Chicago Federal Law Blog

Carl Smith Jr. was convicted of residential burglary and sentenced to 6 ½ years’ imprisonment. The conviction arises from the crime victim arriving home to find a door that did not open properly, and who subsequently found dozens of missing hydrocodone pills, removed jewelry, and that an apartment window had been broken. At the trial court, Mr. Smith moved to exclude iPhone video evidence which re-recorded surveillance video. Mr. Smith argued the videos were not admissible pursuant to the Illinois Rule of Evidence 1003 and 1004, or alternatively that they are barred by the common law best evidence rule. In short, Mr. Smith contended that the duplicate video did not meet the requirements to overcome the preference that the original be admitted. After hearings on the topic, the Jackson County judge denied the motion to bar admission. Mr. Smith was convicted after a jury trial. On appeal, the Fifth District Appellate Court affirmed that the iPhone video footage of the video surveillance s...

Nakiya Moran was convicted for murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, arising out of a 2006 shooting in Calumet City, Illinois. After being convicted, the defendant learned that Calumet City had failed to turn over a ballistics report, which tied the firearm used to a different shooting. Moran alleged that this evidence had to have been turned over pursuant to Brady v. Maryland , 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (establishing the rule that the prosecution must turn over all evidence that might exonerate the defendant).  Moran sought postconviction relief under the Brady standard, a state court vacated the conviction and allowed a new bench trial in 2017. The new evidence was admitted at the retrial. Moran was acquitted.  Moran subsequently filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking damages for the more than ten years he spent in federal prison. His complaint was brought against the city, detectives, and a crime scene technician. The Northern District of Illinois entered summary judgme...

 A federal class action lawsuit was filed Thursday against Mercedes-Benz in the Northern District of Illinois. The Complaint brings suit on behalf of Jim Rose, of Illinois; Anita Gian, of New York; and similarly situated individuals. Specifically, individuals who purchased Mercedes vehicles which were equipped with the "MBRACE" systems in their vehicles.  A variety of Mercedes models included this technology, ranging from models created in 2000, up to certain models from 2017; the 2017 models included some of the most expensive offerings, like the G-Class Coupe, S-Class cabriolet, and the S65 AMG. The Complaint alleges however that the technology became effectively obsolete, when wireless carriers upgraded and removed 3G capability in 2022.  The MBRACE system uses 3G connection to report emergencies, and phone roadside assistance. While this system was primarily offered in the more expensive Mercedes-Benz models, the technology was not prepared for the transition away fro...

The chess world has been turned upside down, by a 19-year-old champion who defeated the perennial greatest in the world, Magnus Carlsen. After the teenager defeated Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup tournament ("Cup") in September of 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri, rumors swirled about alleged cheating by the teenager, Hans Neiman, the champion of the important chess tournament. While it was not the first time Carlsen was defeated by Nieman, it was the first time that happened at an officially sanctioned event.  While Carlsen never directly accused Nieman of cheating, he is purported to have done so in so many words. Carlsen decided to not participate in the rest of the Cup, something nearly unheard of for a reigning world champion. Soon thereafter, the two faced off again at a new tournament, the Julius Baer Generation Cup. After one move, Carlsen decided to forfeit the game and not move forward.  Notably, this is the not the first time Neiman has been accused of cheating. In fact...

 A Pennsylvania Appeals Court considered the extent that a purported arbitration agreement is enforceable for riders on the Uber app. It is increasingly commonplace for users to "agree" to clickthrough, scroll through, or hyperlinked terms and conditions, in order to use an app or other sort of online program. While these sorts of agreements are generally considered to be acceptable, there may be certain provisions which require further attention. Shannon Chilutti filed a lawsuit against Uber after being injured while riding in the car. Uber contends however, that Chilutti may not file a lawsuit and request a jury trial because of the mandatory arbitration agreement which is included in Uber's terms and conditions. On the first page of the court's decision, the court tips its hand, characterizing the central issue as "whether a party should be deprived of their constitutional right to a jury trial when they purportedly enter into an arbitration agreement via a se...

Tuesday morning, the Department of Labor announced new regulations pertaining to how gig workers are classified. The battle has often taken place in the past at the state level, for example, ride share companies recently invested heavily to defeat propositions in California which would have required that drivers for Uber and Lyft be classified as traditional employees, rather than independent contractors.  The regulation will require a review period and comments will be received. The 184 page proposed regulation includes a new framework, which departs from the Trump-era test, which primarily considered 1.) the nature and degree of control over the work; and 2.) the worker's opportunity for profit or loss. While the previous test included three other factors, those two were the primary considerations as to whether a worker can be classified as an independent contractor.  Under this test, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that an employer's control of actions in certain instances is ju...