31 results for 'judge:"Sutton"'.
J. Sutton finds bodycam footage from a police officer that showed the victim of defendant's stabbing identify her as the culprit was sufficient to prove she was the perpetrator of the crime and to support her murder conviction. Meanwhile, although defendant initially requested a lawyer when she was detained, she told the police, "I'll still talk to you," and repeatedly acknowledged she was waiving her Miranda rights before her statement and interrogation; therefore, the trial court properly denied her motion to suppress. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1874, Categories: Evidence, Miranda, Murder
J. Sutton finds that the lower court properly found for the zoning commission in a dispute over its handling of a plot amendment application to permit construction of a new home without a 25-foot setback requirement. The challenger has not demonstrated genuine issues of material fact remain in dispute that prevent the entry of summary judgment. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: WD86307, Categories: Zoning
[Consolidated.] J. Sutton finds that although both defendants are "actually innocent" of firearm specifications to which they pleaded guilty because the charges no longer qualify as crimes of violence, their procedural defaults cannot be excused. The charges dismissed by the government in exchange for guilty pleas are "equally serious" and still qualify as crimes of violence. Therefore, defendants cannot prove their innocence of the dismissed charges and are entitled to no relief. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 21-6214, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Firearms, Plea
J. Sutton finds the district court properly granted summary judgment to the insurer in this dispute over denied coverage for losses an aluminum company suffered due to aluminum shortages caused by transportation issues and delays. The insurer alleges the policy did not cover the transportation expenses and that the delay’s did not result from arrest, detainment or restraint. The aluminum company did in fact suffer the transportation issues, but the parties only focused on the threshold question of whether the aluminum firm experienced that risk. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 23-5543, Categories: Insurance, Maritime
J. Sutton finds that the lower court properly found for the baseball club on a former employee's age and religious discrimination claims. There is no evidence that the club treated him differently than non-Jewish employees, and he can only point to one offensive comment made by a co-worker, not a supervisor, about his religion in 10 years of employment. Further, that comment was made after the club had already decided to the employee's position was no longer needed. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: WD86311, Categories: Employment Discrimination
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J. Sutton finds that while the language and format of the powertrain warranty certificate may be mundane, the certificate is still entitled to copyright protection. Its crafting was the result of a de minimis level of creativity and involved a distinct arrangement of necessary elements; therefore, the lower court properly awarded the copyright holder's motion for summary judgment and damages from the competitor who duplicated the certificate for its own benefit. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 23-3394, Categories: Copyright, Evidence, Warranty
J. Sutton finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of rape, sodomy, and kidnapping. The state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant locked the victim in the trunk of her car and drover her to a secluded spot so he could force her to perform oral sex at gunpoint. Further, the court did not err in declining to answer the jury's question about whether defendant's sentences would run consecutively or concurrently. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: WD85844, Categories: Sex Offender, Kidnapping, Jury Instructions
J. Sutton finds the lower court properly dismissed the immigrants' request for civil penalties after the government inadvertently filed an unsealed affidavit in response to the immigrants' visa application complaint. Although federal law prevents disclosure of applicants' personal information, not only had the immigrants already disclosed the identifying information in previous filings, but the government requested the affidavit be sealed the following day; therefore, any disclosure was negligent, not willful. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 23-5867, Categories: Civil Procedure, Immigration, Negligence
J. Sutton finds that the lower court properly revoked defendant's driving privileges after she was arrested for a DUI. The court reasonably found the officer had probable cause to believe she was intoxicated, and she was allowed an opportunity to contact an attorney following her arrest. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: WD85515, Categories: Administrative Law, Vehicle
J. Sutton finds the lower court properly sided with Sprint and applied the lower of two proposed interest rates to the $2.2 million in payments to the local telecommunications company. The tariff for connecting local calls is defined as the "highest rate levied by law," which, in Kentucky, is set at 8 percent. Therefore, only governments or regulators could approve the 10.66 percent rate sought by the local telecommunications provider and the lower court properly added $4.3 million in interest. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 23-5369, Categories: Communications, Damages
J. Sutton finds the lower court properly found for the school district because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not require a district to provide accommodations for students with disabilities in a post-secondary educational setting, including the dual-enrollment program at Morehead University for gifted high school students. Although the student in this case is not the typical age for a college student, the university program involves college courses and living on a campus more than 180 miles away from his high school, all of which renders it post-secondary education and relives the district of its duty to provide an individualized education plan. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 22-6091, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Education
[Consolidated.] J. Sutton finds the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission exceeded the scope of his authority when he requested and obtained a remand from the D.C. Circuit Court to allow the commission to reconsider its prior decisions and ultimately deny the power generation companies' requests for changes to the price caps for reserve supplies. A quorum majority of the commission is required to approve such decisions, and because the power companies were unaware of the chairman's actions until several months later, their objection is timely and the commission's decision will be vacated to allow for a remand of the case.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 22-3176, Categories: Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Energy
J. Sutton finds the lower court properly found for the school district because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not cover postsecondary education, including the automotive repair classes taken by the disabled student at a community college. The district was not required to provide special education services to the student, especially considering the community college did not allow assistants to attend classes with students. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 22-5874, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Education
J. Sutton finds the lower court properly dismissed the death row inmate's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The exculpatory evidence he claims was withheld by the prosecution, including a plea deal on unrelated charges with the individual who identified him as the shooter, did not exist and was based solely on speculation. Additionally, notes taken by the victim's family during their initial interview with police were not required to be disclosed because they mentioned only a man named as a potential suspect and, therefore, did not impeach any of the state's other evidence. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 22-3201, Categories: Death Penalty, Evidence, Habeas
J. Sutton finds the lower court improperly vacated the IRS tax-avoidance notice on a nationwide basis. The business owners who brought suit for refunds of their penalties sought only monetary relief, which was satisfied when the IRS provided refunds, and, therefore, the case was mooted and the court lacked jurisdiction upon remand from this court.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 23-1138, Categories: Administrative Law, Government, Tax
J. Sutton finds that the lower court improperly granted the wife's motion to set aside the parties' divorce judgment. There is no evidence to support her contention that the husband was required to give the wife $180,000 in cash, rather than as an assignment of his pension, or that the payment was intended to allow her to purchase a home. Reversed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: WD85653, Categories: Family Law
J. Sutton finds the lower court erroneously dismissed a fired CEO's tort claims against comedian Kathy Griffin because her tweets, which tagged the CEO's company and were shared with more than two million followers, provided the necessary contacts in the state of Tennessee to establish jurisdiction for the CEO's tort claims. Griffin revealed the CEO lived outside Nashville and urged her followers to contact his employer, a Tennessee-based company, to fire him, all of which directly targeted Tennessee and established jurisdiction for his tort claims. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 23-5257, Categories: Tort, Emotional Distress, Jurisdiction
[Consolidated.] J. Sutton finds the lower courts improperly granted injunctions against enforcement of Kentucky and Tennessee's bans on certain gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Not only were the injunctions overly broad, but the bans are not unconstitutional violations of due process or equal protection rights. Although the treatments are not experimental, the long-term effects on children under the age of 18 are not entirely known, and state governments have a legitimate interest in reasonable regulations on health care. Therefore, the injunctions will be vacated and the bans will remain in effect. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 23-5600, Categories: Constitution, Government, Health Care
J. Sutton finds that although the employer's executive testified he had no knowledge of employees ever being gifted ownership shares in the company and that its policy was to buy all outstanding shares when an employee left the company, the trial court properly determined the former employee established ownership of stock shares. Not only did the employee's own testimony refute that of the executive, but he had physical ownership documents of the shares of stock. Furthermore, the trial court properly refused to increase damages, as the executive's testimony and supporting documentation regarding dividends provided by the company were sufficient to allow the court to properly calculate dividends owed to the former employee. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3291, Categories: Damages, Conversion, Contract
J. Sutton finds that the commission properly awarded the employee $4600 in partial disability benefits but denied her claim for $30,000 to pay her medical bills after admitting evidence that her employer already paid her medical bills. The commission properly admitted this evidence and found the employer's checks to be credible evidence that it already paid the bills for which the employee sought coverage. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: WD86109, Categories: Workers' Compensation
J. Sutton finds the IRS's issue of a tax refund check ended the lawsuit brought by the cryptocurrency producer and, therefore, the lower court properly dismissed the case as moot. The check was not an offer by the government that could have been rescinded or modified and, in fact, the IRS gave the cryptocurrency producer exactly the amount he requested in his lawsuit, plus interest. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-6023, Categories: Civil Procedure, Government, Tax
J. Sutton finds thae "Shared Responsibility Payment" of the Affordable Care Act amounts to a tax under federal law and, therefore, the bankruptcy panel properly determined the federal government could recoup the debt during the debtor's bankruptcy proceedings. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 22-3312, Categories: Bankruptcy, Health Care, Tax
J. Sutton finds the trial court properly found defendant competent to stand trial on arson and murder charges related to several fires, one of which killed seven people, including five children. Although he suffered from a mental illness, he was placed under 24/7 supervision in a mental health facility for 20 days after being arrested and showed no signs of delusion or a lack of understanding about the proceedings against him. Meanwhile, defendant failed to prove prejudice as a result of a single trial for all three fires, given that the jury acquitted him of some of the charges. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2220, Categories: Competence, Murder, Arson
J. Sutton finds the trial court properly held for a hospital and its employees in a custody suit filed by the former patient. They are immune as a result of the conservatorship established when the patient was first treated, as it acted only on the conservator's advice when it limited the mother's visitation and eventually removed the patient from her custody. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2225, Categories: Family Law, Health Care
J. Sutton finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion to suppress during defendant's drugs and firearms case. The community caretaking exception to the Fourth Amendment does not apply, as the officer's failure to knock on the car window or shine a flashlight inside prior to opening the door violated his Fourth Amendment rights regardless of any concern about his health and safety. Although the officer's assumption defendant was intoxicated when he saw him passed out in the driver's seat of a running car was not unreasonable, the officer should have used a less intrusive means to begin his investigation. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 26, 2023, Case #: 22-1445, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Sutton finds the lower court erroneously ruled the U.S. government could be held responsible under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for cleanup of oil refinery sites for their takeover of the facilities during World War II. While the government may have managed the facilities to help with wartime production, it did not exercise control over disposal processes that led to ground contamination. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 22-1789, Categories: Environment, Government
J. Sutton finds the advice of the inmate's attorney to plead guilty to certain charges that were eventually found not to constitute crimes of violence under federal sentencing guidelines did not constitute ineffective assistance. Not only was the change in sentencing guidelines made more than two years after the plea agreement, the 12 pages of evidentiary admissions by the inmate and the life sentence mandated by his murder of a federal witness charge clearly prove his bargaining position was not affected by the advice. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 21-6208, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sentencing, Plea
[Consolidated.] J. Sutton finds that the lower court improperly invalidated a lis pendens filed in a breach of contract action stemming from alleged fraudulent misrepresentation by a real estate broker. There was a reasonable relationship between the recorded lis pendens notice and the suit filed in the underlying case. Reversed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: WD85561, Categories: Property, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Sutton finds the government officials involved in the creation of the automated unemployment benefits system that flagged possible fraud cases are entitled to summary judgment on four participants' due process claims. Although the participants were flagged for fraud, they did not lose their benefits, and the state offers procedural protections before the revocation of any benefits. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 21-1407, Categories: Government, Immunity, Due Process