167 results for 'filedAt:"2023-08-16"'.
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly abused its discretion in denying the defendant's motion for a sentence reduction. The defendant would be subject to two five-year mandatory minimums, rather than a five-year and a twenty-five-year mandatory minimum if sentenced for his two firearm possession in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime offenses today due to the First Step Act. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory , Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 21-7752, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Prisoners' Rights
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly convicted defendants of various charges including racketeering conspiracy involving murder, carjacking, attempted robbery and firearm offenses. Defendants are members of the Gangster Disciples gang. The district court correctly refused to play a video for the jury venire about unconscious bias and did not abuse its discretion by refusing to ask questions during voir dire about unconscious bias. The district court correctly refused to admit expert opinion testimony about the nature and structure of the gang and correctly refused to suppress evidence obtained through an extended wiretap of one defendant's phone. Three defendants' rights were not violated when the district court ordered them to wear ankle restraints throughout the trial. However, one defendant's firearm conviction under the Armed Career Criminal Act must be vacated in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's finding in United States v. Taylor that attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime of violence under the statute. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 19-15024, Categories: Sentencing, Racketeering, Gangs
J. Hendon finds for the brother in his dispute with the beneficiary over the division of their father's estate, specifically regarding the trial court's non-final order granting the brother's motion to disqualify the beneficiary's attorney from their probate dispute. Because of conflicts of interest presented by the attorney and beneficiary's previous attorney-client relationship lasting several years, during which the attorney did work on the deceased father's will, the trial court's decision is upheld. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Hendon, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 23-0503, Categories: Wills / Probate, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Duhart finds the trial court properly terminated the mother's parental rights. She failed to put into use any of the skills learned during parenting classes, lied to family services employees about her continued relationship with their father, who was violent and involved in drug trafficking, and could not provide a safe home for the children, who were exposed to violence, gunfire, and other dangers while in her custody. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Duhart, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2868, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Bokor finds the trial court properly ruled against the wife in her lawsuit arguing for the removal of her deceased husband's four children from a previous marriage as beneficiaries of his estate under the terms of the husband's marital settlement agreement with his ex-wife. Interpreting the marital settlement agreement as a contract, the plain language of the agreement states that 50% of the husband's estate must be equally divided between the children, so the trial court's summary judgment order in favor of the children stands. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Bokor, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 21-2180, Categories: Wills / Probate, Contract
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J. Pagan finds the juvenile court properly asserted jurisdiction over two children on the additional basis that the mother suffers from mental health problems. “The record was legally sufficient for the juvenile court to find that mother’s mental health problems provided an additional basis for jurisdiction over both children.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Pagan, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: A179626, Categories: Juvenile Law
Per curiam, the Georgia Supreme Court removes from office Judge Christian Coomer of the Georgia Court of Appeals for violating the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct by misusing campaign funds and improperly handling a relationship with an elderly client which began before the judge was sworn in. The judge failed to report transfers of campaign funds to his law firm operating account and failed to disclose the use of campaign funds for a family vacation to Hawaii. The judge also took advantage of the elderly client's trust to accept an unsecured loan and position himself, and later his wife, into authority over the client's wealth as executor of the client's will. The judge's conduct was undertaken in bad faith.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: S21Z0595, Categories: Judiciary
J. Rodriguez dismisses a lawsuit brought against a communications company for alleged infringement of computer security patents. “Merely providing software for a customer to use does not constitute direct infringement of a patent that requires a combination of both software and hardware,” and the suing company does not allege that the communications company makes infringing hardware.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv1039, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent, Technology
J. Savoie finds that the trial court improperly dismissed the shopper's claims stemming from his alleged injuries due to a slip and fall. The shopper's expert report was erroneously stricken based on the fact no inspection of the store was done, but the expert could not perform an inspection or testing at the site since the store had filed for bankruptcy and abandoned the location. Also, the evidence created genuine issues of material fact that precluded summary judgment. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Savoie, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: CA-22-745, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Tort
J. Blake grants a non-profit serving disabled adults with daily care its summary judgment following FLSA violation allegations brought by three former staff who each worked in different roles at different rates of pay. The staff members argue that the work involved across the different positions was essentially the same and should have had the same rate of pay and overtime pay. However, the nonprofit correctly demonstrates that based on significant differences in the work of the various positions, it uses a weighted average formula when calculating overtime pay.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Blake, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv731, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Labor
J. Chun grants the employee's counsel $92,900 in attorney fees after the employee partially prevailed on his complaint alleging that Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro did not select the employee for an apprentice program because of his age. The employee asks for $347,400 in attorney fees for 800 hours of work, but the hour-by-hour analysis is not feasible because the employee's request includes the work of three attorneys and one paralegal with fluctuating hourly rates over the span of nearly four years.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv6095, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Attorney Fees
J. Lee finds that the lower court improperly found for the town on a sex offender's challenge to its restriction on offenders' living within 6,500 feet of each other. The town officers no explanation for why prohibiting offenders from living close by one another would safeguard children, especially given that offenders are already prohibited from living near places where children congregate. Reversed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 22-2435, Categories: Civil Rights, Municipal Law
J. Rodriguez partially grants a motion to exclude filed by a public school district after it was sued by a former student who alleged she was sexually abused by two male teachers and that the school district ignored her outcries. One expert specializes in school responses to Title IX complaints, and while the school district argues this case does not require this “scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge,” such objections “are best saved for a motion in limine or trial.” The other expert specializes in education administration, and while he may offer relevant testimony in this area, he cannot testify on a specific incident of alleged abuse.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv369, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Experts
J. Scales finds the trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for postconviction relief claiming his 40-year prison sentence handed down when he was 15 years old for crimes including armed burglary, kidnapping and armed sexual battery is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Defendant's appeal fails under Florida law and court precedent in part because his 40-year sentence does not rise to the life-sentence level of punishment to implicate the constitutional protections he claims. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Scales, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 22-2073, Categories: Burglary, Sentencing, Cruel And Unusual Punishment
J. Georges affirms a real estate company’s motion for summary judgment against a bereaved mother suing it for wrongful death and loss of consortium after her son was shot and killed outside property with a nightclub on it that the real estate company purchased. It is unreasonable to expect the company to have foreseen the shooting and to have protected the decedent from the shooter.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Georges, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: SJC-13380, Categories: Real Estate, Premises Liability, Firearms
J. Mooney finds the trial court properly denied a motion to suppress evidence for defendant, convicted of possession of methamphetamine. The officer had information that there was a knife in the car, therefore he was authorized to search the car for the knife and other evidence of a parole violation. Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Mooney, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: A175647, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence
J. Doss finds that the lower court properly rendered judgment finding that the city violated the Texas Open Meetings Act in this declaratory judgment action concerning the financing of a civic center project. The city's notice regarding a certain ordinance "failed to give the reader adequate notice of the action the City sought to take." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Doss, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 07-22-00341-CV, Categories: Municipal Law, Public Record
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly dismissed with prejudice the Indian casino CFO’s complaint alleging that he was subject to a conspiracy to get him fired after he made an illegal severance payment to a newly elected tribal council member who previously worked at the casino but was no longer allowed to as a council member. Complaints by casino employees led to his arrest and to the suspension of his gaming license. An initial federal suit was dismissed without prejudice as barred by tribal sovereign immunity. An identical state case was removed to federal court by the tribe and dismissed with prejudice. The district court erred in holding that remanding the second case to state court would be futile because it would be barred by sovereign immunity. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 22-30436, Categories: Jurisdiction, Business Practices, Employment Retaliation
J. Moore finds the death-row inmate's due process rights were violated when the trial court enforced his jury trial waiver at his third sentencing hearing in 2009. The three-judge panel convened to sentence him did not include the same three judges explicitly named in the waiver agreement signed before his initial trial in 1984. Additionally, the inmate is entitled to habeas relief on his ineffective assistance claim regarding his attorney's failure to seek recusal of a judge named on the panel because the judge's role as a prosecutor at a previous point in the case, including cross-examination of witnesses during the presentation of mitigation evidence, rose to the level of impermissible bias and likely violated the inmate's due process rights. Reversed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 21-3404, Categories: Death Penalty, Habeas, Ineffective Assistance
J. King finds the lower court improperly awarded summary judgment and, therefore, immunity to the police officer who fatally shot the man suffering from a mental breakdown. There is still a genuine dispute of facts over whether the officer acted reasonably in shooting the Spanish-speaking man who could not understand his English commands and ultimately stood still with both his arms frozen in place and both his hands in the air in a universally recognized position of surrender. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 21-2223, Categories: Negligence, Assault, Police Misconduct
J. Males finds that a lower court properly dismissed a technology company's motion for compound interest on damages. The technology company argued that it is entitled to relief after prevailing on competition law infringement claims against a computer monitors manufacturer. However, the computer monitors manufacturer, which collaborated with a price-fixing cartel, sufficiently showed that the technology company is not entitled to damages during a "post-insolvency period." Affirmed.
Court: Her Majesty's Court of Appeal, Judge: Males, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: CA-2023-296, Categories: Unfair Competition, Damages
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the amicus attorney in a dispute relating to her child support recommendations for a disabled adult. Based on the parties' agreed order and the lack of evidence of any fraud, the appellants "waived any non-jurisdictional error pertaining to venue and have presented nothing for appellate review." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 10-22-00280-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law