide medical services was illegally terminated, and that he was discriminated and retaliated against on the basis of disability in violation of Title I of the ADA....

The Eleventh Circuit decided two criminal matters and one civil rights case. In US v. Phillips, No. 08-17248, the Eleventh Circuit vacated defendant’s drug and firearm possession sentence, holding that, under 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 35(a), the district court on January 26, 2009 did not have jurisdiction after seven days had passed to modify and vacate defendant’s 324-month sentence imposed on December 5, 2008. In US v....

Dividing pensions and retirement benefits is rarely a simple task, as many family law practitioners can attest. When it comes to splitting up retirement assets, attorneys must navigate challenging issues that require a thorough understanding of a particularly complex area of law. Fortunately, you don’t have to struggle through the process alone. An upcoming program by The Rutter Group, Dividing Pension and Retirement Benefits, can help even the most experienced family law attorneys deal with the complexities of pension and retirement benefit division – and making a difficult, tricky area of law a bit easier....

Privacy policies. They’re a thing of beauty, aren’t they? The truth is, most online companies play some part in data mining for advertising purposes, either directly (Google) or indirectly (embedded third-party advertising networks). There’s a saying: you either pay for the product, or you are the product. California doesn’t want to support such ignorance, however. The state’s privacy laws require companies to disclose their data practices, including, as of January 1, 2014, how the company treats DNT....

A 15-year long data sharing pact between the United States and the European Union is no more, after Europe’s highest court struck it down Tuesday. The European Union’s Court of Justice ruled that European citizens’ data isn’t safe when stored on U.S. computer servers, since our pesky, spying government can peak into it. The ruling will affect some 4,500 companies, from Google to Pfizer to Johnson & Johnson, who had long relied on the Safe Harbor system....

Women aren’t suing for equal everything, like registering for the military draft. But the National Coalition for Men wants to change all that. The organization sued, alleging that male-only mandatory enlistment discriminates against men, and a judge says the plaintiffs have a case. However, they still have a long way to go in National Coalition of Men v. Selective Service System. They filed in 2013, and just got standing to proceed....

Here’s a story for all you disillusioned law students and crusty old practicing attorneys. If you play your cards right, you can become the general manager of a sports team! After all, Sandy Alderson made the jump from being the in house attorney for the Oakland Athletics to the team’s general manager in 1983. And unlike countless others, he wasn’t a total washout. To the contrary, he helped take the team to a World Series in 1989....

The sight of toddlers and children with tablets and smart phones is pretty common these days – even I’m guilty – sometimes technology is the only thing that will curb a meltdown (if only that were true of adults). And, any parent probably has their own story about how their child managed to purchase apps (or movies on demand, in my case). How the kids manage to figure this out is a mystery....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet. Once upon a time, the advent of the radio was considered a major advancement, and families in the evenings would huddle together and listen to favorite radio shows. Not that much later, television became the big thing. And with TV, it was easy to sit passively by as a couch potato watching one show after another....

Apple says it’s closing stores in eastern Texas, while upgrading others in northern Texas. But courtwatchers say it is a legal strategy because federal courts in the Eastern District of Texas have been hard on Apple. The courts there are infamous for being friendly to patent trolls. We’re talking about patent suits, not judges. Anyway, Apple may be the first in an exodus from hostile territory. Hostile Territory Tech reporters say Apple wants to avoid patent trolls, who have found a home in east Texas for more than a decade....

The president’s new tax law promises to be a boon to business, as the trillion dollar tax cut benefits large corporations and wealthy investors. Average Americans will see reductions, too, but another strata of society will actually make money on the new legislation. That’s right, it will be a great time for tax lawyers. According to analysts, the tax laws will create many opportunities for attorneys. They will be busy finding loopholes for the wealthy and debt relief for everybody else....

This came out of nowhere. Relax everybody. It seems, other than a domain name redirect, we predict it’ll be business as usual. Eugene Volokh says yes: Volokh also emphasizes that even with the additional advertising revenue, “Our hourly rate for our blogging time will remain pretty pathetic. We’re not in it for the money; if we were, we’d be writing briefs, not blog posts.” “We will also retain full editorial control over what we write....