U.S. Eighth Circuit

Ronald Calzone drives cattle, not trucks, for a living. But a Missouri police officer pulled him over for driving a truck because the officer thought he was violating long-haul vehicle laws. The officer searched the vehicle and then let him go because it turned out Calzone was a farmer, not a commercial driver. Calzone sued in Calzone v. Koster, but a judge said the stop-and-search was justified to protect the public. Calzone said something like "bull," and appealed.

When Carol O'Neal's husband died in a hunting accident, she sued his rifle's manufacturer, the Remington Arms Company. The rifle's design was defective, she alleged, causing the gun to fire when the trigger wasn't pulled. There was one catch, though. Ms. O'Neal couldn't produce her husband's rifle or even any direct evidence of the defect. That doesn't mean her case can't go forward, however, the Eighth Circuit ruled on Wednesday.A Recall Would Be Too Hard, Right?

When the Harris News Agency applied for a federal license to sell guns, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives denied their application on the grounds that the company's officers had willfully allowed a felon to possess firearms by letting him work as a gunsmith. But, simply allowing a felon to work with guns isn't reason enough to deny the license, the Eighth Circuit ruled on Tuesday.From Jim's Hobbies to Harris News Of course, things are a little more complicated than that.

Missouri passed a ban on abortions after the eighth week of pregnancy, setting up another conflict in the ongoing legal battles over abortion. It's a foregone conclusion that the governor will sign the bill, and no doubt it will be challenged in the courts. If so, it will go to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Abortion advocates are not optimistic. When the lawyers get there, they will face inherent controversy and meet a new judge or two at the same time.

Last year, Judge Ralph Erickson ordered a new sentencing phase in the case, finding that several pieces of evidence and his attorney's failure to utilize the insanity defense had violated Rodriguez's constitutional rights.

After a federal district court upheld the University of Minnesota's decision to move guest speaker Ben Shapiro from an on-campus to an off-campus venue because she found that school had legitimate safety concerns, the Eighth Circuit dismissed conservative student groups' appeal, ruling that their constitutional claims were moot after the school replaced the challenged campus events policy.