Recently in Court Rules Category

In case you didn't already know this from watching "Breaking Bad," pharmacies track your pseudoephedrine purchases because the drug is commonly used to make meth.

That's why you get carded when you buy cold meds. It isn't enough for pharmacies to limit customers' pseudoephedrine purchases at a single store because meth-producers could just hop from store to store to buy the amounts they need. The driver's license tracking system arguably makes it harder for producers to get their hands on the drug.

This week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that those pseudoephedrine transaction logs are nontestimonial business records, which means that it's pretty easy for the government to introduce the logs at trial.

A court’s patience will only take you so far in the wild world of federal appeals. When a plaintiff fails to perfect proper service or respond to a motion to dismiss, that patience will eventually wear thin.

Such was the case last week, when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a district court had not abused its discretion in dismissing a complaint after the plaintiff squandered multiple opportunities to perfect service of process. The good news for lawyers? If a pro se plaintiff keeps trying the court's patience, the case will eventually be dismissed.

In case you didn't see it, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' hometown team, the New Orleans Saints, won the NFC South title on Monday night with a 45-16 win over the Eleventh Circuit's Atlanta Falcons. Quarterback Drew Brees added to the excitement of the win, setting a new, NFL, single-season passing record.

And while Brees' record-breaking pass is the most talked-about moment of the game, running back Pierre Thomas' first-quarter antics have also created buzz. After scoring the Saints' first touchdown of the game, Thomas pulled a bow out of his uniform, stuck it on the ball, and gave it to a fan, resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Changes are coming to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Fifth Circuit is adopting a new rehearing en banc amendment and a new fee schedule.

The changes to the en banc rehearing rule were approved following a public comment period. The amended rule, Fifth Circuit Rule 41.3, states: