18 results for 'judge:"Heytens"'.
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly granted the county judgment when it found no reasonable adjudicator could view the facts in a way that would make incarcerated workers employees for the purpose of the act. A group of imprisoned people working at a recycling plant sued the county, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and two Maryland statutes. There is no definite rule that such workers cannot be covered by the act when they work outside their detention facility’s walls and for someone other than their immediate detainer. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 23-1731, Categories: Employment, Labor, Prisoners' Rights
J. Heytens finds the lower court denied to dismiss the indictment under the Speedy Trial Act. The defendant has a long history of mental illness and substance abuse. After an episode that started with him knocking on a stranger’s door to ask for a drink of water and ended with him pulling a gun, he was convicted of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. The defendant's trial was significantly delayed after he was declared incompetent, an allowed exception to the Act. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens , Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 23-4089, Categories: Competence, Firearms, Speedy Trial
J. Heytens finds the lower court properly denied the electoral board members' motion to dismiss First Amendment claims. The City of Lynchburg's registrar from 2018 to 2023 claims the board's two Republican members refused to reappoint her to the position, not for the failure of duty but because she was not a loyal Donald Trump supporter. The members are correct in assuming sovereign immunity bars the registrar from recovering monetary damages, but she is entitled to seek injunctive relief. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 23-1902, Categories: Government, Immunity, First Amendment
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly granted summary judgment to the state on a Title IX claim. The state claimed its law establishing that athletic teams or sports designated for females, women or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex, defined as an individual whose biological sex determined at birth is male, didn't violate Title IX because it gave the eight-grade transgender girl the option to still participate in sports so long as it was with the boys team. Requiring the girl to countermand her social transition, her medical treatment and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches and even opponents as a boy is unreasonable. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 23-1078, Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Injunction
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly denied the inmate's statutory and constitutional claims stemming from rejecting his request for a prison to accommodate his religious dietary restrictions. The inmate, a Sufi Muslim, cannot eat meat except certain fish and has a soy allergy, making it impossible for him to eat the prison's religious special diet. The government imposes a substantial burden on religious practice when it puts a person between a rock and a hard place - forcing them to choose between a government-provided benefit and their religious convictions. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 23-6334, Categories: Constitution, Prisoners' Rights
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly granted summary judgment to the doctor. An incarcerated person who has celiac disease sued a doctor for depriving him of a gluten-free diet. The inmate did not have an expert witness who could testify about the standard treatment for celiac disease or the causal link between the doctor’s conduct and his asserted harm. Even without an expert, the inmate produced evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude the doctor knew of his celiac disease and disregarded the excessive risk it posed to his health or safety by failing to respond reasonably. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 22-6313, Categories: Experts, Prisoners' Rights
J. Heytens upholds the lower court’s finding that the Maryland company that rented nine people a pontoon is not liable for their injuries in a boating accident when the boat motor failed, resulting in a collision with a bridge that capsized the vessel. The boaters couldn’t show how the accident resulted from the renter’s own negligence. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 23-1312, Categories: Negligence
J. Heytens finds no reversible error in the conviction of defendant for three offenses related to his paid murder of another man. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-4696, Categories: Murder
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly ruled that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act did not protect a prepaid debit card. The self-employed mechanic applied for and received unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic that the government distributed via prepaid debit cards. After a prolonged period, the mechanic received his card, but the card had a zero balance, and the entire $14,644 had been spent between August and October on transactions he did not recognize. The mechanic sued the bank, asserting its conduct and error-claim procedures violated the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act and various state law obligations. The Act does protect the account because it is a government benefit account under the controlling regulations. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 22-1954, Categories: Government, Banking / Lending, Covid-19
J. Heytens finds the lower court properly granted judgment to the insurance company. The investment advisor sought coverage from her company's insurance plan after a company sued her for defamation for telling her clients not to invest after she claims to have found damning information about the company's CEO. The insurance company refused to pay because the advisor was acting on her behalf rather than her company's when she blew the whistle on the company. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens , Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: 22-1542, Categories: Insurance, Defamation, Whistleblowers
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly did not provide a sufficient explanation of its rationale for applying an obstruction of justice enhancement. The defendant is accused of trading gunshots with another man late at night. When police arrived on the scene, they found the defendant, who claimed not to be a victim, rather than one of the two men firing shots. The defendant not sharing that he had also fired shots does not count as concealment to obstruct justice. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 21-4281, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Obstruction
J. Heytens properly convicted the gang members. The gang members associated with the Bloods street and prison gang were convicted of racketeering after admitting to killing rival gang members and selling drugs. Evidence, including text messages and witness testimonials, are more than sufficient for their convictions. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 20-4565, Categories: Evidence, Racketeering, Gangs
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. Heytens finds the lower court properly sentenced defendant to death after he was found guilty of fatally shooting two bank employees during a robbery. The lower court had no duty to order a psychological examination by a court-appointed expert to determine whether defendant was fit for trial, especially considering the fact that defendant's counsel fought to show that he was, in fact, fit for trial. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens , Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 20-1, Categories: Competence, Death Penalty, Fair Trial
J. Heytens finds the lower court properly confirmed the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. Chapter 13 bankruptcy filers who earn more than the median income can use their mortgage payments to calculate how much they can afford to pay unsecured creditors rather than the relevant local standard which would have deducted less. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 22-1328, Categories: Bankruptcy
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly granted the government's motion to dismiss a suit seeking a refund for 2013 taxes after the taxpayer accidentally overpaid. The taxpayer plausibly alleges that his claim for a refund on his 2013 taxes was physically delivered to the IRS before the statutory deadline. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 22-1537, Categories: Government, Tax, Agency
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly dismissed the autistic student's ADA claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The student, who sought to be accompanied by a private therapist during the school day, does not need to exhaust remedies for a suit where he is not asking the government to pay for the service. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 21-1596, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Education