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November 27, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Here in the land of appellate law, there’s nothing more we like than diving into an area of dusty, obscure legal procedure. The land of ancient writs is one of those areas, and last week the First Circuit issued one of the more obscure of those ancient writs – an “advisory mandamus.” In re Grand […]
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November 9, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
With yet another mass shooting this week, it’s timely to discuss a recent (Nov. 2) decision from the First Circuit, Gould v. Morgan. This involved a constitutional challenge to the Massachusetts firearms licensing statute, as implemented in Boston and Brookline. The district court upheld the statute and implementation, as did the panel, Judges Thompson, Selya […]
October 29, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
I (a reader suggested that I stop using the royal we) attended the federal judicial conference at the Samoset last week. The topic du jour was social media, so that was the new. The conference closed with observations from two district court judges, Judges Hornby and Singal, who have been on the bench for many […]
October 17, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
We have previously blogged – many times- on the question when one must file a cross-appeal to assert alternative grounds to support a judgment: Cross-Appeals again; Alternate grounds support a judgment? Cross-Appeal!; New rules; When in doubt, cross it out; Follow up. The Law Court recently issued a decision that we hope definitively answers this […]
September 28, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari this term to re-consider the ripeness requirement for a claim for just compensation, first articulated in in Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank, 473 U.S. 172 (1985). Knick v. Town of Scott, Pennsylvania, No. 17-647. Interestingly, the Court decided to go right to the jugular, deciding whether the […]
September 24, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Autumn is in the air, which means the Law Court’s fancy turns to riding the circuit, visiting high schools in its annual October Tour O’Maine to hear argument. This year’s crop of appeals appears fairly pedestrian, except for one scheduled to be heard on October 25, at the Wells High School: State of Maine v. […]
September 11, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
If you take off your jacket on your front porch while a police officer is in your driveway following up on a suspected motor vehicle violation, does that mean the police can search that jacket if you’re wearing a sleeveless blouse underneath and the temperature is 34 degrees? Four SJC Justices upheld the search; three […]
August 21, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Two seemingly unrelated recent decisions, one in the First Circuit and the other by the Law Court, consider the potential inadequacies of our current criminal justice system to address current social issues: (1) U.S. v. Sirois, No. 17-1797 and (2) State of Maine v. J.R., 2018 ME. Sirois In Sirois, after release from federal custody […]
August 14, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
It may be the summer doldrums in terms of issuing decision, but an interesting petition for cert was filed last week that may have a decent chance of being granted. ConAgra Grocery Products Co. and NL Industries, Inc. v. People of California. It certainly has firepower behind it, with Paul Clement as Counsel of Record, along […]
July 31, 2018 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Playing catch up in our perusal of recent First Circuit and Law Court decisions, a First Circuit decision involving a defamation claim caught our eye. Sindi v. El-Moslimany, No. 16-2347. The panel were Judges Barron, Selya and Stahl. Judge Selya wrote the majority decision for himself and Judge Stahl, with Judge Barron dissenting in part. […]
