With Warrants, Good Faith Worth More Than Legality: DC Circ.

By Nadia Dreid

It doesn't matter if the warrant that a D.C. magistrate judge issued to pinpoint the location of a man who was later convicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges was legal because law enforcement thought that it was, the D.C. Circuit has ruled.

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5th Circ. Upholds Gun Charge, Approves Plate Reader Use

By Elizabeth Daley

A wanted man who was charged with illegal possession of a machine gun after Mississippi police tracked his vehicle with the help of a license plate reader cannot argue that locating him using the technology violated his privacy, a panel of the Fifth Circuit has ruled, denying his constitutional challenge.

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NY Court Affirms Gas Hacker's Conviction In Fatal NYC Blast

By Elizabeth Daley

An unlicensed plumber sentenced to up to 12 years in prison for causing a 2015 gas explosion that killed two people, injured 13 and destroyed several buildings on New York City's Lower East Side cannot escape his sentence, a New York state appeals court has ruled unanimously.

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Ex-Cop, Examiner Fight Brothers' Wrongful Conviction Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge heard arguments Wednesday regarding whether two brothers' lawsuit over their wrongful conviction for murder should head to a jury, with the plaintiffs and a former law enforcement officer and an ex-polygraph examiner debating if the decision to prosecute the brothers actually hinged on a witness's polygraph test that was later found to be erroneous.

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10th Circ. Questions Police Immunity In Colo. Taser Death

By Zach Dupont

A Tenth Circuit panel Wednesday probed attorneys representing a group of Colorado Springs, Colorado, police officers and the estate of a man the officers killed during an attempted arrest about whether the officers' actions left them without qualified immunity on several claims. 

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Split 2nd Circ.: NY Officials Belong In Inmate Mental Health Suit

By Parker Quinlan

A split Second Circuit has revived a man's lawsuit alleging state prison officials unconstitutionally placed him in solitary confinement, worsening his mental health condition and ultimately causing him to stab his mother to death after his release.

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Ga. High Court Revives New Trial Bid Over Juror Citizenship

By Parker Quinlan

The Georgia Supreme Court has reinstated a murder defendant's bid for a new trial on grounds that a juror in his first trial was not a U.S. citizen and was ineligible to serve, holding that he was not required to object at trial to the juror's citizenship in order to preserve the claim for appeal.

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Doctor Gets 6½ Years For Healthcare Fraud, Tax Evasion

By Asha Glover

An Anchorage, Alaska, physician was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for committing over $16 million in healthcare fraud and tax evasion as part of a scheme that injected sick patients with the wrong medications or dosages, the federal government said Wednesday. 

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Analysis

Texas Biz Court's Likely Role In Patent Fights Becoming Clear

By Dani Kass

The Texas Business Court has released its first opinion exploring when intellectual property can be used to create jurisdiction, and attorneys say the decision involving state trade secret law offers insight into when patent matters can be pursued there.

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Conn. Justices Won't Hear Ex-Alex Jones Atty's Ethics Case

By Andrea Keckley

The Connecticut Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to the two-week suspension of Alex Jones' former lawyer, leaving intact an intermediate Appellate Court decision affirming the pared-down punishment surrounding his law firm's handling of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims' personal information.

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Calif. Bills Would Reform Litigation Funding, Client Recruiting

By Emily Sawicki

Two new bills introduced to the California Assembly this week seek to impose reforms on the state's legal industry, including adding mandatory disbarment for attorneys convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — and blocking corporate litigation funders from influencing cases.

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Senator Unveils Draft AI Bill Intended To Wipe Out State Regs

By Hailey Konnath

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday released a draft of proposed legislation that would override a "patchwork" of state artificial intelligence regulations, touting the proposal as protecting "children, creators, conservatives and communities" and slamming the state regulations as hindering "AI innovation."

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Biotech Investor Blames Pierce Atwood For Messy Asset Sale

By Julie Manganis

A Ukrainian billionaire who was recently ordered to pay other investors in a failed genetic testing company more than $1.8 million in damages is blaming the Pierce Atwood LLP lawyers who advised him on what a court later found to be a "fundamentally unfair" forced asset sale.

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Powell Says He Won't Make Fed Exit While Facing DOJ Probe

By Jon Hill

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he will stay on as a board member of the central bank if he remains under U.S. Department of Justice investigation when his term as Fed chairman runs out this spring.

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