Articles

Whether armed robber ‘physically restrained’ victims splits 7th Circuit

The question of whether an armed robber can be said to have physically restrained his victims as an enhancement under federal sentencing guidelines split the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday. The ruling also deepened a wide circuit split on the issue, with judges answering the question by employing a classic legal maxim: It depends.

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7th Circuit rules DOC sex offender program violates Constitution

Finding the disclosures provide information that any law enforcement agent “would love to have,” the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Indiana’s requirement that sex offender inmates give detailed accounts of their past actions violates the Constitution’s protections against self-incrimination.

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7th Circuit revives Indiana wine retailer’s challenge to Illinois liquor laws

Finding the arguments needed to be allowed to ferment a little while longer, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has returned a dispute involving an Indiana wine retailer and Illinois’ liquor laws back to the district court for further proceedings. The case, Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc., et al. v. Bruce V. Rauner, et al. and Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois, 17-2495, raises the oft-asked question of how far states can go under the 21st Amendment in regulating alcohol within their borders.

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7th Circuit: Woman can’t sue county over worker’s sex assault

A woman serving court-ordered community service who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a Vigo County park maintenance worker lost her appeal of a judgment in favor of the county in her civil liability lawsuit Wednesday, despite what judges noted was a “horrific incident”.

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7th Circuit reverses laches dismissal of PCR case

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a convicted killer’s habeas petition Monday, vacating a decision in the first Indiana case involving a laches dismissal stemming from a defendant’s post-filing delay in prosecuting a state court post-conviction case.

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7th Circuit: Disability benefit arguments lack merit

Medical evidence did not support the testimony of a deceased man about the degree of limitations he experienced, the 7th Circuit affirmed when reviewing his denied disability benefits case. The court found arguments in the case lacked merit.

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Clark County Drug Court ‘ran roughshod,’ but litigants lose appeal

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday found litigants in Clark County’s troubled drug court endured significant deprivations of their constitutional rights — including sometimes being jailed for months without due process — but offered no relief in the appeal of their dismissed civil lawsuit.

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Easterbrook: 7th Circuit ‘nation’s leader’ in productivity

Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals presented his final State of the Circuit address during the Circuit conference this month in Indianapolis, describing the federal appellate court for Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin as perhaps the nation’s most industrious.

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