What issues do people raise in a federal criminal appeal?
Amid the continued expansion of the right to evidence, the court reversed its previous position that evidence obtained through unfair methods was inadmissible. When asked to re-examine the relationship between the right...more
In United States v. Eldridge, the Second Circuit (Chin, Sullivan, Nardini) affirmed the convictions of a group of co-defendants who were indicted on a litany of charges, many of which related to the attempted robbery of a...more
This newsletter reviews five notable court holdings over the last semester. Moral harassment: the employer's investigation is valid even if all victims have not been interviewed (Cass, Soc., 8 January 2020, n°18-20.151) ...more
In United States v. Peeples, the Second Circuit (Walker, Cabranes and Sack) affirmed the conviction of Joseph W. Peeples, III in the Western District of New York on bank robbery charges. Peeples argued that the district...more
The Court of Appeal has confirmed in Bank St Petersburg PJSC v Vitaly Arkhangelsky that the correct standard of proof where issues of dishonesty arise is not a ‘heightened’ civil standard, but the balance of probabilities....more
In Demko v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31102 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2019), the Ninth Circuit affirmed Unum Life's determination that a Hollywood executive diagnosed with fibromyalgia was not disabled from...more
Often, trial lawyers minimize the importance of a timely evidentiary objection. Trial lawyers think that appellate courts review evidentiary objections under a deferential “abuse of discretion” standard and that one single...more
We have previously explained the importance of appealing every aspect of a trial court's order granted on multiple, independent grounds. The Eleventh Circuit recently reminded us of that, but also that in opposing motions at...more
Lin v. Everyday Beauty is an Eastern District of New York decision addressing an issue that has divided district courts in the Second Circuit and elsewhere: Whether a federal court may consider inadmissible evidence when...more
In United States v. Djibo, the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a judgment of conviction entered in the Eastern District of New York (Johnson, J.) following the defendant’s trial on charges arising from an international...more
In United States v. Scully, 16-3073-cr (Pooler, Lynch, Cogan[1]), the Second Circuit vacated the defendant’s conviction for various offenses, including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, the sale of...more
United States v. Gill, No. 15-4444-cr(L) (Livingston, Chin, Carney), a decision in a drug trafficking and murder conspiracy appeal, offers several interesting rulings on evidentiary and trial practice issues that arose out of...more
In United States v. Brown, 16-3468-cr (Leval, Hall, Chin) the Second Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part via summary order a ruling excluding evidence related to a firearm that had not been identified in the...more
Many parties in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board) struggle with the handling of evidentiary issues. This struggle is heightened when expert evidence is the focus. In Tietex International, Ltd. v. Precision...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In two recent cases, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously expanded state law to protect individuals going through a divorce from discrimination, and remanded another case to the trial court with...more
In January of 2016, this blog commented on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the seminal case of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Green. There, the Court held that a prospective plaintiff must move for leave to...more
Chances are over the last several days you’ve heard presidential-hopeful Donald J. Trump express his displeasure with a certain federal judge sitting on the bench in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of...more
Supreme Court Advance Release Opinions: SC19229 - Michael T. v. Commissioner of Correction - Normally I do not summarize criminal matters due to time constraints. Recently Justice McDonald noted that it was a shame...more
The raise-or-waive rule, arguably one of the most important rules of appellate practice, also is one of the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s most frequently invoked legal doctrines. In its last term, the Rhode Island Supreme...more
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit court of appeals issued a decision affirming Judge Robart’s RAND decision in the much watched Microsoft v. Motorola case, basically ruling that the determination of a reasonable and...more
Most practitioners would agree that, if the court excludes an expert based on a Daubert challenge—and that is the only expert opining on a subject—then in most instances there should be no need to proffer the expert’s...more
When the court makes an evidentiary ruling off the record, it is required to enter on the record an explanation of the reasoning behind its decision. See, e.g., United States v. Nolan, 910 F.2d 1553, 1559 (7th Cir. 1990); 28...more
Search Am., Inc. v. TransUnion Intelligence, LLC - In an recent covered business method (CBM) patent review proceeding, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denied the parties’...more
The Fifth Circuit’s decision in Blessey v. Marine Services, Inc., --- F.3d ---, 2014 WL 5837059 (5th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014), highlights two different ways that adverse pretrial rulings can wind up unreviewable. ...more
SSL Services, LLC v. Citrix - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in an opinion that broached issues of claim construction, non-infringement, willful infringement, invalidity, the legal implications of a...more