March, 2022

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Adnan Syed & the State File a Joint Petition for (Further) DNA Testing

EvidenceProf Blog

On Tuesday, Adnan Syed and the State of Maryland filed a Joint Petition for Post Conviction DNA Testing. So, what does this mean? Prior DNA Testing On March 29, 2018, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland (Maryland's intermediate appellate.

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House passes bill to give more rights to family members of federal homicide victims

JURIST

The Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act , a bipartisan bill that gives families of homicide victims in federal cases more rights, passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday with a vote of 406-20 and is now headed to the Senate for consideration. Under the bill, immediate family members of a homicide victim in a federal case are given the right to request a review of the case file if the murder was committed over three years ago, investigative leads have been exhausted, and a likely perpe

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Breaking the Bias: Strategies from Top Women Leaders in Legal Technology

Paralegal Brief Submitted Articles

To celebrate International Women's Day, we spoke to women leaders in legal technology about strategies for breaking bias, including increasing representation and striving towards greater equity.

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Court remains silent on Thomas’ condition after he entered the hospital last week

SCOTUSBlog

Share Five days after Justice Clarence Thomas was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., with “flu-like symptoms,” the Supreme Court is providing no updates on his condition. For the third consecutive day, the 73-year-old justice was not on the bench when the justices heard oral argument; the court’s only comment on Thomas’ status Wednesday came from Chief Justice John Roberts, who indicated that Thomas “was unable to be present” but would nonetheless participate in the consid

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Optimizing Contract Management and Enhancing Team Collaboration: Insights from a Legal Operations Perspective

Speaker: Adina Marta Newman

Learn about a world of effective contract management and seamless teamwork across departments in this upcoming webinar from Cobblestone Software. You'll discover practical strategies and tips that legal professionals can use to streamline contract processes and enhance collaboration, making significant impact across legal and corporate departments. Join us as we show how you can supercharge contract processes, improve team communication, and take your contributions to the next level.

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Why are Americans Shooting Each Other?

The Crime Report

The surge in violent crime in the U.S. underlines a “dark new form of American exceptionalism,” suggests New York Times columnist David Leonhardt. Leonhardt noted that over the past weekend alone, there were at least nine “mass shooting” events in which four or more people were impacted by gun violence. The largest event in terms of casualties was the shooting at a car show in Dumas, Ark., which left one dead and 27 injured in “collateral” damage from a gunfight involving two people.

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Further DNA Testing is Approved in the Adnan Syed Case

EvidenceProf Blog

Today, Judge Melissa M. Phinn granted the Joint Petition for Post Conviction DNA Testing in the Adnan Syed case. Here is the judge's order: So, let's break that down. First, the order requires the Baltimore Police to overnight the named.

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Ukraine President Zelensky signs decree creating unified national news source

JURIST

Citing martial law, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Sunday signed a decree combining all national tv channels into one platform in accordance with the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council’s decision to implement a “unified information policy.” Around-the-clock information will run on the consolidated platform called “United News.” The decree also provides that privately-owned media companies shall remain suspended.

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Rejections Prior to Issuance

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. I recently posted a chart showing that there is a significant difference in technology focus of patents tied to US-Inventors as compared with Non-US-inventors. The following chart looks at the file histories of U.S. patents and asks what percentage received a rejection prior to issuance (blue) and what percentage received a Section 101 rejection prior to issuance (issued patents 2015-2020).

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Courts bars Texas from executing inmate unless it allows pastor’s touch and audible pray

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a man on death row in Texas can have his pastor touch him and pray out loud while he is being executed. The decision in Ramirez v. Collier was the latest chapter in the nearly three-year-long dispute over the presence of spiritual advisers at executions, and the justices appeared to express some frustration that the case was before them at all.

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Visibility Into the Strategy & Supporting Documents of Major US Law Firms

Law Firm Intelligence by Trellis aggregates state trial court data across the Trellis platform enabling users to: look up a particular metric related to a specific law firm (such as, how many cases a law firm had or has against another law firm), and see the actual dockets and documents supporting the metric. Trellis data is maximized in a revolutionary and unique way to provide users an exclusive look into a law firm litigating in state trial courts.

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‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’: The Failure of Prison Oversight

The Crime Report

Our jails and pris­ons are closed insti­tu­tions, which makes it diffi­cult for those who don’t live or work there to have a true sense of what the condi­tions behind bars are like. Few visit­ors gain access to the nation’s correctional facilities, even though they house people for months, years, decades, and, some­times, entire life­times. As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his 2015 concur­rence to the Court’s opin­ion in Davis v.

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Just The Stats: Ketanji Brown Jackson As A District Court Judge

Above The Law

The cases Judge Jackson decided, the people involved, and how her decisions fared on appeal. . The post Just The Stats: Ketanji Brown Jackson As A District Court Judge appeared first on Above the Law.

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April Fool’s Day and the FCC’s Hoax Rule – Be Careful Out There

Broadcast Law Blog

As life slowly returns to something approaching normal after the last two years, radio stations may be inclined to go big on some April Fool’s Day stunt. But remember that not everyone may be in on the joke and a prank that may seem funny to some could trigger concerns with others. As we do every year about this time, we need to play our role as attorneys and ruin the fun by repeating our reminder that broadcasters need to be careful with any on-air pranks, jokes or other on-air bits prepared

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Thousands of anti-war protesters arrested in Russia

JURIST

OVD-Info, a Russian independent human rights group, reported Monday that around 5,000 anti-war protesters were arrested across 69 cities in Russia on Sunday. As of Tuesday, more than 5,292 people are detained by Russian authorities in 74 cities. OVD-Info is a Russian independent human rights media project. The group launched in 2011 in an effort to raise awareness of and fight political persecutions in Russia.

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Generative AI for Contracts Is Here: New Tools to Accelerate Drafting and Editing

The emergence of generative AI is reshaping the landscape of contract management, enabling businesses to generate and negotiate legal agreements with greater ease and speed. In this on-demand webinar, Hal Marcus, VP of Product Marketing at Evisort discusses how Evisort's generative AI transforms contract creation and negotiation, empowering legal teams to streamline processes while reducing risk.

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Welcome Judge Leonard Stark

Patently O

Congratulations and hearty welcome to Judge Leonard P. Stark who was sworn in today as #40. The 40th Judge appointed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The court is now back up to its full complement of 12 circuit court judges along with 7 judges on senior status. The court released a photo showing Chief Judge Kimberly Moore administering the oath of office.

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Justices reverse Wisconsin court ruling that increased majority-Black districts in state legislature

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that adopted a redistricting plan submitted by the state’s governor, Democrat Tony Evers, for seats in the state’s legislature. The state court’s plan would have increased the number of majority-Black districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly from six to seven, but the Supreme Court, in an unsigned decision, sided with the Republican-led legislature and ruled that the state court was mistaken in its use of rac

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Memo to Policymakers: Don’t Let Emotion Drive Crime Policy

The Crime Report

In November 2021, Gallup released a poll that examined Americans’ perceptions of crime rates. In it, ordinary people were given the opportunity to opine on whether crime was rising or falling in their locality and in the nation at large. The results rang clear: Americans believed crime was worse compared to the previous year. The poll also noted that Republicans drove the perception that crime was rising, particularly in small towns and rural areas.

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GA Cops Pay $1M For A Single Ounce Of Weed After Charging 64 People With Possessing It

Above The Law

Excellent use of taxpayer dollars. Well done, fellas. The post GA Cops Pay $1M For A Single Ounce Of Weed After Charging 64 People With Possessing It appeared first on Above the Law.

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You Deserve a Better Personal Injury Case Management Software

Paralegals are the nerve center that hold the entire Personal Injury practice together. You have an extremely diverse set of responsibilities, from legal research to drafting to administration tasks, and must communicate with all stakeholders (internal and external) at the practice. Paralegals need a robust system that can organize information, automate many mundane tasks, and save time every day.

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Brut, Sure Brand Deodorants Recalled Over Potential Benzene Contamination

LegalReader

If you use Brut or Sure brand deodorants, listen up. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recall for certain Brut and Sure deodorants. It turns out, the agency is concerned that the two deodorants may contain a cancer-causing chemical, specifically benzene. At the moment, four types of Brut deodorant and.

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US House passes bill to end mandatory arbitration in workplace disputes

JURIST

The US House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would prevent companies from enforcing agreements with employees and consumers requiring legal disputes to be settled in private arbitration, rather than in the courts. The bill passed in the House on a 222-209 vote, with all 221 Democrats voting in favor and all but one Republican voting against it.

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Federal Circuit asked to Decide whether US Patent Law Excludes Non-Human Inventors

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. Thaler v. Hirshfeld , App No. 21-02347 (Fed. Cir. 2022). Prof. Ryan Abbott continues to push Thaler’s case on a global basis. Thaler created an AI system that he calls DABUS. DABUS created two separate inventions — a “Neural Flame” and “Fractal Container.” Thaler filed for patent protection, but refused to name himself as the inventor — although he created DABUS, these particular inventions did not originate in his mind.

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Justices decline to reinstate GOP-backed congressional voting maps in North Carolina, Pennsylvania

SCOTUSBlog

Share The Supreme Court on Monday refused to block orders by courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania that threw out the congressional maps enacted by the states’ Republican legislatures and replaced them with maps drawn by the trial courts. The justices’ rulings mean that the states’ 2022 congressional elections will go ahead using the court-drawn maps.

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The Complete Guide to Contract Lifecycle Management

Are you tired of juggling contracts and missing deadlines? Do you want to ensure compliance and avoid costly disputes? Gatekeeper's Complete Guide to Contract Lifecycle Management is 38 pages of insights, tips, and templates. What's in the guide? 7 chapters covering all stages of the contract lifecycle from inception through to renewal and close-out Handy 10-point checklists for every stage to give you a clear playbook to work from 13 Excel templates ready to use in your business Who's it for?

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Police Misconduct Cost Taxpayers Over $3.2 Billion in Settlements

The Crime Report

Lawsuits to settle allegations of misconduct by more than 7,600 officers from around the country have amounted to more than $3.2 billion over the past decade, reports the Washington Post. The alleged misconduct led to nearly 40,000 payouts to resolve lawsuits and claims of wrongdoing at 25 of the nation’s largest police and sheriff’s departments between 2010 and 2020.

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Changes To U.S. News Law School Rankings Methodology Could Result In T14 Shake-Up

Above The Law

Stay tuned to see which schools have been affected by these changes. The post Changes To U.S. News Law School Rankings Methodology Could Result In T14 Shake-Up appeared first on Above the Law.

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Zoom Background Fails to Avoid at All Costs

Attorney at Work

We’ve all seen the terrifying Zoom fails of pantslessness, live-feed bathroom trips, and unmuted fetid rants about the host. We’re not those people. We’d never show up naked or allow our untethered howling spawn to step into the frame. We’re professionals here. But even professionals make mistakes. While you are strictly a pants-on Zoomer, holding the audience’s attention during a presentation is a toughly competitive business.

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Russia withdraws from Council of Europe

JURIST

The Russian Federation Thursday announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe (“the Council”). The country claimed that EU and NATO countries are using their absolute majority to continue to destroy the Council, of which Russia will no longer will be a part. Russia joined the Council of Europe, a leading human rights organization of the continent, in 1996.

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In-House Legal Departments – A Comprehensive Guide to Best-in-Class Reporting

Generating reports for your in-house legal team can take days, and sometimes weeks! Collating information in word documents or spreadsheets across the team can be a giant headache. Tailoring content to consider various stakeholders may be a repetitive task. If you’re doing Legal Department reporting – make it count! If you’re not, it may be time to start.