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Neves v. Holder, 07-1091, concerned a Brazilian citizen’s petition for review of the BIA’s denial of his second motion to reopen proceedings, on remand from the Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of Kucana v. Holder. In denying the petition, the court held that jurisdiction exists to review the BIA’s decision to deny equitable tolling of the time and number limitations governing petitioner’s second motion to reopen but not to review the BIA’s refusal to exercise its sua sponte authority to reopen....

With the new year comes a renewed focus on criminal prosecutions for violations of worker safety laws. In mid-December, the Departments of Justice and Labor released a new memorandum of understanding that should lead to increased prosecutions in 2016. The move came shortly after the criminal conviction of Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship following the death of 29 miners and indicates that the federal government will double down on such prosecutions in the future....

We’re usually used to seeing proper names when reading the names of the parties in a case. You know, cases like “Roe v Wade,” “Bush v. Gore”. But here’s a money laundering case out of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals with such a delightful name that it merited a blog post. Today, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on a case titled United States v. $79,650.00 Seized From Bank....

It’s time for classes! Or, if you’re a bit older, maybe it’s time to upgrade your aging laptop. But there are so many things to consider, besides price: touchscreen, solid state drives, RAM, processor, weight, battery life, screen size, operating system, and build quality – where do you begin? Not to worry. Here are five tips and picks to simplify things greatly: 1. Mac or Windows? It Probably Doesn’t Matter. Ten years ago, this was a question....

Much as boys will be boys, gangs will be gangs. The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied a former El Salvadoran police officer’s asylum appeal after finding that the petitioner failed to prove that gangs in his home country persecuted him on account of a protected ground under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The case serves as a reminder that, “greed – not social group membership – is the apparent trigger” for much gang violence....

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the Internet. People who go online likely consider the risks involved with using the Internet. People who contemplate extra-martial affairs probably consider the risks of those activities, too. And, people who go online to seek out extra-marital affairs likely are mindful of the compounded risks of such endeavors. But do they envision that online adulterous activities could lead to a type of cyber warfare?...

When it comes to seasons greetings, ecards are the cheapest – and that’s the problem. Not that you have to spend money on cards, but colleagues and clients expect a little more than a digital signature. Especially when you bill $300 an hour. So here’s an idea from the budget bin: seasonal business cards! When you can custom order a bunch for 20 bucks or less, why didn’t you think of that?...

For a solo attorney or small firm, a shared office space can provide the benefits of a larger practice, without the cost of setting up shop all on your own. A nice conference room and some shared staff can really beat working off a laptop in your kitchen. But off course, with any benefit, there are also risks. Office sharing can also impose unique liability risks for attorneys, something any office sharer should be aware of before their shared office becomes a shared liability....

Do the people that surround you and the organizations you choose to affiliate with define you as a person? It certainly can seem that way. But the real question for attorneys and judges is: do they affect your sense of judgment? And, does your membership give organizations that support questionable causes a sense of credibility you do not wish to give? The Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville is one such example....

It’s been a slow march of regress, in terms of privacy protections, for Google users. The company that once revolutionized email, provided free (and excellent) turn-by-turn navigation on our smartphones, and became the industry leader in about a dozen other areas, has slowly chipped away at privacy, much to the chagrin of users everywhere. But can we really quit Google? From our smartphones to our browsers, to our gadgets, and even our email, Google is everywhere....

Dozens of parents – including famous actors, corporate executives, and a big firm attorney – were indicted for defrauding college admissions. The federal indictment names 33 parents, as well as top college coaches and administrators, in a $25 million bribery scheme to get students into major schools. They include Yale, Stanford, Wake Forest, Georgetown, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Los Angeles....

Unless you’ve been in the mountains of Tora Bora all week, you’ve probably heard that Apple is releasing a new iPhone. By now, the phone has already been made available for pre-order. This one will be shinier, faster (and strangely, larger in size). “Well,” you say, “I don’t need a new phone. Mine is working just fine.” Is it? Are you sure? Even if you’re not interested in upgrading right now, there are some other things you might want to take into account before you count yourself out....

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will, undoubtedly, be getting ready to hear the appeal of travel ban 3.0 which was just temporarily blocked by the federal district court in Hawaii. Notably, Judge Derrick Watson, the same judge that blocked travel ban 2.0, issued the order in this case as well. Unlike the prior bans, the newest iteration of the executive order imposed a permanent ban on immigration and visitors from six Muslim majority nations, as well as North Korea and Venezuela....

In federal government’s attempt to commit a defendant under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, district court’s holding that the government failed to make the necessary showing is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) district court’s determination that the statute is not facially unconstitutional is affirmed; and 2) the district court erred in holding that the government failed to establish that defendant met the mental condition element....

“Judicial economy” is a hard-sell to some clients. They don’t really care about the judge’s workload or the time it takes to prepare, oppose, or argue a motion. They want results, and they want it now. If you change the expression to “client economy,” however, it gets a little easier to explain. Sometimes it makes economic sense not to go to court. Don’t Argue, Amend In a high profile case, it might be a little harder to explain because the press is there....

Dot com. It’s been the most popular top-level domain since the advent of the Internet. Other TLDs, like .net, .org, and country-specific variants like .au, have come along, but none have reached the heights of .com. But there’s been a trend lately. Have you noticed the flood of startups with weird names, like Bit.ly, Write.ly, Twitter’s shorter version (t.co), Overstock.com’s O.co, which has become its own brand, Last.fm, and Tuition.io? Most of these are country-specific TLDs that have been repurposed (....

Hogwash! Ask your associates questions? Surely, you must be joking. What would you ever want to ask an associate, besides, “Is my coffee ready yet?” or “You call this research?” Associates are to be seen, and not heard! If you think like that, quite frankly, you are a miserable failure as a leader. Sure, associates know far less than you, the almighty real-life Denny Crane, but if you’ve hired the right associate, that person can act as a sounding board, an alternative point of view, and hopefully, a revenue stream in training....

A Baltimore abortion law requiring faith-based pregnancy centers to post notices saying that they don’t offer abortion referrals is facing heat in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Pro-life supporters are amassing support for the U.S. District Court decision, which ruled the law unconstitutional last January reports The Washington Times. Earlier this month, a District of Columbia based anti-abortion group filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the hopes of being allowed to submit an amicus curiae brief in the case....

Free speech? Or professional conduct regulation? The Florida law at issue prohibits doctors from asking a patient about his or her guns, unless gun ownership is relevant to the patient’s medical care. A violation can lead to a suspended or revoked license to practice medicine, along with a fine of up to $10,000. The doctors sued, claiming that it violated their First Amendment rights. But the Eleventh Circuit panel’s majority disagreed, calling a permissible regulation of professional conduct....

US v. Shelby, No. 10-20148, involved the government’s motion to dismiss defendant’s appeal from the denial of his motion to dismiss, on double jeopardy grounds, a superseding indictment for insider trading and related charges. The court of appeals granted the motion, holding that 1) even if the district court and the court of appeals did not adhere, in a companion case, to the “points in controversy” test that defendant urged, there was no basis to conclude that the companion case created an intervening change or “correction” in the applicable law; and 2) the district court’s and the court of appeals’ conclusions as to certain Summer 2000 acquitted counts did not depend on any reference to certain Early 2000 hung counts....