Posts

Defendant’s drug conspiracy conviction is affirmed where: 1) defendant’s argument that he might have had a better chance of acquittal if he could have gone it alone without the baggage of codefendants who were, essentially, in the eyes of the jury, offering no defense at all, was not sufficient to demonstrate prejudice due to a denial of his motion to sever his trial; and 2) any harm caused by a witness’s reference to defendant’s refusal to testify was defused by an instruction from the court that was not only curative, but entirely favorable to the accused....

Though many judges are still squeamish about televising court proceedings, it appears as though they’re less likely to balk at the concept of video hearings. Local courts (and even some federal agencies) nationwide have embraced video conferencing as a means to expedite proceedings, improve inmate security, and overcome witness limitations. And in Pennsylvania? It’s saving the state an estimated $21 million a year. In 2003, the Meadville Tribune reports that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court amended its rules of criminal procedure to permit judges to conduct hearings by video as long as it does not implicate a defendant’s rights under the Confrontation Clause....

In the Robert Murray v. John Oliver case, the recent decision to remand the case back to state court is making headlines. However, those headlines and articles tend to focus on what’s happening, and all the comedic language, rather than the strategy behind it all. Despite the careful analysis of the court’s decision to remand, there is very little about why HBO’s attorneys tried to remove the case to federal court....

In Massachusetts, sexually dangerous persons (SDPs), sex offenders who have been ordered to civil commitment, reside in the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. In 1974, following lawsuits alleging “medieval” conditions at the Center, a district count entered consent decrees ordering the Center to shape up. In 1999, the district court concluded that the problems had been remedied and terminated the consent decrees, but still made the Center subject to a settlement plan....

You can’t do it all yourself. At some point, you’ve got to hand work off to someone else. Great! Proper delegation is an integral part of running an effective firm. After all, your associates, interns, and paralegals need something to do. And delegation can help save your clients money by passing work off to those with lower billing rates. But delegating is useless when you don’t really relinquish some control. Excessive micromanaging – checking in constantly, making needless corrections, demanding that everything is done exactly as you would do it all the time – wastes both your time and your staff’s....

The recent Panama Papers leak, caused by a data breach in the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, underscores what we’ve long known: the legal industry needs to make cybersecurity a priority. (There are some lessons about abetting corruption to be learned from the Panama Papers as well, but that’s for another blog.) And it’s not just Mossack Fonseca that’s struggled with cybersecurity; just recently, Cravath confirmed it had been hacked, while the FBI warned firms in Chicago that they were being targeted....

A new proposal to amend the ABA rules of Professional Conduct is on the table. Its aim is to address workplace discrimination. Not that you weren’t being careful about what you said in the workplace before, but the proposed amendment will perhaps coax you into thinking twice before you make that off-color joke at the office’s next in-office party. Rule 8.4 Currently, Rule 8.4 of the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct makes discrimination and bias in the “course of representing a client” a form of “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice....

How in the world is AlphaBay’s public relations man going to spin this? Ronald L. Wheeler III, the PR man for the online drug dealer, has been indicted on charges of “conspiracy to commit access device fraud.” This man doesn’t need a PR person; he needs a lawyer. If only he had one before he got involved with AlphaBay. Hanged in His Cell Federal officials took down the dark web dealer in July and confirmed the death of Alexandre Cazes, the alleged mastermind of the business....

In an appeal arising from an underlying action brought by a nurse practitioner claiming that defendant-sheriff barred plaintiff from a County House of Correction (HOC) for informing the FBI of alleged prisoner abuse at the HOC, denial of defendants’ motions for a new trial and for remittur is affirmed where: 1) there is nothing in the record indicating that the district court abused its discretion in making its pre-trial evidentiary and disclosure rulings; 2) district court’s dismissal of defendants’ action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) was proper as there was nothing in the record indicating that agency’s denial of the defendants’ Touhy requests was arbitrary and capricious; 3) the evidence was sufficient to establish that the sheriff engaged in the callous and reckless conduct necessary to support an award of punitive damages; and 4) the award of punitive damages of $250,000 against sheriff was not excessive....

The legal industry isn’t winning many awards for diversity. The industry as a whole is severely lacking in racial diversity and gender parity, for example, while there are long-running and well-documented disparities in criminal outcomes across racial lines. What’s worse, those disparities are growing. The racial gap in sentencing has expanded between 2005 and 2013, according to federal reports. But some think that technology might be able to solve, or at least mitigate, some of the legal practice’s most stubborn biases....

For many companies considering the use of blockchain technology, one potential drawback is the whole “public-ledger” part. And while some blockchain tech being developed today does not rely on a fully public ledge, often the ledger is still shared, or can be accessed by others. The problem with a public ledger is that, often, a business’s transaction ledger contains private, and/or trade secret, information, like customer/client lists and more. That means that using a blockchain that is shared by outsiders to record transactions, and other data, could leave a company’s private info exposed....

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that lobbyists have no place in North Carolina state elections. Sarah Preston, a North Carolina registered lobbyist, sued in 2008 to challenge North Carolina’s Campaign Contributions Prohibition, claiming that the law violated her freedom of association and free speech rights. In an opinion issued Monday, the Fourth Circuit upheld the statute, which prohibits lobbyists from contributing to the campaign of any candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly or the Council of State....

Is your corporate board a “weak link” in your company’s information security system? Unfortunately, it might be. Unlike other high-level executives, board members often function outside the brick and mortar company office. As a result, confidential information is often left on unsecured devices or email accounts on their personal computers. In fact, a vast majority of companies are vulnerable to security issues according to a recent survey by Thomson Reuters Governance, Risk & Compliance....

In order to support a petition for asylum, it’s important to prove persecution or likelihood of future persecution. Without a showing of either of these two, a case for asylum becomes very difficult. The First Circuit Court of Appeals looked at such a case last week. A Guatemalan native petitioned for review of her removal order, saying that the immigration courts erred when they denied her petition for asylum. Let’s have a look at her underlying asylum claim....

This week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a former New Orleans police officer convicted of manslaughter for a post-Katrina shooting suffered specific and compelling prejudice because a trial court refused to sever his case from two co-defendants’ cases, The Times-Picayune reports. The appellate court vacated his conviction and granted a new trial in the matter. David Warren was a rookie patrol officer with the NOPD during Hurricane Katrina....

How do you set yourself and your firm apart from others? Your skill and expertise, yes. Your reputation as a trusted adviser, of course. But how is a potential client supposed to pick you out from all the other skilled, trusted attorneys? Your brand. We know, you aren’t selling cereal, electronics, or home goods. But a brand is much more than just packaging logos and commercial jingles. A full brand strategy is an essential marketing tool, especially for law firms, as shown in FindLaw’s newest white paper, “Marginalizing Your Most Valuable Asset: What Attorneys Don’t Understand About Brands....

Diesel exhaust is bad for you. Allegedly. If you hadn’t already guessed that based on the fact that diesel exhaust is a smelly cloud – and smelly clouds are generally hard on the lungs – then you should thank the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for green-lighting the release of a study (20 years in the making) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)....

Things just got a little brighter for lawyers in the Sunshine state. FindLaw now has the best, easiest to use Florida statutes around. Need to check out Florida incorporation laws? Here you go. Want to see if you need a license before selling that yacht? FindLaw’s got you covered. Curious about Florida alligator laws? We’ve got that too. Best of all, it’s all fast, easy, and free. FindLaw’s new Florida Statutes and Constitution section is made possible through our partnership with Thomson Reuters Westlaw, FindLaw’s sister company....

As if Hillary Clinton needed more trouble stemming from her time as secretary of state, The New York Times reports that she used a personal email account “exclusively” to conduct official State Department business. That’s potentially problematic, thanks to federal laws requiring retention of agency emails as official records. This raises the question: When do you use work email and when do you use personal email? And can it get you into any ethical hot water?...

Learning some new and effective ideas for online legal marketing can be as easy as logging on. On June 15, a free webcast will be presented by Florida attorney Howard Weitzner, from the Miami firm of Greenberg & Stone, and FindLaw Senior Account Manager Stefani Link, who will speak about law firm marketing and how attorneys can use the power of the Internet to connect with new clients. Both speakers have broad experience which they will bring to their presentation....