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In Miami-Dade County, sex offenders who have been convicted of crimes involving victims under the age of 16 cannot live within 2,500 feet of any school, with few exceptions. Now, two sex offenders say that the restrictions were so harsh they were driven to homelessness. Miami-Dade’s law so limited housing options that both offenders had nowhere left to live but a homeless encampment, they claim. Those offenders sued, alleging that the law, adopted in 2005 and after their convictions, was so punitive that it violated the ex post facto clause of the federal and Florida constitutions....

In 2009, one of the largest food recalls in American history was announced. According to Wired, by the end of the peanut-linked salmonella outbreak, there were 714 people known to have been made sick (though likely more), hundreds were hospitalized, and nine died. Though most recalls end in a few sick people, a lot of hysteria, and possibly a few fines, the principals in the PCA conspiracy are facing federal felony charges in Georgia and could end up in prison for a long time....

The Supreme Court is back in session, and a “staggering” amount of its caseload will be from the Ninth Circuit. In total, the nation’s highest court will be hearing around 48 cases. About 42%, or 20 out of the 48 cases in the docket, comes from Ninth Circuit. Why are so many of the cases coming out of the western states? Is it because the Pacific coast is rife with juicy disputes?...

Victor Sepulveda-Vargas, working late as an assistant manager at Burger King, had a really bad day. While attempting to make a deposit, he was attacked at gunpoint, hit over the head and had his car stolen. But that was just the beginning of what an appeals court called, “a lesson straight out of the school of hard knocks.” In Sepulveda-Vargas v. Caribbean Restaurants, LLC, the former Burger King manager sued because his employer declined his request to change his shift....

In Ungar v. Palestine Liberation Org., No. 09-1778, the First Circuit decided a case involving an action brought by the estate of plaintiffs against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority for damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act for the killing of the plaintiffs in Israel by Hamas. In addressing the question of whether there was a categorical rule that a party whose strategic choices lead to the entry of a default judgment is precluded from later obtaining relief from that judgment under Rule 60(b)....

Alan Ketchen came to the party a little too late. Not the drug fest at his house; that party was going on all the time. It was his motion to withdraw a guilty plea; that was too late. Ketchen wanted a do-over because – after he pleaded guilty to drug charges – a new case said prosecutors had to prove criminal defendants know the drugs they are dealing are controlled substances or “substantially similar” drugs....

Speak up and have your voice heard. That was the message that Chief Judge Sandra L. Lynch aimed to send to the graduating students at her alma mater, Boston University. Judge Lynch spoke before the graduating seniors at Boston University on Sunday. Judge Lynch is currently the Chief Judge of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. She graduated from Boston University Law School in 1971. In her Baccalaureate address at Marsh Chapel, Judge Lynch urged the seniors to speak their minds and make their country better....

If a friend were to ask for an affordable smartphone recommendation today, my initial response would be “Nexus.” In fact, that would be the gut response of most tech geeks, as Google’s own devices receive software updates before anyone else, are reasonably priced, and are typically at or near the top of the market specs-wise. An iPhone 5S, off contract, will cost you $650. Most flagship Android devices, off-contract, are in that same range, but the Nexus 5?...

Attorneys everywhere beware: make sure your “meet and confer” is successful, otherwise you may face sanctions. Discovery sanctions are probably something that lawyers are acutely aware of. In one case, Qualcomm was fined $8 million when a judge found their attorneys deliberately withheld information from the defendant, Broadcom Corp. How do you avoid sanctions? Why follow the rules of civil procedure, of course. In federal courts, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is king....

Based on the recent Apple-Samsung lawsuit and CIA Director General David Petraeus’ dismissal, employee email isn’t as private as we’d like to believe. There’s a lot you can do to protect employee email messages from being leaked to the media or to competitors. But in the case of a trial, email between employees are rarely considered privileged. That means a lot of private information could potentially be discoverable. It doesn’t help that eDiscovery plays a significant role in many trials and that email is an increasingly important piece of evidence....

It looks like there’s a holdup in Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Jill Pryor’s confirmation. Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson have not submitted “blue slips” to allow the Senate Judiciary Committee to proceed with a hearing on Pryor, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Chambliss and Isakson indicated to the White House in January that they would not block Jill Pryor’s nomination to the bench, though they preferred Troutman Sanders partner Mark Cohen for the position....

Green card marriages happen. The concept seems cliché when used in movies and television shows, yet there are people who turn to sham unions to get citizenship. But while marriage may be what brings two willing parties together today, it’s not a guaranteed path to citizenship or a green card. If you have an immigration law practice, you’ve probably fielded hundreds of questions about green cards: Do I have to get hitched to get a green card?...

Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP (http://www.duanemorris.com) where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes. His Web site is http://www.sinrodlaw.com and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com. To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod’s columns, please send an email to him with Subscribe in the Subject line. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice....

Twitter users tend to run in groups. There’s political Twitter, black Twitter, legal Twitter, and even #appellatetwitter. And over the past few days, the legal twittersphere has had its feathers ruffled a little bit. As you would expect, the controversy is over an (allegedly stolen) joke involving a parrot. On Monday morning, Michael E. Adler, a business lawyer in Philadelphia, blew up legal Twitter and regular Twitter when he posted this:...

It’s officially now spring, which means (for most of the country) blue skies and warm weather. People are outdoors at fairs, festivals, and farmers markets. What are you doing indoors on a beautiful Saturday afternoon? You should be out there, at the fair, drumming up business. Outdoor events are a great way to talk to potential clients, and even if you don’t sign anyone up, you get your name out there in the neighborhood and be part of the community....

We’re in the midst of a freaking epistolary renaissance, and we largely have newsletters to thank. The electronic newsletter has been undergoing a rebirth over the past few years, with an ever growing number of informed, intelligent, and insightful newsletters ready to fill up your inbox. Celebrities send out newsletters, newspapers have put a renewed focus on email, and bloggers and economists and politicians (and FindLaw!) all send their insights and updates straight to your email....

When football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing boys, the locker room talk changed. It was no longer about what he did in the showers; it was about who covered for him. Three university officials soon joined Sandusky on the guilty bench. But no one thought their lawyer would be in trouble. Cynthia Baldwin, after all, was a former justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Charges Dismissed Baldwin, as general counsel for Penn State, faced disciplinary charges for alleged conflicts of interest in representing the university officials in grand jury proceedings....

Describe your ideal smartphone. Take a moment. Think about every ideal quality it should have. What is the Nexus 4? It’s a joint venture between LG and Google. It is a top-of-the-line smartphone, available off-contract, for $300. We won’t bore you with too many specs, other than to say that it has a quad-core processor, a 4.7 inch screen with 320 pixels per inch, and your choice of eight or sixteen gigabytes of storage....

In a conviction of defendant for tax evasion, district court’s imposition of a sentence to four years’ probation, conditioned on the service of eighteen months’ home detention with work release and international travel privileges is vacated and remanded where: 1) the district court committed significant procedural error by minimizing of the seriousness of defendant’s conduct, failing to consider the relevant policy statements and the need for general deterrence, and insufficiently explaining the reasons for its view that a term of imprisonment was not required; and 2) the sentence imposed was substantively unreasonable because of the district court’s improper focus on defendant’s financial ability to pay restitution....

If you’re not using interns, you’re missing out. Sure, interns provide work – often cheap (but not free) work. But more importantly, they can bring fresh perspectives and energy to your practice. Working with interns is an easy way to mentor a new generation of lawyers and give back to the legal community. Plus, the really good ones might even join you after they graduate. Here’s where you can find them....