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Feb 3 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the conviction of a doctor accused of unlawfully prescribing addictive opioids in Arizona and Wyoming after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in his favor that made it harder to prosecute such cases. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under last year's Supreme Court's decision, jurors were wrongly instructed on how to determine whether Shakeel Kahn knowingly prescribed powerful drugs in an illegal manner. He was at the center of a Supreme Court ruling in January 2022 that raised the bar for what prosecutors must prove to secure convictions of doctors accused of fueling the U.S. opioid crisis by turning their medical practices into "pill mills." One woman died of an oxycodone overdose after he prescribed her drugs, prosecutors said. He took his case to the Supreme Court, which held that prosecutors have to prove that doctors knew they illegally prescribed drugs in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

BOSTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The founder of a defunct cryptocurrency business was sentenced on Tuesday to more than eight years in prison for defrauding investors and customers out of millions of dollars by marketing a virtual currency called My Big Coin with lies and half-truths. Federal prosecutors had urged U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston to impose a 13-year prison term on Randall Crater to send a message to others in the first sentencing of a cryptocurrency company founder for a marketing fraud. While Casper concluded that that request went too far, she rejected Crater's contention that a 30-month prison term was sufficient to punish him for his false claims, including that My Big Coin was a real cryptocurrency backed by gold. Prosecutors subsequently secured Crater's indictment in 2019 and accused him of causing investors and customers to lose $7.5 million from 2014 to 2017 with lies about My Big Coin, whose name sounded similar to the popular virtual currency bitcoin. Prosecutors said those false claims included that My Big Coin was a real virtual currency, was backed by gold and had a partnership with MasterCard (MA.N).

[1/3] Vladislav Klyushin, an owner of an information technology company with ties to the Russian government, is seen in an undated photograph attached to a U.S. Department of Justice filing. of Justice/Handout via REUTERSBOSTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin faces trial on Monday on U.S. charges that he participated in a vast scheme that generated tens of millions of dollars in illegal trading profits using corporate information stolen through hacking. The three-week trial comes at a low point in U.S.-Russia relations following Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year. And while the case against Klyushin, who has pleaded not guilty, predates the war, his connections to the Kremlin have long intrigued U.S. authorities. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MEXICO CITY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Five U.S. gun dealers filed a motion late Friday in a U.S. court to dismiss a lawsuit by Mexico accusing them of participating in illicit weapons trafficking. Mexico's government filed the suit in October, arguing that the five dealers in Arizona were responsible for selling guns. Mexico has strict gun laws, but the government alleges that drug cartels use guns purchased in the United States to commit crimes in Mexico. Mexico's lawsuit against the dealers in October came days after a U.S. federal judge in late September dismissed Mexico's historic $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers seeking to hold them responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels. Celorio told Reuters in October that Mexico's lawsuits aim to address the "root causes" of gun violence in Mexico.

Many of the details of the case are unclear, as the names of the law firm and client have been kept from the public record during the normally secretive grand jury probe. The law firm says it prepared the client's tax returns and also provided legal advice on how to determine ownership of cryptocurrency assets and value them. Those records, the firm said, were "dual-purpose" communications that contained legal advice as well as non-legal, advice concerning the preparation of its tax returns. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower-court judge in saying legal advice had to be the "primary" purpose of the communication to qualify for attorney-client privilege. She jokingly asked a lawyer for the law firm to comment on "the ancient legal principle of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'

☆ U.S. judge grants preliminary approval to Juul consumer settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Juul Labs Inc on Friday secured preliminary court approval of a $255 million settlement resolving claims by consumers that it deceptively marketed e-cigarettes, as the company seeks to resolve thousands of lawsuits. U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco said the proposed class action settlement resolving claims by consumers who said they overpaid for Juul's vaping products was "fair, reasonable, and adequate," according to a court filing. The settlement is part of a larger, global agreement by Juul to resolve thousands of lawsuits by school districts, local governments and individuals accusing it of contributing to a youth vaping epidemic. The company last month said it had reached settlements with about 10,000 plaintiffs covering more than 5,000 cases. It has not said how much it will pay, though the Wall Street Journal reported deal is valued at $1.7 billion.

The report said investigators interviewed 97 court employees but was silent on whether the nine justices who sat on the court at the time of the leak were interviewed, prompting calls from Democratic lawmakers and others for clarity. "During the course of the investigation, I spoke with each of the justices, several on multiple occasions," Curley said in the statement, released by the court. "I followed up on all credible leads, none of which implicated the justices or their spouses," Curley added. Curley said on that basis she decided it was not necessary to ask the justices to sign sworn affidavits affirming they did not leak the draft, something court employees were required to do. Gabe Roth, executive director of the court reform group Fix the Court, said the fact that the report initially omitted the fact that the justices were interviewed "smells fishy."

[1/2] U.S. Supreme Court police officers stand on the front steps of the Supreme Court building prior to the official investiture ceremony for the court's newest Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and the start of the court's 2022-2023 term in Washington, U.S. September 30, 2022. The report said the Supreme Court's information security environment was "built fundamentally on trust with limited safeguards to regulate and constrain access to very sensitive information." But it called the court's information security policies "outdated" and recommended that it overhaul its platform for handling case-related documents and remedy "inadequate safeguards" for tracking who prints and copies documents. The Supreme Court's IT systems operate separately from the rest of the federal judiciary. U.S. judiciary officials have said the systems used by federal appellate and district courts also are outdated and need modernization.

[1/7] Abortion rights campaigners participate in a demonstration following the leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting the possibility of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, in Washington, U.S., May 14, 2022. The report detailed an eight-month investigation conducted by Supreme Court marshal Gail Curley at the direction of Chief Justice John Roberts. The report did not identify a specific source of the leak, noting that none of the 97 court employees interviewed by investigators confessed to the disclosure. It was critical of some of the court's internal security protocols, and made clear that investigators would continue to pursue any new leads. "In time, continued investigation and analysis may produce additional leads that could identify the source of the disclosure," the report stated.

Jan 18 (Reuters) - A University of Kansas professor avoided prison on Wednesday for making a false statement related to work he was doing in China in the latest setback for a Trump-era U.S. Department of Justice crackdown on Chinese influence within American academia. Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas, to sentence Feng "Franklin" Tao to 2-1/2 years in prison, even after the judge in September threw out most of his trial conviction for concealing work he did in China. Robinson instead sentenced the chemical engineering professor to time served with no fine or restitution. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan 18 (Reuters) - A Massachusetts man charged with murdering his wife searched online for "dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body" after she was last seen on New Year's Day, a prosecutor said on Wednesday. Not guilty pleas were entered in Quincy District Court on behalf of Brian Walshe, 47, as a prosecutor revealed a search of a trash facility uncovered items with Ana Walshe's DNA on it along with a hacksaw and cutting shears. He was ordered held without bail after prosecutors on Tuesday charged Walshe with his wife's murder. The investigation began after her employer in Washington, the real estate company Tishman Speyer, reported her missing on Jan. 4. At the time, Brian Walshe was on house arrest awaiting sentencing in Boston federal court after admitting in 2021 he sold forgeries of Andy Warhol art based on paintings he took from a one-time friend and never returned.

BOSTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The husband of a Massachusetts woman who has been missing since New Year's Day was charged on Tuesday with her murder after authorities earlier said they had found a knife and blood in the basement of their home, a prosecutor said on Tuesday. Walshe will be arraigned Wednesday in Quincy District Court. Ana Walshe, who worked in real estate company Tishman Speyer's Washington office, was reported missing on Jan. 4 by her employer and husband. Brian Walshe initially said had taken a ride-hailing service to the airport for a flight to Washington for work, authorities have said. Beland said investigators later discovered that Brian Walshe on Jan. 2 bought $450 of cleaning supplies at a Home Depot.

☆ Twitter's laid-off workers asked to drop lawsuit over severance, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc has secured a ruling allowing the social media company to force several laid-off workers suing over their termination to pursue their claims via individual arbitration than a class-action lawsuit. Donato granted Twitter's request to force the five ex-employees to pursue their claims individually, citing agreements they signed with the company. The judge said that before asking workers to sign severance agreements waiving their ability to sue the company, Twitter must give them "a succinct and plainly worded notice". Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Sentencing Commission unanimously voted to publish for public comment a proposed amendment to federal sentencing guidelines relied upon by judges nationally that would limit them from considering a defendant's "acquitted conduct." The vote came a day before U.S. Supreme Court justices were scheduled to meet privately to consider hearing, among other cases, four different appeals by criminal defendants urging them to end to this common judicial practice. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1997 held that a jury's verdict of acquittal does not prevent a judge at sentencing from considering conduct underlying the acquitted charge. Some U.S. lawmakers and defense lawyers have criticized the practice as unfair and a potential violation of defendants' civil rights. Some members of the judiciary including current Supreme Court justices have questioned it.

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed New York to enforce a Democratic-backed gun control law adopted after the justices last year struck down the state's limits on carrying concealed handguns outside the home in a landmark ruling that expanded gun rights. Circuit Court of Appeals in December put that decision on hold while the state pursues an appeal. Wednesday's action may not be the last time the Supreme Court addresses New York's new gun law. New York state Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, praised the court's decision to keep the law in effect. Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Concealed Carry Improvement Act on July 1, a week after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling against a New York concealed carry permit restriction.

Circuit Court of Appeals that two jurors had lied about whether they discussed the case on social media before being seated for his 2015 trial, an argument the U.S. Supreme Court did not address when it reinstated Tsarnaev's death sentence last year. Circuit Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson said it was "hard to understand" how the facts did not raise a potential claim of juror misconduct, and U.S. Circuit Judge William Kayatta questioned why the judge did not probe further. The Justice Department is defending Tsarnaev's death sentence despite President Joe Biden's opposition to capital punishment and a moratorium on federal executions issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland in July 2021. The case then returned to the 1st Circuit to address other grounds for appeal that neither court had yet to resolve.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to file a brief expressing the Biden administration's view on the litigation and whether the Supreme Court should take up the matter. Charter schools are publicly funded but operated separately from school boards run by local governments. The 4th Circuit ruling did not make a conclusion on the Title IX claim. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, in a decision joined by her fellow Democratic appointees on the 4th Circuit. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority.

[1/2] GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) logo is seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal law preempts the plaintiffs' state-law claims that GSK failed to warn doctors and pregnant women that animal studies found a link between birth defects and taking Zofran. Louis Bograd, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at Motley Rice, did not respond to a request for comment. Without any newly acquired information, GSK could not legally change the label without the FDA's blessing, Kayatta wrote. For the plaintiffs: Louis Bograd of Motley RiceFor GSK: Lisa Blatt of Williams & ConnollyRead more:Zofran birth defect cases should be revived, say hundreds of plaintiffsGSK defeats 425 lawsuits alleging Zofran causes birth defects(NOTE: This story has been updated with a comment from GSK.)

NSO had argued that it is immune from being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the "Pegasus" spyware. "NSO's spyware has enabled cyberattacks targeting human rights activists, journalists and government officials," Meta said. In one notorious case, NSO spyware was used - allegedly by the Saudi government - to target the inner circle of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi shortly before he was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. According to court papers, the accounts of 1,400 WhatsApp users were accessed using the Pegasus tracking software, secretly using their smartphones as surveillance devices. The U.S. government in November 2021 blacklisted NSO and Israel's Candiru, accusing them of providing spyware to governments that used it to "maliciously target" journalists, activists and others.

☆ U.S. appeals court strikes down ban on bump stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/George FreyJan 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a Trump administration rule banning bump stocks, which are devices that allow people to rapidly fire multiple rounds from semi-automatic guns. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said that despite "tremendous" public pressure to impose a ban, it was up to the U.S. Congress rather than the president to take action. Three other federal appeals courts have rejected challenges to the ban, and Friday's decision raises the prospect that the U.S. Supreme Court could eventually decide the issue. A bump stock lets a gun's stock, which rests against the shoulder, slide backward and forward, letting users take advantage of the gun's recoil to fire rapidly. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

[1/3] Donna Heinel (L), former associate athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) facing charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme, leaves the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., March 25, 2019. Donna Heinel, the school's former senior associate athletic director, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston for helping get about two dozen students admitted as fake athletic recruits in exchange for money. Prosecutors said Heinel also personally pocketed $160,000 after she and Singer entered into "sham" consulting agreement. She has agreed to forfeit that money, though defense lawyer Nina Marino said, adding Heinel did not view it as a bribe at the time. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Senator Richard Burr said on Friday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission informed him this week it has concluded investigation concerning him with no action. U.S. authorities investigated Burr, a North Carolina lawmaker who did not seek reelection last year, for his stock trades before the downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Burr denied any wrongdoing and said he relied solely on news reports to make decisions on his stock transactions. He said in January 2021 the Justice Department had closed a related probe. Reporting by Nate Raymond Additional reporting and writing by Chris Prentice, Editing by Franklin Paul and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BOSTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The architect of the largest U.S. college admissions fraud scheme ever uncovered will be sentenced on Wednesday for helping wealthy parents secure the admission of their children to elite universities through cheating and bribery. The former college admissions consultant played a key role as a cooperating witness in the "Operation Varsity Blues" investigation. Singer admitted in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and funneling money from wealthy parents to corrupt university coaches to secure the admission of their children as fake athletic recruits. The years-long investigation into the scheme resulted in the conviction of more than 50 people, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, two of the many wealthy parents Singer had as clients. Singer took in more than $25 million from his clients while running a California-based college admissions counseling service called The Key and a related charity.

The exact contours of the Democrats' majority is in flux after Senator Kyrsten Sinema switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent. But either she caucuses with Democrats and gives the party a 51-49 majority or she does not, leaving Democrats with a 50-49 edge. But in a 50-50 Senate where Democrats and Republicans had an even number of seats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, several civil rights lawyers and nominees supported by progressive advocates stalled with deadlocked votes. And in a 50-50 Senate, occasionally Vice President Kamala Harris was needed to cast a tie-breaking vote. Assuming they are renominated, their path to confirmation could be smoothed, as the Judiciary Committee under Durbin's leadership will now have a majority of Democrats.

☆ Judicial security focus of U.S. Chief Justice Roberts' annual report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Richard Cowan | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts departs the Trump impeachment trial in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidWASHINGTON, Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday focused a year-end report on the judiciary on the need for stepped up security for federal judges, amid a surge in threats and as the United States is embroiled in a bitter debate over abortion. Roberts' nine-page annual report came just two weeks after the U.S. Congress approved legislation that aims to bolster security for Supreme Court justices and federal judges by allowing them to shield their personal information from being available online. "I want to thank the members of Congress who are attending to judicial security needs ... essential to run a system of courts," Roberts wrote in his 2022 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. An armed California man was charged last June with attempted murder after being arrested near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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