Efficiency

  • On Thursday, Google (GOOGL.O) persuaded a federal judge in San Francisco to dismiss a proposed class action over its alleged misuse of personal and copyrighted data to train artificial-intelligence systems, including its chatbot Bard. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin dismissed the case, citing concerns raised by another California judge in a related lawsuit against OpenAI…

  • Hunter Biden’s Sister-In-Law Says She Found, Threw Away, His Gun

    Hunter Biden’s sister-in-law testified on Thursday that she found his gun and threw it away out of fear of his spiraling addiction. This testimony could bolster prosecutors’ case that President Joe Biden’s son broke a law barring illegal drug users from owning firearms. Jurors in the first criminal trial of a U.S. president’s child watched…

  • Group Urges Judiciary To Halt Conservative Judges’ Clerk Boycotts

    A government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), on Wednesday urged the judiciary to rein in the recurring practice of conservative judges boycotting the hiring of law clerks from specific schools over protests and disruptions on their campuses. CREW, in a letter, urged the U.S. Judicial Conference to address the matter…

  • Judge Cuts Bayer $2.25 Billion Roundup Verdict To $400 Million

    On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania judge reduced a $2.25 billion U.S. verdict against Bayer (BAYGn.DE) to $400 million. This decision involved a Pennsylvania man, John McKivison, who claimed he developed cancer from exposure to the company’s Roundup weedkiller. A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas determined that McKivison’s non-Hodgkins lymphoma resulted from using Roundup…

  • ‘No One Is Above The Law,’ As Hunter Biden Trial Takes Off

    On Tuesday, prosecutors in the historic criminal trial of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden told jurors that overwhelming evidence shows Hunter lied to hide his drug addiction so he could illegally buy a gun. The defense argued that he had no intent to deceive. In federal court in Delaware, jurors heard opening statements from…

  • J&J Must Pay $260 Million In Latest Talc Trial, Oregon Jury Says

    Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) must pay $260 million to an Oregon woman who developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, after inhaling the company’s talc powder, a jury ruled on Monday. The verdict from the 4th Judicial District Circuit Court in Portland comes as Johnson & Johnson continues to pursue a proposed $6.48…

  • Georgia Court To Weigh Willis’ Role In Trump Case In October

    A Georgia appeals court will hear arguments in October to determine whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Donald Trump for attempting to overturn his 2020 defeat, a schedule likely to postpone the trial until after the Nov. 5 election. The court will examine whether Willis’ past affair with her former…

  • Ex-Law Firm Partner Fights Conviction Over $400 Million Crypto Scam

    A former partner at U.S. law firm Locke Lord, Mark Scott, argued that prosecutors failed to prove he knowingly participated in a $400 million fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. On Wednesday, Scott urged the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse or vacate his November 2019 conviction, asserting that the government’s case relied heavily on a…

  • Supreme Court Boosts NRA In Free Speech Fight With New York Official

    The Supreme Court revived the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit against a New York state official accused of coercing banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the gun rights group. The ruling, authored by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, warned public officials against using their power to punish speech they dislike. In a unanimous 9-0 decision,…

  • US Law Clerks In Rare Anonymous Statement Decry ‘Genocide’ In Gaza

    On Wednesday, twenty-five federal law clerks issued a public statement criticizing the judiciary’s restrictions on their ability to speak out against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians during its war with Hamas in Gaza. They also condemned what they described as “our government’s complicity in that genocide.” Published by Balls & Strikes, a court news and commentary…