382 results for 'court:"7th Circuit"'.
J. Brennan finds that the lower court must reconsider defendant's sentence on firearms charges because changes to the sentencing guidelines since his sentence changed how status points are applied and would have lowered his criminal history and resulting guidelines range. Vacated.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 22-2665, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly found for the County and dismissed a class action filed by pre-trial detainees alleging that the use of camera to record holding cell toilets infringed their Fourth Amendment privacy rights. The security risks inherent to the jail setting require the court to grant great deference to prison administrators' assessment of the security needs, such as addressing emergencies and monitoring detainees with behavioral or mental health problems. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: 22-2863, Categories: Privacy, Class Action, Prisoners' Rights
J. Flaum finds that the lower court properly found for the state employer in a race and sex discrimination suit filed by a job applicant. There is no evidence the employer changed its hiring criteria for the position after the applicant applied to them as a pretext for not interviewing her. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: 22-3275, Categories: Employment Discrimination
J. Flaum finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea to various drug and firearm charges. Defendant did not argue or show that he would present different or additional evidence to show that he was justified in possessing the firearm. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: 22-3024, Categories: Firearms, Plea
J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly held defendant in criminal contempt for his refusal to answer a prosecutor's question. Defendant took the stand to testify in his own defense, but then attempted to invoke the Fifth Amendment when the prosecutor questioned him. Defendant had already waived his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when he chose to testify and could not validly refuse to answer questions relevant to his testimony. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: 23-1303, Categories: Firearms, Contempt
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. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly ruled against the Black postal employee on allegations he was fired for discriminatory reasons. While the employee filed 15 EEOC charges against his supervisors, the evidence supports a finding he was fired for failing to appear at work for months. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 22-2472, Categories: Employment, Labor
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court improperly found for the employer on a warehouse manager's age discrimination claims. The employee was considered an exemplary worker until a new supervisor came on board who managed to fire the employee within 25 days of joining the company. His reasons for being dissatisfied with the employee's performance within such a short time period do not hold up to scrutiny, and emails suggest the supervisor was searching for reasons to support a decision he had already made. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 22-1180, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination
J. Flaum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of disorderly conduct after he threatened a security officer at the VA hospital because he was upset that test results did not show he had sleep apnea. The hospital is a non-public forum, and reasonably prohibits shouting, abusive language, and other conduct that disrupts care for veterans, so defendant's First Amendment challenge to his convictions fails. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 22-3264, Categories: Constitution, Assault
J. Easterbrook finds that the lower court properly declined to grant defendant a new trial after the court failed to get defendant's formal consent on record to a remote video sentencing hearing. The failure to obtain consent on the record to appearance by video does not satisfy the plain-error standard and defendant does not contend that he would have refused to appear by video had he been asked. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Easterbrook, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 21-3230, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Sentencing, Due Process
J. Wood finds that the lower court properly dismissed the death row prisoner's suit alleging he received constitutionally deficient medical care, and suffered a sexual assault in the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dismissal of defendant's case was a reasonable sanction for defendant's conduct - submitting a forged document to support his claim that he exhausted his administrative remedies. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 22-3308, Categories: Constitution, Evidence, Sanctions
J. Hamilton finds that the lower court properly upheld the Social Security Administration decision to deny the applicant disability benefits. The agency reasonably found that the application was able to perform some kinds of sedentary work despite her significant gastrointestinal problems, including frequent vomiting, caused by her radiation treatment for cancer. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 22-2808, Categories: Social Security
J. Brennan finds that the immigration board correctly found the immigrant removable due to his conviction of complicity to first-degree robbery in Kentucky. The state's complicity law is not overbroad with respect to generic aiding-and-abetting liability, and was properly categorized as a crime of violence. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 22-2383, Categories: Immigration, Agency
J. Pryor finds that the lower court properly ruled that a federal prisoner cannot bring a Bivens action alleging that a prison official failed to protect him from violent attacks by his cellmates. The claim presents separation-of-powers concerns and special factors not accounted for by any Supreme Court precedent, so Congress should make this decision not the courts. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 21-2287, Categories: Civil Rights, Prisoners' Rights
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the bankruptcy court properly disallowed the creditor's claim in its entirety because the matter of the loan's repayment was already decided by a consent agreement. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: November 27, 2023, Case #: 22-1424, Categories: Bankruptcy
J. Rovner finds that the lower court properly found for the Defense Department on an employee's disability discrimination claims. The employee's position as a teacher at an Army base in Europe requires her to show up to work in-person, and her need to miss up to two hours each morning due to migraines shows she cannot perform this essential function of her job. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Rovner, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 22-2566, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination
J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress medical staff's discovery of "something plastic" in his mouth while he was in the emergency room, prompting them to instruct him to spit it out for 20 minutes. When he finally did so, it was a device used to convert a firearm into a fully automatic weapon. Small interactions between hospital staff and the police officer posted outside defendant's hospital room do not transform the staff's actions into a warrantless government search. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 23-1108, Categories: Firearms, Search
J. Sykes finds that the agency properly found the recipient at fault for failing to report his work income while receiving disability benefits and ordered him to repay $50,000 in overpaid benefits. The record reflects that the SSA repeatedly reminded the recipient of his obligation to immediately report changes in his work activity, so it was unreasonable for him to assume he could keep his benefits checks despite his gainful employment. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Sykes, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 20-2508, Categories: Social Security
J. Flaum finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant on multiplicitous firearm convictions, but properly sentenced him for drug offenses. Defendant's two firearm convictions should have been merged for sentencing purposes. Reversed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2805, Categories: Drug Offender, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Hamilton finds that the lower court improperly dismissed the anti-hunting activists' pre-enforcement challenge to Wisconsin's "hunter harassment law" which makes it a crime to harass hunters in various ways. There is no way to read the law as requiring an activist physically interfere with a hunter to violate the law, raising serious First Amendment issues. To suffice for standing, the activists need only "arguably" be affected by the challenged statute. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 21-1042, Categories: Civil Procedure, Constitution, First Amendment
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence of drug activity in his apartment. Police had a reasonable basis for believing someone was being injured inside the apartment, so their entrance was justified by exigent circumstances and they searched only in places where an injured person could be. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2135, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
Per curiam, the Seventh Circuit finds that the lower court improperly ruled it lacked authority to adjust defendant's restitution payment schedule. Defendant does not seek to alter the amount of restitution, but to modify the judgment to change the restitution schedule from "immediate," which allowed the government to take funds out of his prison account despite his upcoming hip surgery which will leave him unable to work. The court has this authority under section 3664(k). Vacated.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 23-1752, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Robbery, Restitution
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court properly dismissed a securities fraud suit alleging that a proxy statement disclosing the terms of a merger contained materially misleading statements. The proxy statement contained all required disclosures, and the shareholders cannot save their claims by arguing that the disclosures were not emphasized enough. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 21-3234, Categories: Fraud, Securities
[Consolidated.] J. Wood finds two of lower courts in these three consolidated Second Amendment cases properly refused to enjoin Illinois's laws regulating assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. These regulated weapons are not required for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment. There is a long tradition supporting a distinction between weapons and accessories designed for military or law-enforcement use, and weapons designed for personal use. Affirmed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 23-1353, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Firearms
Per curiam, the Seventh Circuit finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant to a 15-year mandatory minimum for selling meth after finding his prior robbery conviction qualified as a "serious violent felony." Defendant challenged this finding for the first time on appeal and therefore forfeited it. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 21-3224, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Flaum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of conspiring to distribute meth. Defendant did not receive ineffective assistance due to counsel's failure to call a witness who might have testified the attorney pressured him to change his testimony. Even if the attorney was personally motivated not to call the witness, it was certainly in the defendant's best interest not to call the witness because of the risk's his testimony might have posed to her defense. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 22-2922, Categories: Drug Offender, Ineffective Assistance, Witnesses
[Consolidated.] J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly found for the government in a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking the disclosure of information about a man's transfer from ICE custody to officials in Indiana. ICE properly withheld the redacted information as the crime-fraud exemption does not apply because there is no factual foundation for the man's claim that ICE intentionally misled the habeas court. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 22-2445, Categories: Public Record
J. Pryor finds that the lower court improperly found for USPS in a Rehabilitation Act suit alleging she cannot access a post office because it lacks a wheelchair ramp. USPS failed to show that services and products available at several other locations within a 15-minute drive of the woman's home offer her meaningful access to postal services. Vacated.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 22-1967, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court properly sentenced the transgender defendant to 18 months in prison, below the statutory maximum of 24 months months, for violating her supervised release. The court adequately took into consideration the heightened risk of sexual assault she would face in prison. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 22-2061, Categories: Constitution, Sentencing
J. Sykes finds that the lower court properly dismissed the debtor's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act suit because she sustained no injury from the collector's alleged use of a third-party vendor to print and mail its collection letters. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Sykes, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 22-1202, Categories: Debt Collection
[Consolidated.] J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly convicted both defendants of fraud for "spoofing" the precious metals market by placing fake orders with no intent to trade to push the market in a certain direction. The evidence is sufficient to support defendants' conviction, showing that they placed the orders solely to manipulate the market. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 23-1528, Categories: Fraud, Securities