7 results for 'judge:"Moritz"'.
J. Moritz grants a motion to transfer a dispute between the EPA and various groups and states over the EPA's decision to disapprove a series of state implementation plans for air quality. The petitioners in the case are asking to review a final rule on a national level, so their dispute is better handled the D.C. circuit.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: 23-9514, Categories: Environment, Jurisdiction
J. Moritz finds that the lower court improperly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea regarding felon in possession of ammunition charges. During the proceedings, counsel misrepresented important information about the racial makeup of the jury that would be overseeing his trial and that all minorities would be removed from his jury, and those misrepresentations were not corrected by the court. Under this bad information, defendant's guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 22-6132, Categories: Firearms, Ineffective Assistance, Plea
J. Moritz grants in part the environmentalists petition to challenge a final rule related to Colorado’s State Implementation Plan for air pollution. The environmental group says the EPA approved the plan despite the fact that the state's permit program excludes all “temporary emissions” and “emissions from internal combustion engines on any vehicle” in determining if a source is subject to the permit process. Under the regulations used by the EPA itself to approve the plan, there is no clear language that would allow for such an exclusion as it relates to temporary emissions. That portion of the final rule is vacated and more proceedings are called for. Remanded.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: 22-9546, Categories: Environment, Agency
J. Moritz finds that the lower court improperly ruled in favor of land developers after a water company sued to stop the city from granting them water service to a proposed land development. A local statute does not allow cities to encroach on areas already serviced by federally indebted water associations, as long as the associations made water services available to the area. The lower court, however, did not properly determine if those water services were made available before ruling in favor of the developers. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: 21-6155 , Categories: Municipal Law, Water
J. Moritz finds that the lower court properly denied claims from the American Petroleum Institute that sought to challenge changes made in 2016 to the calculation procedures regarding royalties on oil and natural gas produced on federal lands. The changes included new features in three key valuation methods, which were gross proceeds, index pricing and default valuation. In each of those three methods, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue has shown it looked at all the relevant information and properly showed why the changes were being adopted. With no evidence of the changes being arbitrary or unlawful, the challenge to them was properly dismissed. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 21-8076, Categories: Administrative Law, Government
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J. Moritz finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder. Defendant claims on appeal that the lower court wrongfully admitted character evidence against him, but defendant has already waived his right to challenge evidence, so his claims cannot prevail. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 22-6055, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Moritz finds that the lower court improperly granted qualified immunity to a police officer after he was sued for following a civilian home, blocking his driveway while shouting at the other person, and drawing his gun, all while out of uniform, off duty and with his child in the front seat. The officer's conduct was clearly "egregious
and unlawful," which is supported by the fact that the officer was later fired for the incident and convicted of assault and child endangerment. However, claims against the then-sheriff were properly tossed, as the civilian waived his challenge to a ruling where his legal counsel agreed to the dismissal. Reversed in part.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Moritz, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: 22-2027, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Police Misconduct