judge

Judge holds himself in contempt for his cell phone

Michigan Judge Raymond Voet doesn't like phones interrupting court proceedings. It's fair enough; court is very serious business, and the last thing you need is someone's wacky ringtone right at the moment of sentencing. Voet, therefore, decided that offenders are liable to be held in contempt and fined, a policy that's stated in a clear sign hanging in Voet's courtroom.

So when, in the middle of court, his own phone started asking him to give it voice commands, he had no choice but to hold himself accountable.

"The prosecutor was in the middle of his closing arguments," Voet, an Ionia County 64-A District Court judge, told ABC News. "He lost his train of thought and looked at me. I felt my face starting to burn red." Voet turned off his phone and allowed the prosecutor to continue. During a break in proceedings, however, he fined himself the $25. … Read more

Judge nixes class action suit in employee poaching case for now

A federal judge has decided not to elevate an antitrust lawsuit over non-poaching agreements to class action status. But the ruling is far from final.

In a decision announced today, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh said there was not yet enough evidence to turn a present civil suit against seven technology companies into a class action lawsuit, according to Reuters.

The case refers to a civil suit filed in 2011 by five workers against Google, Intuit, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, claiming that the companies tried to keep down wages through non-poaching agreements.

Six of the companies … Read more

MP3 resale violates copyright law, court rules

A court ruling has put the kibosh on reselling digital media.

In a lawsuit between Universal Music Group's Capitol Records and MP3 reseller ReDigi, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan has sided with the record label and said that reselling songs bought on iTunes, Amazon, or other digital music venues is akin to copyright infringement.

"The court grants Capitol's motion for summary judgment on its claims for ReDigi's direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement of its distribution and reproduction rights," Judge Sullivan wrote in a summary judgment filed Saturday. "The court also denies ReDigi's … Read more

Judge says Apple's Siri case against Samsung can proceed

The U.S. federal judge presiding over the landmark patent suit between Apple and Samsung in Northern California said today that a second Apple patent suit against Samsung -- involving Apple's Siri technology -- can go forward.

Apple won a $1.05 billion verdict against Samsung last year in a San Jose, Calif., trial, but U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected the iPhone maker's request for a permanent injunction against sales of offending Samsung devices. A separate suit filed by Apple accuses Samsung of violating a group of patents, including one related to Siri voice search technology. … Read more

Nokia backs Apple in legal skirmish against Samsung

Apple has finally found an ally in its fight for a sales ban of Samsung phones.

On Monday, Nokia filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington backing Apple in its bid for a permanent injunction of certain Samsung phones, Reuters reported yesterday.

Though the brief itself was sealed, a summary from Nokia said that the court was wrong to deny Apple's request.

Nokia attorney Keith Broyles argued that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., made a mistake when she said that Apple must show a "… Read more

New Apple-Samsung damages ruling: The products in question

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh today ordered a new trial to recalculate some of the damages in the Apple-Samsung case, striking $450.5 million off the original $1 billion-plus judgment against Samsung. Here's a rundown of the products in question.

The damages on the following Samsung products -- $450.5 million -- have been stricken from the jury's award and will be modified:

Galaxy Prevail Gem Indulge Infuse 4G Galaxy SII AT&T Captivate Continuum Droid Charge Epic 4G Exhibit 4G Galaxy Tab Nexus S 4G Replenish Transform

The damages awarded on the following products -- … Read more

Judge tosses some shareholder suits over Facebook's IPO flop

Things may be looking up for Facebook in the dozens of lawsuits it's facing from peeved shareholders over its botched initial public offering.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet ruled in favor of Facebook today and dismissed a group of these cases, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The social network became embroiled in this extensive legal battle shortly after its $16 billion IPO last May. The company's stock opened on the Nasdaq priced at $38 a share and, aside from a slight uptick right at the start, proceeded to plummet in the days and weeks following. Defendants … Read more

John McAfee said to be released from Guatemalan detention

A Guatemalan judge has ordered antivirus-software pioneer John McAfee to be released from a local detention center, according to the Associated Press.

Judge Judith Secaida reportedly told McAfee's lawyer, Telesforo Guerra, that she ruled McAfee's detention to be illegal and he had 10 days to figure out his immigration status.

McAfee was detained last week after illegally crossing the border from Belize to Guatemala. He entered Guatemala to seek asylum from officials in Belize, who have been pursuing him for the past few weeks in connection with the shooting death of his neighbor. McAfee had been on the … Read more

Sony PSN hacking lawsuit dismissed by judge

A California district judge has dismissed a handful of charges that plaintiffs brought against Sony, including negligence, restitution, and unjust enrichment in its handling of a PlayStation Network data breach last year.

Several lawsuits were filed against Sony PlayStation Network in the wake of a major security breach of the personal data of more than 75 million customers in April 2011.

On Friday, Judge Anthony Battaglia of the U.S. District Court in Southern California ruled that one of those class action suits is invalid, according to Courthouse News.

When the attack happened in 2011, more than 75 million customer … Read more