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
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. 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
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
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
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
Before you file or respond to a motion for summary judgment, consider the following guidance from three recent Rhode Island Supreme Court decisions. 1. TO SURVIVE SUMMARY JUDGMENT, A NON-MOVING PARTY MUST COME FORWARD...more
In Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, No. 13-603, --- F.3d ----, 2013 WL 5200399 (10th Cir. Sept. 17, 2013) (Hartz, J., dissenting), the 10th Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc of a petition to...more
Direct evidence of a matter at issue will not always be available; consequently, civil litigants may sometimes establish facts effectively and conclusively with circumstantial evidence. Nielsen v. City of Sarasota, 117 So. 2d...more
Trial courts make evidentiary rulings both before and during trial, and trial lawyers should be alert to the opportunity to request the court to revisit its earlier rulings during the course of trial. See Persaud v. State,...more
Under Florida’s Evidence Code, “[i]f a court has made a definitive ruling on the record admitting or excluding evidence, either at or before trial, a party need not renew an objection or make an offer of proof to preserve a...more