Since 2011. An occasional commonplacing of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Neither an authoritative statement of the law nor legal advice. Quick work.
Ninth Circuit: ERIC MANN V. CHARLES RYAN
En Banc, Habeas, AEDPA, Ineffective Assistance
Denial of Habeas for Ineffective Assistance, as state court's findings on defense lawyer's choices might have been made by fair-minded jurists.
State intermediate appeal on the collateral challenge did not inappropriately consider whether it was more likely than not that the verdict/sentence had been affected rather than asking if the error resulted in a reasonable probability of a difference in the outcome. Court's statement that nothing would have changed can be read to imply the reasonable probability standard.
Claim that state applied unconstitutional nexus test for mitigation factors, although not raised here, does not establish that rulings on the initial collateral challenge considered the wrong set of relevant mitigating factors.
Lack of explicit statement that new mitigation was considered on state direct and collateral challenge doesn't mean that it wasn't considered.
State Habeas findings not unreasonable.
Concurrence/Dissent -- Causal nexus error infected ruling on initial collateral challenge. Intermediate appeal used preponderance standard. Error on de novo review of ineffective assistance in mitigation.
Concurrence/Dissent 2 -- De novo review, but no prejudice.
ERIC MANN V. CHARLES RYAN
Ninth Circuit: NATURAL RES. DEFENSE COUNCIL V. PENNY PRITZKER
Environment, Administrative
Agency determination of de minimis impact did not vitiate statutary requirement that rulemaking be of the least practicible adverse impact.
Data-poor areas are not excepted from the requirement by the best-information rule.
Speculative long-term measures do not meet burden of implementing the least-practicible-impact standard.
NATURAL RES. DEFENSE COUNCIL V. PENNY PRITZKER
Ninth Circuit: USA V. JESUS PIMENTEL-LOPEZ
Sentencing, Kozinski
Where special verdict form indicates an upward bound to the amount of drugs possessed, a court is precluded from a factual finding to the contrary in sentencing, despite the fact that the sentencing finding does not implicate a second statutory maximum.
Hearsay evidence insufficient to support leadership sentencing enhancement.
USA V. JESUS PIMENTEL-LOPEZ
Eighth Circuit: United States v. Jeremy Conerd
Fourth Amendment
Report that a visitor was being assaulted in the house justified the approach to the curtilage when officer looked in basement window.
United States v. Jeremy Conerd
Eighth Circuit: United States v. James Hess
Crim, Taxidermy
Transaction involving a rare taxidermy specimen currently outlawed but initially taken when legal violated the Act.
Sentence substantively reasonable.
United States v. James Hess
Eighth Circuit: Marcus Hensley v. Carolyn W. Colvin
SSI
Letter from physician and past records, where the primary source of information on the claimant's condition, may be considered by ALJ in assessing work capacity.
Subjective pain reports and VA determination of disability appropriately considered.
Dissent -- Physicians report doesn't contradict test scores that indicate disability.
Marcus Hensley v. Carolyn W. Colvin
Eighth Circuit: United States v. Julia Nguyen
Immigration, Fraud, White Collar
Materiality requirement in immigration fraud statute does not require that the agency actually be misled, merely that false information be provided on a dispositive fact.
Third-party, cirumstantially proved misrepresentations provide sufficient evidence for immigration and SSI fraud.
Automatically generated letters from state sufficient for mail fraud conviction where foreseeable and not communicating messages adverse to the scheme to defraud.
Court properly considered named payees on checks without individualized showing of loss, as the theft of identity is sufficient to establish them as victim.
Sentence substantively reasonable.
United States v. Julia Nguyen
Eighth Circuit: Randall Corwin v. City of Independence, MO.
S1983
Denial of S1983 against jail officials and municipality for five day delay in receipt of physician care for broken hand, as incidental care sufficed under the standard and that there was no proof that the delay caused long-term problems.
Randall Corwin v. City of Independence, MO.
Fifth Circuit: Sealed Petitioner v. Sealed Respondent
Immigration
Petitioner made enough of a showing to require that the bureau consider whether the foreign government's anti-terrorism grounds for persecuting the petitioner were pretextual.
Sealed Petitioner v. Sealed Respondent
Fifth Circuit: Deadra Combs v. City of Huntington, Texas
Title VII, Fees
Degree of success is the most important consideration when deciding whether to adjust lodestar fee award.
Abuse of discretion to revise lodestar downward due solely to proportionality to award won; the appropriate consideration is ratio of award won to award sought.
Deadra Combs v. City of Huntington, Texas
Fifth Circuit: State of Texas, et al v. EPA, et al
Environment, Injunctions, Statutory Construction, Administrative
Statute's conferral of jurisdiction for review is distinct from the section indicating correct venue.
Statute does not permit agency administrator to unilaterally remove action to DC Circuit upon determination of nationwide scope.
Final rule is a locally/regionally applicable standard, given state variances, agency findings.
Statute did not compel state to perform source-specific analysis.
Timetable extends beyond jurisidiction under rule.
Strong likelihood that viability of power grid insufficiently considered.
Irreparable harms, given that recovery of costs could not be made in the course of business, threats to power grid.
Ready interest to affordable electricity outweighs reduction in haze.
Texas and Oklahoma plans stayed in their entirety.
Concurrence -- Long-term projects can be begun within timeframes of limited jurisdiction.
Fifth Circuit: Oscar Gomez v. USPC
Sentencing
Although the court lacks jurisdiction to consider a procedural challenge to a refusal to depart downwards from sentencing guidelines when setting a sentence that has been partially served abroad, it has jurisdiction to review the substantive reasonableness of the refusal to allow a downward departure.
No abuse of discretion, though, given presumption of reasonability and procedural consideration of the possibility of torture abroad.
Oscar Gomez v. USPC
First Circuit: US v. McNicol
Statutory Construction, FRCP
Review of cross-motions for summary judgment limited to the parties' lists of uncontested facts in the court below.
Pleadings below gainsay Deft's salmagundi of contentions that estate asset was transferred to defray administrative costs.
Deft's claim that the present administrator was not the administrator when the stock was transferred cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.
US v. McNicol
First Circuit: US v. Gall
Double Jeopardy, FRCrimP
Acceptance of guilty plea to a lesser-included offense which is later withdrawn in favor of a supervening offense does not constitute Double Jeopardy, as the deft is not placed in meaningful jeopardy by the initial charge.
No clear error to vacating of initial plea after PSR had issued.
Ineffective Assistance claim to be resolved in collateral proceeding. Plea deal's terms that the maximum prison term would be that of the first (lesser-included) offense are insufficient to establish that it was actually for that offense -- extrinsic evidence would have to be considered.
Prosecutor's indication that a PSR that went beyond the terms of the deal was correct was not plain error.
Sentence substantively reasonable, release condition excessive -- remand to revise/explain.
US v. Gall
First Circuit: Ms. S. v. Regional School Unit 72
Administrative, IDEA
Remand to consider rulemaking's compliance with state administrative procedure act.
Filing date that allowed more time than the corresponding federal stature is not per se an illogical outcome that requires review of legislative intent.
Subsequent legislative review of the rulemaking cannot cure a procedural defect in notice for the rulemaking absent review of notice.
No error in IDEA FAPE claim dismissal given facts.
Ms. S. v. Regional School Unit 72
First Circuit: US v. Calderon
Brady, Grand Juries
Undisclosed evidence was not dispositive -- court below did not impose a sufficiency of the evidence test in in asking whether the suppressed evidence was dispositive of the verdict.
Knowledge of plea deal in second jurisdiction cannot be imputed to the prosecution in the first jurisdiction as the basis for a Brady claim.
Absent grave prosecutorial misconduct, guilty verdict at trial means that there was sufficient probable cause for the indictment.
US v. Calderon
First Circuit: Rodriguez v. Lynch
Immigration
Past encounters with hostile protesters insufficiently severe and systemic, and were not reported to police.
Court cannot consider evidence not before the IJ/board on subjective & objective fear of future persecution.
Rodriguez v. Lynch .
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