Few legal concepts are more confusing than the rules that federal courts apply when sitting in diversity. Federal courts have limited jurisdiction. Jurisdiction loosely translates as the power to say what the law is and to whom it applies. (Courts…
Category: Court News
R.I. Supreme Court or Bust: May 9 Is Your Last Chance to Watch Oral Argument Until the Fall
The Rhode Island Supreme Court will hold its final day of oral argument for term ’17-’18 on Wednesday, May 9 at 9:30 a.m. For all you appellate aficionados out there, it’s your last chance to watch the Supreme Court in…
U.S. Probation Officer Mike Primeau is #1, and I’m Not Just Loosely Translating His Last Name
Today is a sad day for the great State of Rhode Island. We lose one of our finest, U.S. Probation Officer Mike Primeau, who is transferring to a federal probation district in California. Mike Primeau is numero uno, so perhaps…
The Score is 167,504 to 759. So yeah, the State Courts Handle a Few More Cases Than the Federal Court
167,504 to 759. It sounds like a lopsided cricket score (those matches go on forever!), but it’s really the number of proceedings filed in Rhode Island state courts versus the Rhode Island federal court in 2016, the most recent year…
Someone Has a Case of the Mondays: Closing Arguments in Federal Civil Rights Trial are Monday, March 19
Update as of March 19 at 9 a.m.: there are a few more witnesses this morning. Closing arguments are likely to start around 10:15 to 10:30 a.m. (March 19, Courtroom 1 of federal courthouse). Shelton v. Wozny, a federal civil…
Opening Statements in Federal Civil Rights Jury Trial are Monday, March 12
On Monday, March 12, at 9:30 a.m., the federal jury trial in Shelton v. Wozny, civil action number 14-cv-313, will begin in Courtroom 1. U.S. District Judge McConnell will preside. After some quick preliminaries, it is likely the jury will be…
Attention Courthouse Fans: Go Voir a Jury Voir Dire in Federal Court Tomorrow
Law students, members of the public, and interested attorneys: if you can make it to downtown Providence tomorrow morning (January 23, 2018) at 9:30 a.m., and you want to see something that is the rough equivalent of a blue unicorn,…
Reading the Tea Leaves on the Latest Superior Court Judicial Assignments
It’s a new year, and just as the seasons change, so do the calendar assignments for the Justices of the Rhode Island Superior Court. The latest Administrative Order, effective December 31, 2017, is a mix of stare decisis and some…
It’s Musical Chairs At The District of Rhode Island – Courtroom Style!
Not long ago, you could predict the District of Rhode Island’s courtroom lineup like the Red Sox batting order. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez batted 3 and 4, and Judge Lisi sat in Courtroom 1, Chief Judge Smith in Courtroom…
The Legal Memo is Dead in the D.R.I. Long Live the Memo.
Effective December 1, 2017, the United States District Court in Rhode Island amended its local rules. One of the more significant changes is to Local Civil Rule 7 (or LR Cv 7, as it’s known in the biz) to eliminate…