24 results for 'judge:"Gruender"'.
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 15 months in prison for obtaining marijuana following a previous conviction for selling crack cocaine. The defendant argued that he was entitled to obtain marijuana with his marijuana card. However, the defendant engaged in private distribution of the drug by sharing it with his girlfriend. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 23-2421, Categories: Drug Offender, Probation, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly dismissed a freight service's challenge to a post- trial order concerning contract claims brought by a components manufacturer. The freight service argued that it properly charged the components manufacturer a fee for delivery services. However, the components manufacturer sufficiently showed in court that the freight service's base rate was a "much higher 'rounder' rate." Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: January 25, 2024, Case #: 23-1379, Categories: Fraud, Damages, Contract
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. Gruender finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 84 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to arson for setting a fire in an apartment building hallway. The government argued that the defendant is a career offender based on prior crimes of violence. However, the defendant presented evidence in court that his prior conviction of domestic abuse was not a crime of violence. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: 23-1048, Categories: Sentencing, Domestic Violence, Arson
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. 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. 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. 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. Gruender finds a lower court properly sentenced two defendants to life in prison after they were found guilty of conspiracy to commit witness tampering that resulted in death. The defendants, who are cousins and regularly sold meth, argued that their sentences are unreasonable and that they are entitled to acquittal. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendants shot to death a confidential informant who agreed to testify against them while working with law enforcement. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 22-2044, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, Witnesses
[Consolidated]. J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly ruled in favor of an interim superintendent's discrimination claims. The interim superintendent argued that she was wrongfully passed over for a permanent superintendent role for reporting issues within the facility, and that she is entitled to back pay. However, the school district sufficiently showed in court that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because she did not engage in protected activities. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 22-2067, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly granted summary judgment to a health system on class claims of wage payment violations brought by its employees. The health system argued that it properly utilized an automated time- keeping system to record employees' in and out time. However, the class of employees sufficiently showed in court that their employer may have used an improper rounding policy, which deprived employees' compensation when they clocked in minutes before their shift began, in violation of Fair Labor Standards. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 22-1862, Categories: Employment, Class Action, Contract
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly applied a two- level enhancement for obstruction of justice on a 188 month sentence imposed on a drug dealer who goes by "Nacho." The defendant argued that he was entitled to a reduction based on acceptance of responsibility. However, he absconded to Tijuana, Mexico for eight years, where he ran a business that sold grilled chicken. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 22-2146, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly dismissed a former employee's wrongful termination claims against a transportation service. The transportation service argued that it terminated the former haul freight employee's contract based on a tractor he owned that was useless. However, the former employee sufficiently showed in court that the transportation services fired him for filing a complaint with the administration over safety violations. Vacated.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 22-3049, Categories: Employment, Contract
J. Gruender finds that the district court improperly denied a police officer qualified immunity in claims contending a police officer acted with deliberate indifference when plaintiff had a seizure while being arrested for driving while intoxicated. Plaintiff had not advised the officer about her disorder, and emergency medical personnel at the scene declined to take her to the hospital. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender , Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 22-1449, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity
J. Gruender finds that the district court improperly granted an employee long term disability benefits because the insurer justifiably concluded the employee could perform sedentary full time work since she could perform household chores and taught classes at a local kennel club. Meanwhile, an improper delay did not bias the overall process against the employee. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender , Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 21-3063, Categories: Employment
J. Gruender finds that defendant was properly sentenced for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, as the lower court cogently explained the unique lethality of fentanyl and compared sentencing guidelines for that drug to heroin and methamphetamine. Further, the quantity of fentanyl and concealment of the pills as oxycodone warranted the above guidelines sentence. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender , Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 22-3161, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly granted a County's motion for summary judgment concerning a civilian's civil rights claims. The County argued that it was not obligated to assign the sheriff department to investigate claims that his daughter's boyfriend accosted him on his property. However, the civilian presented sufficient evidence in court that his daughter's boyfriend had connections to employees of the County's clerk of court. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 22-3002, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Equal Protection
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly dismissed a citizen of Mexico's motion to remain in the U.S. The native of Mexico, a rancher, argued that he would face violence upon his return to his native land based on allegations that he would be kidnapped and forced to pay ransom. However, he failed to present sufficient evidence in court that he is a member of a particular social group who would be targeted and persecuted. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 22-2472, Categories: Civil Rights, Immigration
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly granted summary judgment in favor of a benefit plan administrator on an employee's claims for health insurance under ERISA. The employee argued that the benefit plan administrator wrongfully denied coverage for complications he suffered from bariatric surgery. However, the benefit plan administrator presented sufficient evidence in court that it was not obligated to cover losses based on a prior procedure, which was considered as a non- covered service that was not medically necessary. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender , Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 22-2275, Categories: Erisa, Health Care, Insurance
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly found for the Internal Revenue Service on an estate administrator's claims that it wrongfully denied his request for a tax refund. The estate administrator argues the IRS was not entitled to tax life insurance proceeds after his brother died. However, the IRS presented sufficient evidence it properly determined the corporation's fair market value includes life insurance proceeds for stock redemption. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 21-3683, Categories: Insurance, Tax
J. Gruender finds the lower court properly sentenced defendant for his firearm conviction. Defendant was not entitled to an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction due, in part, to his sexually assault of corrections officers while detained in jail. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 22-2503, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing