268 results for 'judge:"Smith"'.
J. Smith denies the Mexican citizens' petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of their application for asylum and relief under the Convention Against Torture. Petitioners entered the U.S. without documentation and say that the Mexican Navy will persecute and torture them in order to stop the mother's campaign to hold the military responsible for her son's disappearance. Though the immigrants are not required to establish past persecution in order to support the possibility of future persecution, that the mother had publicly spoken out against the Navy via news media repeatedly for months without suffering harm does not support the claims of persecution.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 23-60089, Categories: Evidence, Immigration, International Law
J. Smith finds that despite defendant's claim he did not open his knife before he threw it at the moving vehicle being driven by the victim, his murder and assault convictions were supported by sufficient evidence and the state proved intent by introducing testimony from a hotel employee that he and the victim had argued before she drove away, as well as surveillance footage that showed him throwing the knife. The issue of whether defendant opened the knife consciously prior to throwing it was irrelevant because his decision to throw the object clearly proved an intent to cause harm, while his initial denial of throwing anything also weighed against his credibility as a witness. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1680, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Assault
J. Smith finds that the lower court properly entered judgment in this negligence suit arising from a car accident. The appellant argues that he should have been awarded damages after the appellee was found by the jury "to be at fault for the accident." However, the jury's finding of zero damages was not "manifestly unjust." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00390-CV, Categories: Tort, Damages, Negligence
J. Smith finds the bankruptcy court improperly denied the Electric Reliability Council's motion to abstain. The energy company filed for bankruptcy after receiving a bill for nearly $300 million resulting from the council's production-incentivizing price manipulation in response to the 2021 winter storm in Texas. The council sought payment and the energy company initiated an adversarial proceeding challenging its proof of claim. The council moved to dismiss, alternatively requesting the bankruptcy court abstain. Though the circuit finds the council is not an arm of the state, and not entitled to immunity, the U.S. Supreme Court requires abstention under guiding case law. Texas’s interest in utility regulation and litigation, and its protection of the electricity-related public interest, is the more significant concern. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 22-20603, Categories: Administrative Law, Bankruptcy, Energy
J. Smith finds the district court improperly found the insurer owed the racing event organizer a duty to defend. The organizer sought legal defense when injured parties and estates of deceased sued after a vehicle careened into the crowd of spectators. A motor vehicle exclusion unambiguously excludes coverage for the damages at issue. The policy is not "illusory," as claimed by the organizer, as it does cover spectator slip and falls. Reversed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 23-50336, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Wrongful Death
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J. Smith finds the district court properly denied the firearm advocates' request for a preliminary injunction. The advocates challenge provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, saying the government has shown no historical analogue for expanded background checks for 18- to 20-year-olds. The 10-day waiting period for background checks is not abusive, nor does it impose a de facto prohibition on possession. Existing case law makes clear that background checks are constitutional. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 23-10837, Categories: Administrative Law, Constitution, Firearms
J. Smith finds the district court properly convicted defendant for distributing child pornography. A large collection of pornography was found at the home defendant shared with his parents after agents detected suspicious activity from an IP address in the home. Though defendant had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, he was found competent to stand trial. There was a "genuinely mixed bag" of evidence from skilled witnesses as to the nature of defendant's mental illness, providing for no plain determination, and, therefore, deferment must be made to the district court’s "reasonable assessment of the complex record." Affirmed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 22-50987, Categories: Competence, Witnesses, Child Pornography
J. Smith denies the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in this insurance dispute stemming from an uninsured motorist claim related to a collision involving the insured vehicle caused by another vehicle driver that fled the scene in Texas. The insurer argues the policy does not cover hit-and-runs in another state because the insured misrepresented the fact the vehicle would be garaged in Alabama and failed to timely provide the change in garaging. There is a genuine issue of material fact on if the policy was void from the beginning and that the evidence presented by the insurer fails to show that the vehicle was not at the policy’s garaged location.
Court: USDC Northern District of Alabama , Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv934, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Vehicle
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly and improperly ruled in a breach of fiduciary duty case filed by the co-owner of a corporation against an attorney who represented the corporation in litigation. The co-owners alleged in their complaint that the attorney failed to inform the corporation's board of directors of a possible conflict of interest and aided another owner of the corporation in starting a competing firm. Nothing in the evidence establishes a relationship between the co-owner and the attorney. However, remaining questions on the award of attorney fees in this litigation still exist and should be adjudicated. Affirmed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00234-CV, Categories: Corporations, Fiduciary Duty, Attorney Fees
J. Smith finds the witnesses' close relationships to the victim and minor variations in their testimony does not render defendant's sexual imposition conviction against the weight of the evidence. The testimony established all elements of the offense, while the jury was in the best position to determine the witnesses' credibility. Meanwhile, because defendant's girlfriend was not present at the time of the assault, his attorney's failure to call the woman as a witness did not constitute ineffective assistance, as her testimony would not have included any relevant evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1678, Categories: Evidence, Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Smith grants a buyer leave to amend breach of contract claims concerning the sale of real property because the buyer sufficiently claimed that the original contract was breached when the U.S. changed the closing date.
Court: Court of Federal Claims, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23-1182, Categories: Property, Contract
J. Smith finds for the U.S. in this pre-award protest concerning a contract to provide spiritual services for the life connections program facilitator at the federal correctional institution located in Milan, Michigan, because the U.S. adequately described its procedures for screening employees.
Court: Court of Federal Claims, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23-322, Categories: Contract
J. Smith grants the solid waste director’s motion to dismiss this complaint brought by a citizen who claims he was deprived of procedural due process and his constitutional rights were violated. The citizen alleges he was served a summons for not paying the solid waste collection fee, even though he is allegedly exempt from participating. He was convicted and ordered to pay fines and restitution, but later that was dismissed and never validated. The court concluded he failed to state a claim, declares the collection fee is mandatory, and finds the statements made by the director did not constitute fabricated evidence.
Court: USDC Northern District of Alabama , Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 5:24cv23, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Government, Due Process
J. Smith finds that defendant was properly convicted of murder and that his objections regarding the admission of certain evidence are without merit. The disputed testimony about a jail telephone call made by defendant in which he threatened an ex-girlfriend was relevant since it showed his knowledge about what had happened to the victim and also rebutted his theory that a different perpetrator murdered the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 10-23-00146-CR, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Identification
J. Smith conditionally grants the relator husband's petition for a writ of mandamus, in which he challenges a ruling in the lower court "refusing to enter a final judgment based on the parties' Mediated Settlement Agreement." The lower court abused its discretion when it ordered the parties "back to mediation" to reform the agreement in connection with an alleged mistake, as it was not permitted to evaluate the merits of the property division. The court also concludes that the relator has no adequate remedy by appeal.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00593-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property, Settlements
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly denied the city's plea to the jurisdiction in a suit over its alleged mishandling of donations received after the death of a police corporal and other officers who were killed by a sniper during a demonstration in 2016. The city did not show that its actions in contracting with a charitable organization to process the mail and donations were "in the interest of the general public" or constituted a governmental function. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 10-23-00315-CV, Categories: Immunity, Conversion, Jurisdiction
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly terminated a mother's parental rights to her child because an independent fact finder would have similarly concluded that the mother endangered her child's well-being due to her use of and arrest for possessing illicit substances. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 03-23-00707-CV, Categories: Family Law
J. Smith finds the lower court properly denied an estate administrator’s motion seeking judgment, costs, and interest against a nursing home and ambulance company in an associated wrongful death matter. The estate administrator argues that more than 30 days had passed since the settlement was approved, but the nursing home and ambulance company had yet to pay. The lower court found it necessary for the probate court to get involved and secure the distribution of the settlement so it could be accounted for, but the estate administrator argues that the probate requirement is a statutory misinterpretation by the lower court. The instant court finds the lower court’s interpretation to be correct, that the probate court’s involvement is necessary. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 230996, Categories: Settlements, Wills / Probate, Wrongful Death
J. Smith finds that the lower court improperly granted a no-evidence summary judgment to the appellee in this breach of contract and conversion case brought by his former employers. The lower court abused its discretion by "rejecting, and not considering, appellants' filing," which prevented them from properly presenting their evidence. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00323-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Contract
J. Smith finds that the district court properly denied absolute and qualified immunity to two County of San Bernardino social workers in a matter in which the social workers allegedly violated individuals’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to provide them with notice of a juvenile detention hearing in which the County’s Child and Family Services sought custody of a minor and provided false information to the Juvenile Court about why a mother was not noticed for the hearing. The social workers failed to show that they were entitled to absolute immunity for actions taken in their role as social workers. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: April 2, 2024, Case #: 22-56054, Categories: Family Law, Immunity
J. Smith finds that the lower court properly granted the city's request for a temporary injunction in this suit regarding the appellants' business operations and the validity of the certificate of occupancy. Contrary to the appellants' argument, the city was "not required to raise the matter with the board of adjustment" prior to filing suit. Also, there was evidence that the "use of the property" had changed without a new certificate of occupancy. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 05-23-00496-CV, Categories: Municipal Law, Property, Real Estate
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly issued an injunction stalling an investigation that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is pursuing against a family based on gender-affirming care. However, the lower court improperly ruled against Gov. Abbott, as the family does not have standing to sue him. Affirmed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Smith, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00126-CV, Categories: Government, Jurisdiction, Lgbtq
J. Smith dismisses claims by a mother who says her daughter was wrongfully removed from her care by the Hawaii County police officers and the state’s human services department. The actions of each of the state agencies and the individual members of those agencies stemmed from reasonable belief that the child should be removed, and the mother could not provide evidence that showed otherwise.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Smith, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 1:24cv104, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Family Law, Agency, Police Misconduct