Punch and Jurists: October 1, 2012

Volume 19, Number 20

In this issue:

U.S. v. Semrau, No. 11-5396 (6th Cir.) (693 F.3d 510) (September 7, 2012) (Judge Jane B. Stranch) (p None)
U.S. v. Oliva, No. 10-30126 (9th Cir.) (686 F.3d 1106) (July 20, 2012) (Judge Raymond C. Fisher) (p None)
Thomas v. State of Illinois, No. 12-209 (7th Cir.) ( F.3d ) (September 27, 2012) (Judge Richard A. Posner) (p None)
U.S. v. Cunningham, No. 10-4021 (3rd Cir.) (694 F.3d 372) (September 18, 2012) (Judge Kent A. Jordan) (p None)
U.S. v. Leal-Del Carmen, No. 11-50094 (9th Cir.) (697 F.3d 964) (September 14, 2012) (Judge Alex Kozinski) (p None)
Wood v. Beauclair, No. 10-35300 (9th Cir.) (692 F.3d 1041) (September 4, 2012) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher) (p None)

U.S. v. Semrau, No. 11-5396 (6th Cir.) (693 F.3d 510) (September 7, 2012) (Judge Jane B. Stranch)

Loaded on Oct. 1, 2012 published in Punch and Jurists October 01, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The defendant in this case, Dr. Lorne Semrau, a clinical psychiatrist and the CEO of two healthcare companies, was convicted of three counts of healthcare fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1347. His principal defense at trial was that any improper billing was unintentional and despite his good faith ...

U.S. v. Oliva, No. 10-30126 (9th Cir.) (686 F.3d 1106) (July 20, 2012) (Judge Raymond C. Fisher)

Loaded on Oct. 1, 2012 published in Punch and Jurists October 01, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Off-The-Hook Conversations.

There seems to be no limit to the number of different and creative ways that Big Brother is spying on it citizens using sophisticated electronic equipment that was unknown just a few years ago. For example, it is well known that law enforcement authorities are tracking, virtually at will, the ...

Thomas v. State of Illinois, No. 12-209 (7th Cir.) ( F.3d ) (September 27, 2012) (Judge Richard A. Posner)

Loaded on Oct. 1, 2012 published in Punch and Jurists October 01, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Infestations of vermin.

Calvin Thomas, an inmate of an Illinois state prison, acting pro se, brought a civil rights lawsuit, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against the state and the Illinois Department of Corrections, claiming a deprivation of his rights while a prisoner. The lawsuit alleged, inter alia, that his prison cell had ...

U.S. v. Cunningham, No. 10-4021 (3rd Cir.) (694 F.3d 372) (September 18, 2012) (Judge Kent A. Jordan)

Loaded on Oct. 1, 2012 published in Punch and Jurists October 01, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Graphic and Inflammatory Evidence.

This is an important child pornography decision that helps bring a bit of sanity to highly graphic child pornography trials and shows a way to temper the common trial tactic of overwhelming the juries by deluging them with as much inflammatory and highly prejudicial evidence as the courts will allow. ...

U.S. v. Leal-Del Carmen, No. 11-50094 (9th Cir.) (697 F.3d 964) (September 14, 2012) (Judge Alex Kozinski)

Loaded on Oct. 1, 2012 published in Punch and Jurists October 01, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists.

Jonathan Leal-Del Carmen was just another one of the many unlucky Mexicans who frequently get bamboozled by the American criminal justice system. Fortunately for him, the facts of this case were simply too much for the Ninth Circuit to stomach. It reversed his conviction for alien-smuggling - after concluding that ...

Wood v. Beauclair, No. 10-35300 (9th Cir.) (692 F.3d 1041) (September 4, 2012) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher)

Loaded on Oct. 1, 2012 published in Punch and Jurists October 01, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Consent.

Lance Wood, a state prisoner in Idaho, filed a civil rights lawsuit against various prison officials and employees, including Sandra de Martin (“Martin:), a female prison guard, alleging various violations of his constitutional rights under the First, Fourth and Eighth Amendments. More specifically, he claimed that Martin had perpetrated sexual ...