Christopher Keleher Receives Commendation From The Seventh Circuit
I had the honor of receiving a rare accolade from a federal appeals court in its published opinion. I represented Marcus Conner in Conner v. Reagle, a habeas corpus appeal that asserted Mr. Conner’s constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated. The odds were heavily stacked against Mr. Conner, as less than...
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Tackles The Issue of Free Speech
A seminal First Amendment decision was just issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Missouri v. Biden, the Plaintiffs alleged that federal officials violated the First Amendment by coercing social media platforms to censor disfavored speech. The federal district court of Louisiana agreed, and the Fifth Circuit partially affirmed. The Fifth Circuit...
The Seventh Circuit As An Outlier
As noted in my last post, the Seventh Circuit recently issued its annual report for 2022. Along with the number of appellate filings for 2022, the annual report also details a slew of stats on other matters, including comparisons between the Seventh Circuit and the other federal appellate circuit courts. Two merit mention here....
Seventh Circuit Appellate Court Filings Continue Downward Trajectory
The Seventh Circuit has issued its annual report for 2022, and once again, the trend is down. The number of appeals filed in 2022 was 2,362, a decrease of 5% from 2021. This cannot be attributed to the pandemic or economic forces alone. Examining the bigger picture, the number has steadily declined...
Sex trafficking victim’s claim against Salesforce revived by the Seventh Circuit
A federal appeals court reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing software provider Salesforce of violating sex-trafficking laws. The tech giant became ensnared in the suit due to its business involvement with Backpage.com, a notorious—and now defunct—website that served as an online portal for the sex trade. Shuttered in 2018, the sordid legacy of...
The SAFE-T Act Resuscitated
The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, is an Illinois statute enacted in 2021 that reforms the criminal justice system. It represents a shift in the approach to policing, pretrial detention, bail, sentencing, and corrections. The law was previously addressed in this blog.
Common Grounds for Appeals: Exploring Legal Errors and Misjudgments
Navigating the complex landscape of legal appeals demands a thorough understanding of two pivotal elements: legal errors and misjudgments. These elements can significantly impact the course and outcome of litigation, thus highlighting the crucial role of adept appellate attorneys. By learning about the intricacies of legal errors and misjudgments, individuals can...
The Imperative Nature of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
Litigation is a costly endeavor. Failing to ensure you are in the correct court after years of litigating can thus have costly consequences. This dilemma was on recent display when a federal appeals court tossed a case that had been litigated in federal court for four years because subject-matter jurisdiction was...
Trademark Infringement Defense Victory
This week, I obtained a win for my clients in a trademark infringement lawsuit. My clients were three established online retailers sued for trademark infringement in the Northern District of Illinois, Bestway Inflatables v. Corporations Identified on Schedule A. The defendants faced substantial statutory damages in excess of $100,000 if the district...
Your Odds Of Winning On Appeal
It is common knowledge that obtaining a reversal in federal appellate court is tough. But how tough? Well, the federal appellate court numbers are in for 2022, and the picture is dire for appellants. In the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, private civil cases had a reversal rate of 13.6%, followed by civil appeals...