Lawyers USA Your Business Partner

Supreme Court tackles Arizona immigration law 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: April 25, 2012

Tags: Arizona, immigration law, Obama administration, preemption, SB 1070, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – The last oral argument of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term was an explosive one, as the justices considered whether SB 1070, the controversial Arizona immigration statute, is preempted by federal law.

HABEAS CORPUS 

Published: April 24, 2012

Tags: habeas corpus, Supreme Court

Courts of appeals, like district courts, have the authority, although not the obligation, to raise a forfeited timeliness defense on their own initiative in exceptional cases.

U.S. Supreme Court. Wood v. Milyard, No. 10-9995. April 24, 2012. Lawyers USA No. 993-3749.

Justices tackle credit-bidding in bankruptcy ‘cramdown’ plan 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: April 23, 2012

Tags: Bankruptcy, Chapter 11, credit bid, secured creditor, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court took up a complicated bankruptcy case Monday, parsing the language of the Bankruptcy Code to determine if a Chapter 11 debtor must give a secured creditor the right to credit bid items being sold at auction.

PATENT LAW 

Published: April 17, 2012

Tags: patent, Supreme Court

A generic drug manufacturer may employ the counterclaim provision of the Hatch-Waxman Act to force correction of a use code that inaccurately describes the brand’s patent as covering a particular method of using a drug.

U.S. Supreme Court. Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/S, No. 10-844. April
» Continue Reading.

Supreme Court considers cocaine sentencing law 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: April 17, 2012

Tags: crack cocaine, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, sentencing disparity, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity between defendants convicted of crack cocaine-related crimes and those convicted of crimes involving the powder version of the drug.

But the law left open the question of whether the new rule applied to defendants who were sentenced after its enactment, but for crimes that were committed before the law was in place.

Private lawyer is immune from suit under §1983 

Published: April 17, 2012

Tags: qualified immunity, sick leave, Supreme Court, §1983

A private lawyer can claim qualified immunity from a suit under §1983 over his actions in representing a public employer in an internal affairs investigation, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision.

Supreme Court ponders if drug reps can get overtime 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: April 16, 2012

Tags: Employment Law, fair labor standards act, Labor Department, overtime pay, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tackled the question of whether pharmaceutical representatives who educate, entertain and pitch their products to doctors are salespeople, a decision that will determine whether they are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

COPYRIGHT 

Published: April 16, 2012

Tags: copyright, Supreme Court

Can a foreign-made work ever be resold within the United States without the copyright owner’s permission?

U.S. Supreme Court. Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, No. 11-697. Certiorari granted April 16, 2012. Ruling below: 654 F.3d 210 (2d Cir. 2011).

Holder: Courts can strike federal laws, but must presume validity 

Published: April 5, 2012

Tags: 5th Circuit, Eric Holder, health care challenge, President Obama, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – In a memorandum to a panel of federal judges hearing a challenge to the federal health care law, Attorney General Eric Holder backed comments made earlier in the week by President Barack Obama that courts ought to tread lightly when considering challenges to laws passed by Congress.

Justices to decide if marijuana crime justifies deportation 

Published: April 2, 2012

Tags: aggravated felony, Controlled Substances Act, deportation, immigration, Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether an alien’s state-law conviction for possessing marijuana with intent to distribute constitutes an “aggravated felony” justifying deportation, even though the record of conviction does not show that the underlying conduct would constitute a felony under federal law.