June 2011 Archives

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts spoke at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judicial panel over the past weekend, discussing the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In his statements at the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, he addressed some cutting edge issues involving the day-to-day affairs of SCOTUS, including the use of social media by the Supreme Court justices and judicial clerks.

Justice Roberts mentioned that he encourages Supreme Court clerks not to tweet, reports Huffington Post, fearing that they may unintentionally reveal confidences through posting status updates.

A Baltimore abortion law requiring faith-based pregnancy centers to post notices saying that they don’t offer abortion referrals is facing heat in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Pro-life supporters are amassing support for the U.S. District Court decision, which ruled the law unconstitutional last January reports The Washington Times.

Earlier this month, a District of Columbia based anti-abortion group filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the hopes of being allowed to submit an amicus curiae brief in the case.

U.S. Marshals must perform a number of interesting and sometimes dangerous activities. In performing these activities, their physical health might come into issue. In such cases, however it’s not unheard of that employment disputes can arise, particularly in the case of employment discrimination lawsuits and disability discrimination lawsuits.

In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment granted by the district court on a case involving a U.S. Marshal and disability discrimination lawsuit.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a Tax Court opinion that set a two-year statute of limitations on innocent spouse relief claims, reports the Journal of Accountancy.

For all you non-tax lawyers out there, let’s put it in plain English. The Tax Court was overruled by the Fourth Circuit on a statute of limitations issue.

Easy enough?

Treasury Regulations are how tax lawyers understand the provisions of the Tax Code. And this particular Treas. Reg. said that there was a two-year statute of limitations to bring a claim for innocent spouse relief.

While the case of Bosley v. Mineral County Commission presents a series of unfortunate events, the actual case before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is not nearly as dramatic.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that the settlement offer in a case involving several state law and federal constitution claims did not include the attorneys fees and costs.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled on a wage and hour lawsuit earlier this week, involving a group of workers in Maryland. The case hinged on issues of pay and whether employees should be compensated for the time it took them to get in and out of their required safety apparel — or as the court called it “donning and doffing” their protective gear.

Quick facts: The case involves workers at a Delaware poultry processing plant. The workers are obligated to wear protective clothing, as provided by the company. This clothing also needs to be sanitized at various periods throughout the day, in order to be in compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sanitary regulations as well as with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety regulations.

Let's talk about the Anti-Injunction Act and the healthcare reform act (PPACA or also, ACA). While the Anti-Injunction Act argument has been dropped by the parties in the latest round of 4th Circuit Court of Appeals healthcare litigation, there are probably still many lawyers out there asking "what is the Anti-Injunction Act?"

So, let's try to make tax law as painless as we possibly can.

We're usually used to seeing proper names when reading the names of the parties in a case. You know, cases like "Roe v Wade," "Bush v. Gore". But here's a money laundering case out of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals with such a delightful name that it merited a blog post. Today, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on a case titled United States v. $79,650.00 Seized From Bank.

When the defendant is a sum of cash, it's worth a mention. So what's this case about and why is the defendant in this case "$79,650.00 Seized From Bank"?

The case involves a currency structuring dispute. In the case where "currency structuring" occurs, the feds can swoop in and seize cash.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is in court this month. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, among others, is hearing the case against Obamacare.

But while many people are talking about it, not all understand the exact debate before the courts. The Obamacare issue, at least as presented before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, is much deeper than a right or wrong, blue or red issue.