New rule on right to counsel retroactive 
Published: November 1, 2011
Tags: deportation, immigration, ineffective assistance of counsel, Padilla v. Kentucky, Sixth Amendment
A defendant who pleaded guilty in 2006 could have his conviction overturned because his lawyer failed to advise him of the deportation consequences of his plea, Maryland’s highest court has ruled in reinstating an order granting a new trial.
Developers can be sued for risky home sales
Published: September 23, 2011
Tags: foreclosures, fraud, misrepresentation, real property
Developers could be sued for allegedly injuring homeowners by causing a drop in property values through sales to individuals with a high risk of foreclosure, the 9th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
Ship cabin subject to suspicionless search
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: June 2, 2010
Tags: Fourth Amendment, search and seizure
Federal customs agents didn’t need reasonable suspicion to search a crew member’s cabin on a foreign cargo vessel, the 11th Circuit has ruled in affirming a child pornography conviction.
Med-mal damages cap violates state constitution
By:
Nora Tooher
Published: February 8, 2010
Tags: medical malpractice, non-economic damages, separation of powers
A cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases violates the state constitution, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled.
Use of state highways constitutes consent to personal jurisdiction
By:
Lawyers Weekly Staff
Published: January 28, 2008
A company’s use of state highways constituted consent to being sued in that state for a tort committed in another state, even though it never owned property or maintained a business office where it was sued, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled in denying a motion to dismiss.
Illegal immigrant entitled to workers' compensation
By:
Lawyers Weekly Staff
Published: January 28, 2008
Federal immigration law does not preclude an illegal immigrant from qualifying for benefits under state workers’ compensation law, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled.
The employee was a Mexican national who suffered a detached retina in his right eye while working for his employer. A workers’ compensation panel found
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Homeowner's estate not liable for hidden hazard
By:
Lawyers Weekly Staff
Published: January 28, 2008
A property owner’s estate cannot be held liable in negligence for a dangerous condition at his family residence that caused an accident after his death, even though he knew of the condition before his death, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals has ruled.
While attending a barbecue hosted by the homeowner’s
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Stop based on 911 tip was unconstitutional
By:
Lawyers Weekly Staff
Published: January 28, 2008
Police who stopped a driver based on an anonymous 911 call violated the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights, the 4th Circuit has ruled in reversing a U.S. District Court.
The caller saw what she assumed was a drug deal, and followed the car for a period of time,
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Blood sample needn't be suppressed
By:
Lawyers Weekly Staff
Published: January 28, 2008
Although a nurse may have violated Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act rules by providing blood sample results to the police, the evidence needn’t be suppressed because the police aren’t subject to HIPAA, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.
The defendant ran a red light and her car was
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Identity theft victim gets $150K for her distress
By:
Lawyers Weekly Staff
Published: January 28, 2008
The emotional distress caused by a credit reporting agency’s failure to promptly correct data in the credit report of a victim of identity theft warranted a $150,000 award for emotional distress under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the 4th Circuit has ruled.
While in the hospital giving birth, a woman
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