A jury has awarded $115 million to the families of three crew members killed in a crash of a National Airlines Boeing 747-400 cargo plane in 2013. The crash took place within minutes of liftoff from an airfield in Bagram Afghanistan. The plane was overloaded and the cargo inadequately secured. Shifting cargo ultimately caused damage to the plane’s … [Read more...]
Federal Court Blocks Strict Requirement for Concealed Carry Permits in D.C.
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled to place a permanent injunction on the requirement to show “good reason” for obtaining a concealed carry permit. In their decision, the judges said that the “good-reason” law is in violation of the Second Amendment. The ruling came from a divided three-judge … [Read more...]
9th Circuit Rules – No Routine Shackling of Defendants
On May 31, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that routine shackling of pre-trial detainees is a violation of the Fifth Amendment. The ruling does not mean that prisoners cannot be shackled in the courtroom, but that the decision must be made on a case-by-case basis, “Before a presumptively innocent defendant may … [Read more...]
