Earl Foy, Jr. pled guilty to three counts of mailing threatening communications, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 876(c), and two counts of mailing threatening communications to extort money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 876(b). Foy subsequently moved to withdraw his plea. The district court denied Foy'...   MORE>>

Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc., sued the City of St. Paul, Minnesota, after the St. Paul City Council (“City Council”) enacted an ordinance prohibiting all billboard extensions. After settlement negotiations failed, the district court granted Clear Channel’s motion for partial summary judgment. T...   MORE>>

Kurt William Havelock appeals his jury conviction of six counts of mailing threatening communications in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 876(c), which makes it a felony to mail a communication “addressed to any other person and containing . . . any threat to injure the person of the addressee or of anot...   MORE>>

Susan and Robert Johnson filed a state civil suit making multiple claims against several defendants as a result of allegedly defamatory statements posted on an internet discussion board. The defendants removed the case to federal court. The original complaint included six defendants; however, the Jo...   MORE>>

This case presents the question of whether three provisions of the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct (Code) unconstitutionally infringe upon First Amendment rights of judicial candidates. Gregory Wersal, a candidate for Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, asserts that the so called "endorsement...   MORE>>

Anticipating that the substantial attention being devoted to the criminal charges against a former Governor of Illinois would lead the press and public to bombard jurors with email and instant messages that could undermine their impartiality(and perhaps their equanimity), the district judge decided ...   MORE>>

Thomas Mink appeals the district court’s dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint against Susan Knox, a deputy district attorney, on qualified immunity grounds. We reverse.

I.

Mr. Mink, a student at the University of Northern Colorado (“UNC”), created a fictional character, “Junius...   MORE>>

Jon and Michelle Sweeney owned and operated Micro-Star Technology, a company that manufactured and sold cable television equipment. A federal grand jury charged the Sweeneys with manufacturing and distributing cable descramblers intended for unauthorized interception of cable signals and conspiracy ...   MORE>>

Imagine if a State imposed these restrictions on candidates for election to the legislature: (1) They “shall not identify” themselves “as a member of a political party in any form of advertising or when speaking to a gathering”; (2) they “shall not solicit campaign funds”; and (3) they �...   MORE>>

The proceeding before us is but a short chapter in an acrimonious and long-running business dispute between Quixtar, Inc. (“Quixtar”), successor to the well-known Amway Corporation, and Signature Management TEAM, LLC (“TEAM”). Quixtar sued TEAM, claiming that TEAM orchestrated an Internet sm...   MORE>>