8 results for 'judge:"Siler"'.
J. Siler finds the prison officers failed to properly raise the defense of qualified immunity before the lower court and, therefore, forfeited the defense. Although qualified immunity was "mentioned" in their response to the inmate's civil rights lawsuit, the officers failed to provide any legal of evidentiary arguments to support their position, which renders it forfeit. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 23-1291, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Immunity
J. Siler finds the lower court erroneously granted the class's motion for an injunction to prevent enforcement of the entirety of Tennessee's sex offender registration statutory scheme. While some of the individual components of the scheme may violate convicted sex offenders' constitutional rights, the "sweeping" injunction was overly broad. The scheme in question was ratified by the state legislature over many years and can be examined piece-by-piece to preserve its constitutionality as a whole. Therefore, the case will be remanded to allow the court to determine which portions, if any, violate the ex post facto clause of the Constitution and must be severed. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 23-5248, Categories: Constitution, Ex Post Facto, Sex Offender
J. Siler finds the trial court erroneously denied defendant's motion to dismiss fraud and identity theft charges for speedy trial violations. The 36-day delay between the trial court's competency evaluation order and defendant's transport to a facility for the evaluation violated his speedy trial rights, regardless of the fact the government did not know which facility would be used when the 10-day transportation clock began to run. Therefore, defendant's convictions on fraud and identity theft charges must be vacated and the case will be remanded to allow the trial court to determine whether the indictment will be dismissed with or without prejudice. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 22-3797, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Speedy Trial, Identity Theft
J. Siler finds that the district court properly entered summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest Service in an action challenging the Service’s approval of the "Three Creeks Project." The project sought to address issues in the Inyo National Forest which has been subject to sweeping changes due to decades of logging, fire suppression, and drought. Those issues left the forest dense with thin, immature trees which created conditions likely to cause forest fires, bark-beetle infestations and fungal infections. Environmental groups contend that the Service failed to adequately supplement its National Environmental Policy Act analysis following the 2020 bark-beetle outbreak. The environmental groups have not shown that the Service’s approval of the Three Creeks Project is arbitrary, capricious or otherwise unlawful. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 22-16751, Categories: Environment
[Consolidated.] J. Siler finds the lower court properly denied the property owners' motion for discovery because none of the documents or information requested had any bearing on due process claims regarding the notice given by the city before it demolished several properties deemed public nuisances. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 22-3216, Categories: Property, Due Process, Discovery
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[Consolidated.] J. Siler finds the lower court properly denied the property owner's request for the fair market value of his home after it ruled in his favor on an unlawful takings claim against the county. Supreme Court precedent in Tyler v. Hennepin County allows the owner of a foreclosed home sold at auction to recover only the difference between the sale amount and the owner's debt. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 21-1248, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Damages
[Consolidated.] J. Siler finds that even in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Ruan v. U.S., the jury instructions given by the trial court in defendants' drug trafficking case were not clearly erroneous. In context, they made clear the jury was required to find defendants opened their clinics for the purpose of illegally distributing Schedule II controlled substances. The instructions might not have spelled out the "knowingly" means rea specified by the Ruan court, but the trial court made clear the jury was required to make a subjective determination as to whether defendants purposefully distributed controlled substances, which complies with the high court's standard. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 20-6245, Categories: Drug Offender, Conspiracy, Jury Instructions
J. Siler finds the lower court properly considered both objective and subjective evidence regarding the employee's disability when it determined she was qualified for long-term disability benefits. The circuit has found on several occasions that subjective evidence, including this employee's complaints of pain, can be considered alongside expert testimony to determine an employee's eligibility for benefits. Meanwhile, the employee's own testimony, alongside that of her treating physicians, was sufficient to establish her eligibility for long-term disability benefits because her ability to stand only for one hour of an eight-hour work day rendered her unable to perform sedentary work. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Siler, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 21-4178, Categories: Employment, Erisa, Evidence