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Criminal Practice
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October 01, 2025
Fed. Bill Would Let Judges Be Sued Over Repeat Offenders
A federal lawmaker from North Carolina has proposed a bill to create a pathway for crime victims and their families to sue judges found to have acted with "intentional disregard for public safety" by releasing individuals convicted of violent crime who go on to re-offend.
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October 01, 2025
Ex-School GC Beats Charge Of Violating Grand Jury Secrecy
A split Florida state appellate panel on Wednesday called for tossing an indictment against a former school district general counsel for violating the secrecy of a grand jury related to a 2018 mass shooting, finding that the statewide grand jury that charged her did not have the authority to do so.
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October 01, 2025
Ga. Atty DQ'd From 'Extremely Weird' Pharma Fraud Case
A Georgia federal judge said Wednesday she intends to disqualify a prominent defense attorney from representing a man charged with lying to investigators amid a criminal fraud probe into his employer, Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals Inc., but would allow the company to continue footing his legal bills as he seeks new counsel.
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September 30, 2025
Combs Loses Bid To Escape Prostitution-Related Conviction
A New York federal judge on Tuesday denied Sean "Diddy" Combs' request to undo his criminal conviction for transporting two of his former girlfriends for prostitution, allowing sentencing for the hip-hop mogul to move forward on Friday.
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September 30, 2025
Nevada US Atty 'Not Validly Serving,' Judge Says In DQ Order
Nevada's top federal prosecutor was disqualified from overseeing a handful of criminal cases after a federal judge on Tuesday determined she is "not validly serving as acting U.S. attorney" and that her involvement in the cases "would be unlawful."
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September 30, 2025
DOJ Sues LA Sheriff's Department Over Delayed Gun Permits
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday accused the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department of infringing Californians' Second Amendment rights, days after the DOJ announced a new office focused on affirmative litigation against local governments and private entities that interfere with federal policies.
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September 30, 2025
'Unseemly': Judge Blasts Feds' 'End Run Around' Grand Jury
A Washington, D.C., federal judge has refused to accept an indictment after learning that prosecutors used a local grand jury to get a do-over when the initial federal grand jury declined to indict, saying he "will not rubberstamp the breaking of decades-long norms and the rule of law."
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September 30, 2025
No New Trial For Donna Adelson In Murder Of Law Professor
Donna Adelson, who was convicted of killing her former son-in-law, law professor Dan Markel, in a murder-for-hire plot, cannot have a new trial or interview a juror who made a TikTok post, a Florida state judge has ruled, refusing to disturb the verdict.
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September 30, 2025
10th Circ. Says Robbery Wasn't 'Violent,' Nixing Gun Sentence
A split Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday vacated a 20-year prison sentence for an Oklahoma man who was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after police searched him during a robbery investigation at his own home.
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September 30, 2025
Ohio Court Tosses Trespass Charge Over Speedy Trial Error
An Ohio state appeals court has tossed a man's misdemeanor trespassing charge after finding that he was denied a speedy trial when a prosecutor and judge incorrectly calculated the start of the 45-day window for when his trial was legally required to occur.
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September 30, 2025
7th Circ. Urges Litigants To Exercise Caution In Using AI
A Seventh Circuit panel ended an inmate's appeal of his life sentence, noting in an unpublished opinion filed Tuesday that his lawyer found no real legal issues worth raising, while warning the parties not to rely blindly on generative AI when writing court papers, as it can lead to serious mistakes.
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September 30, 2025
Court Must Address Bad Lawyering In Case Of Assaulted Cop
A man who was sentenced to up to five years in prison for assaulting a police officer should have had his ineffective-counsel arguments addressed, the Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled, vacating the denial of his request for a new trial.
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September 30, 2025
Undercover Cop's Nonwhite 'Bitmoji' May Be Bias, Court Says
A Massachusetts police department's use of a nonwhite "bitmoji" avatar while conducting gang surveillance on Snapchat could reasonably be viewed as selective enforcement, the state's high court said on Tuesday, in a case being watched by a coalition of criminal justice, civil liberties and privacy advocates.
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September 29, 2025
Colo. High Court Upholds Habitual Criminal Sentencing Law
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state's habitual sentencing statute, which allows more severe penalties for repeat offenders, complies with 2024 U.S. high court precedent as long as a jury, not a judge, looks at the defendant's criminal history.
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September 29, 2025
NJ Court Backs Sentence Enhancement For Domestic Abuse
A New Jersey appeals court panel on Monday ruled in a matter of first impression that applying a sentencing enhancement for repeat domestic violence offenders is not "double counting" the latest offense, rebuffing a man's attempt to reduce his sentence for assaulting his girlfriend.
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September 29, 2025
Chancery Urged To Keep Alive Ukrainian Oligarch Suit
An attorney for an investor seeking to recover $58.5 million allegedly lost to individuals and entities entangled in decades-old fraud-related allegations involving two Ukrainian oligarchs and others urged a Delaware vice chancellor Monday to reject claims that time ran out for the case years ago.
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September 29, 2025
First Step Act Isn't All Retroactive, Gov't Tells High Court
The federal government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to find that Congress never intended certain sentencing reduction provisions within the 2018 First Step Act to be applied retroactively, and to resolve a 6-4 circuit split.
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September 29, 2025
10th Circ. Backs DOJ's Prosecution Of Okla. Cannabis Atty
The Tenth Circuit has decided that the federal prosecution of an Oklahoma attorney accused of helping clients bypass the state's medical marijuana laws could proceed despite a federal policy that bars the U.S. Department of Justice from using funds to target state legal medical cannabis activity.
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September 29, 2025
Court Affirms Philly Policy Against Minor Traffic Stops
A divided Pennsylvania appeals court upheld a local ordinance and executive order issued by the Philadelphia mayor ordering police in the city not to enforce minor traffic violations, ruling that the orders are not preempted by the state's vehicle code.
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September 29, 2025
FOIA Suit Targets FBI Over Customs Agent's 1986 Death
Two researchers are asking an Arizona federal court to order the FBI to release records related to the 1986 death of an Indigenous U.S. Customs Service agent, alleging the agency withheld information that will shed light on the circumstances surrounding the unsolved case.
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September 29, 2025
Ex-US Atty To Bring 'Formidable' Defense To Comey Charges
Faced with a blockbuster indictment alleging he lied to Congress, former FBI Director James Comey has turned to his longtime friend and famous tough-on-corruption ex-prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to fight the charges.
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September 26, 2025
Ex-Wall Street Financier, Assistant Charged With Sex Trafficking
Retired financier Howard Rubin and his longtime assistant were charged with sex trafficking Friday in New York federal court, where prosecutors say Rubin lured women to his New York City penthouse "dungeon" where he assaulted them.
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September 26, 2025
9th Circ. Nixes Murder Restitution Over Spousal Interest
The federal government cannot seize as restitution a retirement account belonging to a man sentenced to life in prison for murdering two of his U.S. Coast Guard colleagues at an Alaska maintenance facility in 2012 because his wife has an interest in the account, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Friday.
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September 26, 2025
Citizens Lack Standing To Force Election Probe, Per Ga. Panel
The Georgia Court of Appeals said Friday that a trial court rightly scuttled a suit trying to force the appointment of a special prosecutor to probe a state official suspected of involvement in Georgia's election interference case, but the lower court failed to take the necessary step to dismiss the case outright.
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September 26, 2025
Agents Seek Stay In Fatal Ariz. Shooting Amid 9th Circ. Appeal
The federal government and three U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents are asking an Arizona federal court to pause a lawsuit alleging the agents wrongfully shot and killed a Tohono O'odham Nation man until the Ninth Circuit weighs in on whether they are immune from the claims.
Expert Analysis
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Reel Justice: 'Eddington' Spotlights Social Media Evidence
In the neo-Western black comedy 鈥淓ddington鈥 released last month, social media is a character unto itself, highlighting how the boundaries between digital and real-world conduct can become blurred, thereby posing evidentiary challenges in criminal prosecutions, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University School of Law.
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Rebuttal
BigLaw Settlements Should Not Spur Ethics Deregulation
A recent Law360 op-ed argued that loosening law firm funding restrictions would make BigLaw firms less inclined to settle with the Trump administration, but deregulating legal financing ethics may well prove to be not merely ineffective, but counterproductive, says Laurel Kilgour at the American Economic Liberties Project.
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5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust
Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public鈥檚 increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.
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How To Successfully Challenge Jurors For Cause In 5 Steps
To effectively challenge a potential juror for cause, attorneys should follow a multistep framework rather than skipping straight to the final qualification question, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Series
Hiking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
On the trail, I have thought often about the parallels between hiking and high-stakes patent litigation, and why strategizing, preparation, perseverance and joy are important skills for success in both endeavors, says Barbara Fiacco at Foley Hoag.
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DC Circ. Ruling Augurs More Scrutiny Of Blanket Gag Orders
The D.C. Circuit鈥檚 recent ruling in In re: Sealed Case, finding that an omnibus nondisclosure order was too sweeping, should serve as a wake-up call to prosecutors and provide a road map for private parties to push back on overbroad secrecy demands, says Gregory Rosen at Rogers Joseph.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills
I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.
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What Justices Left Unsaid About The Federal Tort Claims Act
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Martin v. U.S. rejected the Eleventh Circuit's interpretation of the Federal Tort Claims Act in the case of a botched police raid 鈥 but left unresolved many questions about plaintiffs' ability to hold the government accountable for officers' misdeeds, says Scott Brooks at Levy Firestone.
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Opinion
Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test
Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners鈥 new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers鈥 competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.
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A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations
As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations 鈥 permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.
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Strategies For ICE Agent Misconduct Suits In The 11th Circ.
Attorneys have numerous pathways to pursue misconduct claims against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Eleventh Circuit, and they need not wait for the court to correct its misinterpretation of a Federal Tort Claims Act exception, says Lauren Bonds at the National Police Accountability Project.
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DOJ Consumer Branch's End Leaves FDA Litigation Questions
With the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Branch set to occur by Sept. 30, companies must carefully monitor how responsibility is reallocated for civil and criminal enforcement cases related to products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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Cos. Must Tailor Due Diligence As Trafficking Risks Increase
As legislators, prosecutors and plaintiffs attorneys increasingly focus on labor and sex trafficking throughout the U.S., companies must tailor their due diligence strategies to protect against forced labor trafficking risks in their supply chains, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Series
Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.
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Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review
Though the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 criminal law decisions in its recently concluded term proved underwhelming by many measures, their opinions revealed trends in how the justices approach criminal cases and offered reminders for practitioners, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.