360 results for 'court:"8th Circuit"'.
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly granted summary judgment in favor of an insurance company on a car dealership's contract claims. The car dealership argued that the insurance company was obligated to provide coverage after his establishment caught fire, damaging the premises. However, the insurance company sufficiently showed in court that the dealership's complaint was foreclosed under a limited settlement agreement and release of disputed property damage claims. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 23-1282, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Contract
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly denied a defendant's motion to exclude evidence concerning his conditional guilty plea for producing an possessing child pornography. The defendant argued that he is entitled to relief for a warrantless search of his camera and memory card, which depicted child pornography that he uploaded onto the Internet. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that his 14- year-old daughter found a partially hidden camera in a bathroom that she frequently used to take showers, which justified the seizure under "exigent circumstances," and then turned the device over to her mother, who brought it to a police officer. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 22-3092, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Benton finds a lower court properly revoked a defendant's probation for domestic violence and endangering a child. The defendant argued that his 24- month prison sentence in unreasonable. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the defendant's actions of assaulting a domestic partner in front of the young child creates a detriment to her safety and emotional stability. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 23-1406, Categories: Probation, Domestic Violence, Child Victims
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly ruled in favor of an insurance company on an insured's contract claims. The insured argued that the insurance company was obligated to cover losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the insurer sufficiently showed in court that his policy does not cover business losses. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 22-3477, Categories: Insurance, Covid-19
Per curiam. The Eighth Circuit finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth and possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of controlled substance. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in enhancing his sentence. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that authorities located a "user- amount" of meth in his vehicle and a loaded pistol. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 22-3101, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Firearms
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. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant who pleaded guilty to possession of firearms by a prohibited person. The defendant, who attempted to "choke out" his girlfriend while holding his infant daughter, argued that a protective sweep of the residence conducted by police was invalid. However, under the Fourth Amendment, police officers may be entitled to conduct a quick "protective sweep" based on reasonable suspicion, and presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant surrendered to authorities at the bottom of a staircase that leads to the basement. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 23-1298, Categories: Constitution, Firearms, Search
J. Shepherd finds a lower court properly resentenced a defendant to 240 months in prison for playing a role in a drug ring that sold cocaine. The defendant argued that he is entitled to another sentence reduction. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he faced a life sentence, which was reduced under the First Step Act.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Shepherd, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 22-3040, Categories: Drug Offender
J. Loken finds a lower court properly imposed a pretrial detention order on a defendant who started seven fires while intoxicated inside of a hotel stairwell during a work function. The defendant argued that she is not a flight risk or a danger to society. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the defendant would most likely abscond, based on her history of violating court orders. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 23-3147, Categories: Sentencing, Arson, Employment
J. Kelly finds a lower court improperly denied a defendant's motion for compassionate release after he was convicted for drug trafficking and crimes involving firearms, which resulted in a 360 months sentence and six years of probation. The government argued that his medical challenges, with the exception of one, are not extraordinary. However, the defendant presented sufficient evidence in court that he faced a high risk of contracting Covid-19, and that the lower court may have erred in deciding that his health issues were not "extraordinary and compelling." Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 22-3430, Categories: Evidence, Health Care, Covid-19
J. Benton finds a lower court improperly ruled in favor of a labor relations board on unfair labor practices brought by a group of a small business maintenance company employees. The labor relations board argued that it properly terminated 17 maintenance employees after discovering a screwdriver left inside of a jet engine. However, the board's decision may have been based on suspicion. Vacated.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 22-2958, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Labor / Unions
Per curiam. The appeals court finds a lower court improperly ruled that an insurance company was financially obligated to cover costs of a bridge collapse. A construction company argued that the insurance company agreed to split the costs of damages with its professional- liability insurer. However, the insurance company sufficiently showed in court that the company's coverage excluded accidents in connection to "construction management" and "professional liability." Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 22-3301, Categories: Construction, Insurance, Contract
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly imposed a mental competency evaluation on a defendant who was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant, who suffers from schizophrenia, argued that the government was not entitled to medicate him to restore his competency in order to stand trial. However, a chief of psychiatry, chief of psychology, and a physician presented sufficient evidence in court that a proposed treatment plan that included antipsychotic medicine would improve his quality of life. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 23-1164, Categories: Civil Rights, Health Care, Experts
J. Benton finds a lower court properly dismissed a former employee's human rights violations against her former employer. The former employee, who suffers from a heart condition, argued that she was not obligated to disclose the date she would return to work after taking medical leave. However, her former employer sufficiently showed in court that she was let go for failing to communicate her return after taking nine months off of work. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 22-2922, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly dismissed a defendant's challenge of removal proceedings for sexually abusing a minor. The defendant, a Native of Mexico, argued that "sexual abuse of a minor" is generic. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that sexual abuse of a minor is an aggravated felony. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 22-3598, Categories: Immigration, Sex Offender
J. Benton finds a lower court properly denied a defendant's motion for mistrial. The defendant, who demanded another woman to "get the fuck out of the truck," after catching her with her husband, which resulted in a beating with a metal bar, argued that her actions did not constitute assault with a dangerous weapon, and that she is entitled to relief after her friend and witness wrongfully stated in court that she was on probation. However, the defendant is not entitled to a mistrial based on the judges instructions that she was not on probation at the time of the assault. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 23-1192, Categories: Probation, Assault, Weapons
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly dismissed the Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota's opposition to a rule that requires voters to swear on oath prior to placing their signatures on a petition in favor of a minor party. The alliance argued that forcing voters who support the minor political party to sign a petition with an oath requirement violates the First Amendment, and that some prospective signatories are concerned that signing the petition means forfeiting a right to cast their ballots in the primary election. However, the Minnesota Secretary of State presented sufficient evidence in court that the oath requirement places an "insubstantial burden" on voters, who can change their minds at any time before voting in the primary. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 23-1074, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections, Government
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly sentenced a website operator to life in prison. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in allowing testimony concerning injuries and deaths of 11 customers, who died from fentanyl poisoning. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the defendant's customers thought they were buying Adderall analogue from his site, which was actually fentanyl. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 22-2980, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Criminal Negligence
J. Colloton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 92 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon. The defendant argued that the lower court miscalculated the length of his sentence. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that he has a prior kidnapping offense, qualifies as a violent crime. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Colloton, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 23-1077, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing, Kidnapping
J. Stras finds a lower court improperly ruled in favor of a vegan lifestyle promoter on civil rights claims against a university. The vegan enthusiast argued that the university violated his First Amendment rights by forcing him to obtain permission from a school administrator to pass out pamphlets on veganism. However, the university officials presented sufficient evidence in court that its advance notice policy requirement for non- university publications does not constitute a prior restraint. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 22-1826, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Education
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 132 months in prison and five years probation after he conditionally pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to sell fentanyl. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized by authorities at a Greyhound Bus station, which resulted in a drug sniffing dog alerting to narcotics in his backpack. However, authorities properly obtained a warrant based on suspicion that the defendant was armed and dangerous, his nervous demeanor, and the probability that he may attempt to flee. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 22-3006, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Sentencing
J. Stras finds a lower court properly dismissed the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel advocacy organizations' motion to challenge a new map established to forge 11 majority- Black districts in the state. The advocacy groups, who filed suit against the state's board of apportionment, argued that the new map violates the Voting Rights Act. However, the state's public policy panel provided sufficient evidence in court that the only party entitled to file suit is the U.S. Attorney, and not citizens groups. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 22-1395, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections, Government
J. Melloy finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant for failing to properly register as a sex offender. The government argued that the defendant is a Tier III offender for forced prostitution. However, the defendant presented sufficient evidence in court that he may be entitled to Tier I status based on the "realistic probability" that his forced prostitution offense only involved "over- the-clothes touching." Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Melloy, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 23-1690, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Prostitution
J. Grasz finds a lower court properly denied a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he pleaded guilty to possessing meth. The defendant argued that police officers searched his vehicle without consent. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the car he was driving was stolen, and that the search was proper under the "automobile exception." Affirmed.v
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Grasz, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 22-2930, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Theft
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 188 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexual abuse of a person who was physically incapable of declining participation. The defendant, who is a member of the Iowa based Meskwaki Nation of the Sac & Fox Tribe, argued that the lower court erred in failing to direct the jury to apply an intoxication instruction, based on his claims that he was too drunk to have assaulted the minor female. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant assaulted the child the next morning, and that he was most likely lucid during the assault. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 22-3567, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Assault
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly dismissed a news reporter's First Amendment rights against a police officer. The reporter, who was filming a protest, argued that she suffered injuries after a police officer sprayed pepper spray into the crowd. However, the City sufficiently showed in court that the officer is protected by qualified immunity, and that the correspondent failed to show that he intentionally sprayed her exclusively based on her "well- known reporter" status.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 22-3000, Categories: Civil Rights, First Amendment
J. Loken finds a lower court properly dismissed a class of consumers' Missouri Merchandising Practices Act claims. The class of consumers argued that The Gap and Old Navy engaged in deceptive advertising by tagging merchandise as discounted without previously selling a certain amount of clothing at regular prices. However, the retailers sufficiently showed in court that the class of consumers did not suffer an actual loss by missing the opportunity to have bought items for less money during an advertised sale. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 22-3187, Categories: Consumer Law, Class Action
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly denied a citizen of Guatemala's request to remain in the U.S. The citizen of Guatemala argued that he would face persecution in his native land for being bisexual. However, he failed to present sufficient evidence in court that encountered extreme maltreatment and physical harm based on his sexual orientation. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 22-3318, Categories: Civil Rights, Immigration
J. Loken finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 100 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in applying a four- level increase for using the firearm in a previous crime. However, the defendant has two prior offenses for controlled substances in Illinois, and one in Iowa for intimidating a person with a dangerous weapon. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-3394, Categories: Drug Offender, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Colloton finds a lower court properly dismissed a group of protestors' excessive force claims against a group of police officers. The class of protestors, who gathered at the Backwater Bridge in Morton County, argued that they suffered injuries when law enforcement sprayed them with tear gas and rubber bullets when they tried to remove dump trucks parked on the bridge. However, the county presented sufficient evidence in court that the officers did not effect a seizure during the protest, but instead, a dispersal of a crowd. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Colloton, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 22-1246, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence
J. Loken finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 72 months in prison and three years probation after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued that his sentence is unreasonable. However, the defendant has a prior conviction for second-degree robbery, which is a crime of violence. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 22-3634, Categories: Firearms, Robbery, Sentencing