Last week, a federal judge dismissed a challenge to the Illinois ban on carrying guns in public, finding that the Second Amendment only provides a narrow right to the right to bear arms.

Plaintiffs in the case, Moore v. Madigan, have filed a notice of appeal with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, indicating that they plan to challenge the ruling.

"Bad day" is a relative term. The day we got mugged in broad daylight only ranks as absurdly comical in our memory, but a day plagued with wet pant hems can easily rank among our worst days ever.

Here's one day we hope you never experience: the day that Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge (and living legend) Frank Easterbrook has a hand in your disbarment from federal practice.

Unfortunately, that day came for Milwaukee criminal defense attorney Bridget Boyle-Saxton last week.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that Title IX protections apply to sports scheduling, in addition to funding.

Noting that non-primetime games result in a loss of audience, conflict with homework, and foster feelings of inferiority, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that discriminatory scheduling practices are actionable through a Title IX gender discrimination lawsuit.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that opposition to China's one-child policy, absent further evidence of persecution, does not justify an immigration appeal reversal.

A three-judge panel denied petitioner Chun Hua Zheng's asylum denial appeal, finding that Zheng had not demonstrated that it was more likely than not that she would be persecuted for her political opinions if she returned to China.

A person "who has been persecuted for ... resistance to a coercive population control program," is considered to have been "persecuted on account of political opinion" under U.S. law. By that reasoning, Zheng's opposition to China's one-child policy was a strong start to proving her political persecution argument.

Terence Tribble was arrested on Mother's Day in 2006 for drinking on a public way. Officers Nicholas Evangelides and Roger Fieser found heroin and crack cocaine on Tribble during a search incident to arrest. (A bad Mother's Day for Tribble; the worst Mother's Day ever for his mom.)

The drug charges against Tribble were dismissed for lack of probable cause. Tribble filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officers for illegal stop, false arrest, illegal search, and a violation of due process.

A jury ruled for the defendants, and Tribble appealed.

You have a cell phone, and most likely a contract for the service plan that goes with that cell phone. So when you run into problems with your wireless provider, are you tempted to use your legal know-how to challenge the arbitration clause in your cell phone contract? If you are, keep in mind that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, like the Supreme Court, favors arbitration clauses.

This Seventh Circuit arbitration case hits close to home because we can remember a time where we faced a similar battle.

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner wants you to know that “Jesus was a heretic” and “heretics have religious rights.”

But that heretical tangent doesn’t apply to plaintiff Omar Grayson, who Posner is quick to identify as “not a heretic.” Instead, Grayson is an Orthodox African Hebrew Israelite of Jerusalem.

He’s also a former inmate of the Big Muddy Correctional Center in Illinois.

Some states prohibit motor carriers, like UPS and FedEx, from delivering wine. There are, of course, ways to get around these wine delivery laws. A shipping business in our city has a sign that says, "We can't ship wine, but we can ship 'olive oil,' (wink, wink.)" The only problem is that shipping "olive oil, (wink, wink)" may violate state laws.

Instead of skirting an Indiana wine delivery law, Cap N' Cork, a chain of Fort Wayne retail liquor stores, challenged the law directly in federal court. This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Cap N', finding that the law was valid under the 21st Amendment.

The Warrick County Sheriff terminated Kevin Harris’s probationary employment as a deputy sheriff based on violations of standard operating procedures, failure to follow orders, and insufficient commitment to the job.

Harris claimed that he was fired for being African-American.

This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Harris’ circumstantial evidence of discrimination fell far short of supporting an inference that he was terminated because of his race, and affirmed the district court’s dismissal of his racial discrimination lawsuit.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that a bankruptcy court did not err in approving a bankruptcy settlement that allotted a portion of the proceeds from a property sale to pay the insolvent company’s bankruptcy attorneys.

Holly Marine Towing, Inc. was a Chicago company that owned and operated a tug boat service on Lake Michigan. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 8, 2007, and the bankruptcy court converted the case to a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy the following year. A trustee was appointed to manage the estate’s assets and pay off creditors.