10th Circuit

How should you handle adverse precedent when litigating an appeal? The Tenth Circuit has some thoughts on what you should NOT do....

* “It seems no one can use dirty words, except Steven Spielberg.” Well, sh*t, I’ll be damned. Is Elena Kagan going to be the voice of reason in the Supreme Court’s FCC profanity case? [Los Angeles Times] * Ken Cuccinelli filed an emergency motion to get Virginia’s primary ballots printed. You can’t wait three days […]

Litigators at large law firms spend an inordinate (and depressing) amount of time on discovery disputes. They bombard poor magistrate judges with motions to compel. They bicker over deposition timing and location. They compile massive privilege logs. They file letter briefs with the court, explaining their entitlement to certain documents that opposing counsel is withholding, […]

Here’s a new mini-trend: federal judges leaving the bench to lead law schools. In 2007, David F. Levi stepped down as chief judge of the Eastern District of California, to assume the deanship of Duke Law School. Today, Pepperdine University School of Law announced that Judge Deanell Reece Tacha — who has served on the […]

Today the Tenth Circuit told the state of Utah that it could no longer erect crosses by the side of the highway memorializing state troopers who have died. The WSJ Law Blog excerpts this part of the opinion in American Atheists, Inc. v. Duncan (PDF): “This may lead the reasonable observer to fear that Christians […]

There’s a Chris Rock joke about the Siegfried & Roy tiger attack: “That tiger didn’t go crazy, that tiger went tiger.” With that in mind, I bring you this latest decision from the Tenth Circuit, via the National Law Journal: An insurance company does not have to pay a Kansas family $100,000 for an accident […]

* “Are we headed for another Great Depression?” [McClatchy] * Quelle surprise: Bear Stearns shareholder lawsuit (filed in S.D.N.Y. by Coughlin Stoia). [Bloomberg; WSJ Law Blog (PDF of complaint)] * Speaking of Bear Stearns, here are some law firms losing out on BSC business. [WSJ Law Blog] * Tenth Circuit reverses convictions of former Qwest […]

Last week, an investiture ceremony was held for Judge Neil Gorsuch, recently confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. And it was a star-studded affair. From the Denver Post: Seven-year-old Emma and 5-year-old Belinda helped their father, Neil Gorsuch, into his judge’s robes Monday after the newly appointed 10th Circuit Court […]

North Korea now has nukes. Happy Columbus Day! A number of you — e.g., federal government employees — are probably enjoying a day off right now. But for those of you who are stuck in the office and looking for distraction, you can always count on us to provide it. * A California appeals court […]

* “Bless him Father, for he has sinned”: Msgr. John Woolsey made some unauthorized withdrawals from his church’s collection plate, which he blew on golf vacations and Rolex watches. (Monsignor: A Rolex is so unoriginal. Why not, say, a nice Patek Philippe?) [Judicial Reports] * Newly confirmed Tenth Circuit judge Neil M. Gorsuch — a […]

How Appealing reports that the Senate has just confirmed Jerome A. Holmes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, by a vote of 67-30. The Tenth Circuit, a moderate and quasi-boring appellate court, hears appeals from six underpopulated states in the heart of flyover country. So why is the Holmes confirmation newsworthy? […]