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Appeals Posts
Prosecutor’s Tweets May Have Been Improper but Did Not Deprive Defendant of Fair Trial
Jan 11, 2014
Prosecutor’s Tweets May Have Been Improper but Did Not Deprive Defendant of Fair Trial
Last month, the Missouri Court of Appeals published its opinion holding that criminal defendant David Polk is not entitled to a new trial. Although the prosecutor may have acted improperly by posting trial updates via Twitter, there was no evidence that her updates swayed the jury to convict Polk. The court’s decision resolves a once-cold…
Federal Government Blocks International Online Gamblers, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Sue
Jan 3, 2014
Federal Government Blocks International Online Gamblers, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Sue
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes have filed suit against Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell after the Department Interior blocked their effort to offer real-money online gaming to international customers. The Tribes were prepared to launch Pokertribes.com after coming to a revenue-sharing agreement with the state of Oklahoma. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement,…
Court Dismisses Loss Recovery Case, in Big Win For Fantasy Sports Industry
Oct 9, 2013
Court Dismisses Loss Recovery Case, in Big Win For Fantasy Sports Industry
Today, in a closely watched case in Illinois, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought under the Illinois Loss Recovery Act (ILRA) against daily fantasy sports site FanDuel, Inc. and daily fantasy sports player Patrick Kaiser, finding that the plaintiff lacked subject matter jurisdiction to bring the suit. This is one of several lawsuits that…
Appeals Court: Forced Rectal Search of Suspect Violates Fourth Amendment Law
Oct 8, 2013
Appeals Court: Forced Rectal Search of Suspect Violates Fourth Amendment Law
In a recent opinion, the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit addressed whether it was constitutionally reasonable for police to use a doctor – in this case, a doctor “who is known to conduct unconsented intrusive procedures when suspects are presented by the police” – to forcibly recover drugs from a man’s rectum….
Did Florida Accidentally Outlaw All Smartphones?
Aug 8, 2013
Did Florida Accidentally Outlaw All Smartphones?
A lawsuit recently filed by Incredible Investments, LLC, owned by entrepreneur Consuelo Zapata, alleges that the language in a recently enacted Florida law that was intended to shut down Internet cafes and slot machines has actually outlawed all mobile devices that are capable of accessing the Internet. The complaint, which seeks to have the new…
Full Tilt Poker Remission Process for Players Expected to Begin ‘Shortly,’ and on Favorable Terms
Aug 2, 2013
Full Tilt Poker Remission Process for Players Expected to Begin ‘Shortly,’ and on Favorable Terms
More than two years after “Black Friday” – the day on which federal prosecutors shut down the U.S. operations of Full Tilt Poker and other major online poker providers and seized billions of dollars in assets – it appears that the final chapter in that enforcement action may soon be written. The Garden City Group,…
D.C. Circuit Clarifies Key Issue in Wake of High Court’s ‘Honest Services’ Decision
Jul 29, 2013
D.C. Circuit Clarifies Key Issue in Wake of High Court’s ‘Honest Services’ Decision
A recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision narrows the ability of the government to revisit uncharged crimes against a person whose plea has been vacated due to a change in the law. In 2007, Russell Caso had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343…
High Court Clarifies Rule on Plea Discussions in Federal Criminal Cases
Jul 10, 2013
High Court Clarifies Rule on Plea Discussions in Federal Criminal Cases
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held last month in United States v. Davila that a guilty plea does not need to be automatically vacated, regardless of whether there has been prejudice to the defendant, when a magistrate judge improperly advises a defendant to plead guilty. In 2009, Anthony Davila was charged with conspiracy…
BP Employee Gains Dismissal on Obstruction of Justice Charge
Jul 9, 2013
BP Employee Gains Dismissal on Obstruction of Justice Charge
When is a committee not a committee? When it is a subcommittee. More than just a punchline, this is one of the key facts that led a U.S. district judge recently to dismiss charges against an employee of British Petroleum arising from his statements made in response to inquiries from a Congressional subcommittee regarding the…
Andrew Auernheimer Appeals Hacking Conviction in This Internet Law Case
Jul 5, 2013
Andrew Auernheimer Appeals Hacking Conviction in This Internet Law Case
Earlier this week, attorneys for convicted computer hacker Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer filed their opening brief in their appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to have his conviction overturned. In 2010, Auernheimer’s co-defendant Daniel Spitler, who agreed to plead guilty in 2011, discovered a flaw in AT&T’s iPad user database, that…
