10 results for 'judge:"Stranch"'.
J. Stranch finds the lower court properly granted the inmate habeas relief on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. His attorney's failure to call alibi witnesses in light of evidence a witness saw the inmate, who did not own a car, at home less than seven minutes before a robbery committed at a gas station more than three miles away was highly prejudicial. Additionally, the inmate was also entitled to relief on his jury claims because the trial court's failure to analyze the prosecution's reasoning behind striking six black jurors and claiming "some explanation" was enough to justify the jurors' exclusion was a procedural error. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 22-1705, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Jury
J. Stranch finds the undecided nature of the constitutionality of felon-in-possession charges based on previous convictions relative to the Second Amendment prevents this court from overturning defendant's conviction for possession of a firearm. Meanwhile, the trial court erroneously applied a four-level enhancement to defendant's sentence for reckless endangerment because there was no evidence to indicate any bystander was placed in a "zone of danger" when he fired his weapon outside. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 22-5459, Categories: Constitution, Firearms, Sentencing
J. Stranch finds the lower court properly granted the state's motion for summary judgment on equal protection claims brought by the religious school supporters. Although they have standing to challenge the Michigan law that prohibits government funding for private schools, the law is neutral on its face and does not discriminate on the basis of religion. The law prevents the supporters from lobbying their representatives for tuition aid or other benefits, which constitutes a concrete harm, but because its language includes all private schools - not just those affiliated with a religion - it is facially neutral. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-1986, Categories: Education, Government, Equal Protection
J. Stranch finds the lower court properly denied the police officer's motion for qualified immunity because neither the Japanese immigrant's failure to immediately produce his American driver's license nor his decision to exit the vehicle and inspect his headlight gave the officer probable cause to detain him or conduct field sobriety tests. The officer was immediately aware the Japanese immigrant spoke little to no English, and so the delay in producing the license and inspection of the headlight, which prompted the initial traffic stop, were not erratic behavior that shields the officer from liability after she improperly administered sobriety tests and misread a breathalyzer. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 22-2058, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity
J. Stranch finds language in the trial court's jury instructions at defendant's trial on charges of improper distribution of controlled substances, including that it was required to find he "deliberately ignored a high probability" his prescriptions were made outside professional practice, comported with the mens rea requirements of the crimes. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 22-3240, Categories: Drug Offender, Jury Instructions
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J. Stranch finds the lower court properly granted the settling parties' motion to dismiss with prejudice despite a lack of consent on the part of the foster-child services agency. While the agency has not been able to fully litigate the suit brought against it over 20 years ago, it failed to cite any claims or defenses that would be foreclosed by the dismissal. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 21-5857, Categories: Constitution, Government, Settlements
[Consolidated.] J. Stranch finds the lower court properly granted the media outlets' motion for summary judgment on defamation claims filed by a student involved in a confrontation with a Native American activist. The statements from the activist in their articles and posts were presented as opinion, not fact, and also included links to videos of the event itself that allowed readers to draw their own conclusions about the incident. The question of whether the student blocked the activist from leaving the area around the Washington Monument cannot be answered by the activist's statements included in the articles, which express his own subjective understanding of what happened; therefore, the articles are not actionable. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 22-5734, Categories: Evidence, Defamation, First Amendment
J. Stranch finds the lower court properly denied the police officer's motion for qualified immunity because the evidence in the record indicates no one was in danger at the time he shot the victim, who was slowly coming to a stop in his vehicle and was not in a position to run over the officer. Although the victim initially struck a police officer when he escaped from custody, from that point on he drove under the speed limit, avoided all pedestrians and police officers, and was in the process of complying with the officer's orders when he was shot and killed. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 22-3285, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Wrongful Death
J. Stranch finds the lower court erroneously denied the arresting officers' motion for summary judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity as it pertained to the detainee's arrest. Statements made by the prosecutor and several witnesses about her blatant attempts to intimidate a witness as she went into a courtroom gave them probable cause to arrest her without a warrant. Meanwhile, because the Michigan State Police defendants took no steps to ensure the detainee received a probable cause hearing during her 96-hour detention and failed to present any evidence of extraordinary circumstances that would have allowed for such a lengthy detention without a hearing, those defendants were properly denied immunity as it relates to the due process claims. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 22-1973, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Due Process
J. Stranch finds the lower court properly denied the commissioner's motion to dismiss on the grounds of qualified immunity because his brandishing of a high-powered rifle during a Zoom meeting in response to the resident's public comment could plausibly be considered a violation of the resident's First Amendment rights. This court's precedent in Zilich v. Longo established city officials cannot respond to opponent's political speech with physical threats or harassment; therefore, the constitutional rights of the citizen were clearly established at the time of the Zoom meeting and it is reasonable to believe the display of the gun chilled her speech. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 22-1015, Categories: Government, Immunity, First Amendment