A federal judge has dismissed all charges against adult film producer John Stagliano, granting a defense motion for judgment of acquittal in the closely watched First Amendment case. Stagliano and two of his companies were charged with producing two movies and a trailer that federal prosecutors said were criminally obscene. “It’s a great day for the First Amendment

The Federal Circuit issued an en banc decision upholding an earlier ruling that patent applications must contain a specific “written description” of the claimed invention in addition to enabling language explaining how to make and use it.

Covington & Burling asked a federal judge on Tuesday to grant summary judgment in the closely watched race discrimination suit against the firm filed by former staff attorney Yolanda Young. The judge last month dismissed one of Young’s claims as time-barred but let another claim move forward. In its motion for summary judgment, Covington says that Young lacks the proper standing to file a discrimination suit because she was not personally affected by any of the firm’s alleged discriminatory policies.

In the closely watched court battle over Delaware’s scotched plan to launch a sports betting lottery, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday handed down an opinion that explains why the judges permanently blocked the lottery last week in a ruling from the bench. In its decision, the unanimous three-judge panel sided with all the major sports leagues and declared that the proposed expansion of Delaware’s gaming would violate the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

The D.C. Circuit on Friday took a shot at the FCC when it tossed a rule that barred any single cable television operator from serving more than 30 percent of all subscribers. Cable operators, including Comcast, had argued that the restriction blocked their ability to make efficient acquisitions.