246 results for 'court:"4th Circuit"'.
J. Wynn finds the lower court improperly granted judgment to the administrator on the prisoner's retaliatory transfer claim brought under the First Amendment. The administrator moved the prisoner to a more dangerous prison after he filed numerous grievances stemming from an incident where guards forced the prisoner into a dry cell to produce three bowel movements without being able to wash his hands after they claimed he swallowed something suspicious. The administrator did not give a valid reason for the transfer and, according to the prisoner, even threatened him by saying he would likely be transferred if he continued complaining. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wynn, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 21-7239, Categories: Prisoners' Rights
J. Heyten finds the lower court improperly convicted the couple's three convictions for conspiring to obtain U.S. citizenship fraudulently for the noncitizen and making false statements in their efforts to do so. The couple met in college and married shortly after but lived on opposite sides of the country. Although the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict, the jury was allowed to consider a legally insufficient theory. The government told the jury that a form filled out by the originating citizen labeled herself as married despite the pair being separated. Because it was a separation and not a divorce, she is considered married for the form and, therefore, did not lie as the government portrayed. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 22-4128, Categories: Evidence, Government, Immigration
J. Agee finds the lower court properly granted judgment to the distributor. The appeal centers on the relationship between a manufacturer and a distributor of rotating electrical parts—specifically, starters and alternators—and their disagreement as to who owned the “core value” of thousands of finished parts when their relationship ended. The manufacturer violated its contract with the distributor by failing to supply the agreed-upon number of alternators, and the distributor rightly terminated their contract and sold all remaining parts to its new supplier. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Agee, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 22-1617, Categories: Conversion, Contract
J. Motz finds the lower court properly dismissed the town attorney's discrimination and interference claims. The attorney claims the town's elected officials during the Donald Trump presidency fostered a toxic environment in the town hall that worsened his anxiety, depression and high blood pressure. The attorney sent the mayor and his immediate supervisor a letter listing requested policy changes aimed at creating a healthier workplace but did not mention his health concerns. Merely labeling a list of suggestions an “accommodation request” is not enough to inform the employer that the employee is requesting workplace changes to address his disabilities, rather than other, unrelated issues. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Motz, Filed On: January 2, 2024, Case #: 21-2261, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment, Government
J. Thacker finds the lower court improperly denied the defendant's petition to vacate his sentence without providing discovery or an evidentiary hearing. The defendant pled guilty at the advice of his counsel for one count of illegal possession of a firearm as a felon despite contending since his arrest that the detective planted the gun and stole money from the defendant's home. Several years into the defendant's sentence, the detective and six other officers were charged with numerous crimes, including racketeering, Hobbs Act robbery and extortion, spanning the period between 2014 and 2016, when defendant was arrested. The lower court did not allow the defendant to participate in discovery to gather the evidence needed for his petition before denying it. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Thacker, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 19-7861, Categories: Habeas, Police Misconduct, Prisoners' Rights
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J. Harris finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment despite him making a deal with the government to plead guilty. The defendant made his six adopted children perform sex acts together and with him, amounting to nine charges. The defendant made a deal to plead guilty to one count of aggravated sexual abuse in exchange for the other eight charges to be dropped. The defendant failed to meet the burden of showing a reasonable probability that, but for the error, he would not have entered the plea. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Harris, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 21-4185, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender, Plea
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly applied a four-level sentence enhancement for possession of a firearm in connection with another felony offense. The defendant was convicted for possession of a gun as both a felon and someone subject to a domestic violence protective order. You can not be punished more severely for violating multiple provisions with the same act of possession. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 21-4235, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly denied the defendant's motion for release from civil commitment under the Adam Walsh Act. The defendant, convicted of various crimes involving the sexual exploitation of minors, was civilly committed at the end of his 20-year sentence because the government found him to be sexually dangerous. The defendant seeking to be released told a psychologist that he did not believe pubescent boys were children and that sex with a pubescent boy was not abuse. The defendant failed to provide evidence that he is no longer sexually dangerous. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 22-6118, Categories: Sex Offender, Commitment, Child Victims
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant to 120 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release for unlawful possession of a firearm and aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl. The defendant had previously been convicted of 27 non-traffic offenses, including nighttime burglary, burglary, grand theft, contempt of court, and domestic battery. The defendant qualified for an upward variance in his sentencing despite pleading guilty due to the quantity of fentanyl the defendant possessed. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 21-4312, Categories: Drug Offender, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly affirmed the Social Security Administration’s denial of the retail worker's application for disability benefits. The retail worker's chronic back pain has caused headaches, neck pain, weakness and numbness in her bilateral upper extremities. The administration cannot discount her doctor's opinions about the intensity of her pain because she declined steroid injections. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 21-2193, Categories: Employment, Social Security
J. Quattlebaum finds the lower court properly ordered the internet provider to pay rent for the utility duct. The internet provider rented the duct and could not come to terms with the railroad company over a lease renewal. They submitted the dispute to three appraisers, who decided the rent by a two-to-one vote in the railroad company's favor. The arbitration agreement requires the internet provider to pay the amount set by the appraiser, even if the vote wasn't unanimous. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Quattlebaum, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 22-1554, Categories: Arbitration, Transportation, Contract
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly dismissed the husband's complaint for failure to state a claim. The husband, whose wife killed herself in jail, presented enough evidence that the correctional officer in charge ignored that she had a heightened suicide risk and put her in an isolation cell where she went for long stretches unchecked. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 21-1396, Categories: Civil Rights, Negligence, Prisoners' Rights
J. Richardson finds the indictment failed to state a per se antitrust offense, so the lower court improperly convicted the contractor of a per se violation of the Sherman Act. The contractor, accused of manipulating bidding for large construction projects in North Carolina, properly alleged that his scheme did not restrain anticompetitive effects. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 22-4544 , Categories: Antitrust, Construction, Fraud
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly dismissed the gang member's motion to vacate his conviction of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity with a dangerous weapon remain a crime of violence despite the Supreme Court's ruling narrowing down what crimes count as crimes of violence. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 21-7257, Categories: Firearms, Racketeering, Gangs
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly dismissed the drug dealer's motion for resentencing. The lower court erroneously included special conditions of supervised release that had not been pronounced as part of the dealer's oral sentence. Still, the dealer failed to appeal within the time limit. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 22-4166, Categories: Fair Trial, Sentencing
J. Agee finds the lower court improperly denied instead of dismissed the son's motion to reopen judgment on his death penalty sentence for ineffective counsel. The son and his father killed two police officers after engaging in an armed standoff with law enforcement stemming from the family's opposition to the government opening a road through their property. The son used his motion to reopen judgment due to ineffective counsel to circumvent the statutory limits on second or successive sentencing petitions. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Agee, Filed On: November 27, 2023, Case #: 22-4, Categories: Death Penalty, Murder, Sentencing
J. Quattlebaum finds the lower court properly imposed a sentence at the top of the robber's guidelines for refusing to name his accomplice. The robber and his accomplice robbed a Waffle House and grocery store in a few hours. The robber argued that the lower court violated his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination by imposing a harsher sentence due to his failure to identify his accomplice and drawing adverse inferences from that failure but failed to raise his concerns during the trial. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Quattlebaum, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 21-4442, Categories: Firearms, Robbery, Self Incrimination
J. Richardson finds the lower court improperly found Maryland's handgun qualification license constitutional. The provision requiring purchasers to complete an extensive process, including multiple background checks and completion of a half-day firearms safety course, has no historical analog that justifies its restriction. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 21-2017, Categories: Constitution, Firearms
J. Rushing finds the board properly dismissed the petition for asylum. The native Honduran, who admittedly killed a man with a machete before entering the U.S., alleged that his home government would torture or kill him upon his return. He did not file his petition within 30 days of any final order of removal, and precedent dictates that the statutory filing deadline is jurisdictional.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Rushing, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 22-1221, Categories: Immigration, Jurisdiction
J. Richardson finds the lower court improperly denied the detainee's motion for a preliminary injunction, releasing them and others in a similar circumstance without stated cause. The detainees contend that the pretrial services’ pretrial-release program violates due process by detaining someone after a judge has determined that there are possible conditions under which that person can be released. The court denied the motion without providing reasons. Federal law requires that when granting or refusing a preliminary injunction, a court state the findings of fact and conclusions of law that support its action. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 23-6359, Categories: Bail, Due Process, Class Action
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court improperly severed the inmates' claims. The four inmates allege that the IRS unlawfully denied them all or part of their COVID-19 stimulus payments. The complaint alleged that the IRS was categorically denying payments to inmates on account of their incarcerated status even though, as the complaint asserted, a court had held that incarcerated individuals were entitled to receive stimulus payments. The court operated under the false assumption that the inmates were proceeding in forma pauperis making them subject to the restrictions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act requiring them to bring separate claims. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 22-6401, Categories: Self Representation, Civil Rights, Prisoners' Rights
[Consolidated.] J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly entered judgment against the sheriff and granted injunctive relief to the Muslim woman whom the sheriff forced to pose for photos without her hijab while booking her for a traffic offense in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. The sheriff was ordered to destroy all of the photos, which she did before filing an appeal of the judgment, so her appeal is now moot. However, the court improperly denied the Muslim woman's request for attorneys' fees without holding a hearing as to whether she qualifies as the prevailing party. Affirmed in part.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 22-1826, Categories: Police Misconduct, Injunction
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly sentenced the ISIS supporter for violating the terms of his supervised release. The supporter spent five years in federal prison after donating to ISIS via Bitcoin, recruiting new members, and sharing ISIS content. The ISIS supporter met with several known ISIS sympathizers online using a virtual private network to evade monitoring. The instructions were not vague regarding speaking with other extremists. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson , Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 23-4283, Categories: Parole, Sentencing, Terrorism
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly declined the judge's motion for summary judgment on judicial immunity grounds. During a legal dispute between an ex-married couple over the distribution of several sentimental items like photos and yearbooks, the judge, frustrated with the husband's failure to turn over items, entered his home despite objection from the husband, whom she threatened to arrest and supervised the seizure of items in the house. Taking it upon herself to conduct an unlawful search of his home falls outside of her judicial role. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 22-1757, Categories: Family Law, Judiciary, Immunity
J. Thacker finds the lower court did not abuse its discretion when denying the male's motion to proceed using a pseudonym. The male claims the female lied about being sexually assaulted out of jealousy for him sleeping with another woman. He has to use his real name because if he were successful in proving defamation, his use of a pseudonym would prevent him from having an order that publicly clears him. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Thacker, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 23-1058, Categories: Tort, Defamation, Assault
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly granted the government's motion to dismiss. The wife of a nuclear engineer who smuggled classified data related to nuclear submarines to sell to foreign nations sought to be resentenced, claiming she was not properly informed before agreeing to a plea agreement. She voluntarily and intelligently waived all rights to appeal and has failed to make a sufficient showing to avoid the terms of her plea agreement. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 22-4689, Categories: Sentencing, Plea, Espionage
J. King finds the lower court correctly denied the defendant a writ of coram nobis relief. The defendant argued that his 1993 conviction was predicated on a charge for shooting a gun at a police officer that no longer is classified as a crime of violence. The defendant failed to show that the charge in question was the only reason for his sentence. Affirmed
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 20-7579, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. Richardson finds the lower court properly granted summary judgment to the department store on sex-based wage discrimination claims. The male employee worked as a graphic designer and had a meaningfully different role at the company than the plaintiff female content creator and part-time photographer so she did not identify a similarly-situated comparator. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Richardson, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 21-2328, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Wynn finds the lower court improperly identified first-degree assault as a violent felony for the Armed Career Criminal Act. The defendant correctly argued that first-degree assault was an indivisible offense with alternative means and that because one of the means could be committed in a way that would not constitute a categorically violent felony under the force clause of ACCA’s violent-felony definition, first-degree assault did not qualify as a predicate violent felony. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wynn, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 20-6957, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Assault
J. Rushing finds the lower court properly granted summary judgment to the Adidas on racketeering claims. The once highly touted basketball player failed to show how the bribery scheme initiated to get the prospect to play for Louisville personally injured him or his business. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Rushing , Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 21-1764, Categories: Racketeering