Tenth Circuit: Perry v. Durborow

Challenges to questions of fact in interlocutory petition for relief seeking qualified immunity do not remove jurisdiction where counsel stipulates to the facts at issue during spoken arguments.

Qualified immunity for supervisory liability of detainee rape, as a general prohibition on deliberate indifference to sexual abuse didn't sufficiently prohibit supervision of a facility where male guards encountered female prisoners outside the view of security cameras.

https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/17/17-5023.pdf

Ninth Circuit: Guilliermo Gomez-Sanchez v. Jefferson B. Sessions III

Amended opinion.

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2018/06/12/14-72506.pdf

Eighth Circuit: Mary Brazil v. Arkansas Dept of Human Service

In a suit alleging discrimination in employment practices, a material change in the plaintiff's working situation moots a claim of retaliation that seeks injunctive relief where there is only a speculative possibility that the employee might be transferred back to her old position.

http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/18/06/172229P.pdf

Eighth Circuit: Leslie Grussing v. Orthopedic and Sports Medicine

No error in trial court's refusal to allow questioning of an expert on a line of inquiry that had been established by another witness.

In a diversity action, federal law governs the review of counsel statements in closing arguments.

Given curative instruction, deft counsel's mis-characterization of the burden of proof was not plainly injurious.

http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/18/06/172228P.pdf

Eighth Circuit: Missourians for Fiscal, etc. v. James Klahr

State law prohibiting the formation of political committees after 30 days before an election is subject to strict scrutiny, as the law speaks to formation, a precondition for speech, and not disclosure.

The law is overbroad, as citizens might have cause to speak within the prohibited window, there are subsequent reporting requirements closer to the election, and past practice of the agency in merely imposing a $1,000 fine does not save the act.

http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/18/06/171314P.pdf

Eighth Circuit: In re Sealed Case

Where a court varies downward from a statutory maximum which is beneath the published guidelines range and the sentence is later further reduced on the government's motion, the sentence is not sufficiently based on the published range to merit relief after subsequent changes to that range.

http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/18/06/164456P.pdf

Seventh Circuit: USA v. Todd Dyer

Where deft challenges plea at trial by asserting grounds of innocence, an appellate challenge to the plea on other grounds is reviewed for plain error.

No plain error in magistrate's acceptance of plea where deft made one or two word answers in colloquy and court did not inquire into possible bipolar disorder.

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2018/D06-13/C:17-1776:J:PerCuriam:aut:T:fnOp:N:2169817:S:0

Sixth Circuit: Acosta v. Cathedral Buffet Inc.

Following reversal and remand, the appellate court should refrain from granting leave to file a motion at the Circuit level for fees under the statute; the District Court is better positioned to judge the matter.

http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/18a0112p-06.pdf

Fifth Circuit: Innova Hospital San Antonio LP v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield

ERISA action need not identify the specific language of every plan provision at issue to state a claim, so long as the pleading is not overly conclusory; the suit might be resolved using representative terms.

Under state law, similar analysis applied to the claim for breach of contract.

As a suit for monetary damages is possible, a suit for breach of fiduciary duty is barred by the statute and precedent.

No error in denial of leave to amend second amended complaint, as the request did not discuss the legal standard for untimely leave to amend.

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/14/14-11300-CV0.pdf

Fifth Circuit: USA v. Richard Evans

No plain error in conviction where the procedures of the medical practice were the subject of testimony and the link to the individual cases in the indictment was merely the patients' medical files.

Finder of fact might reasonably have found the non-narcotics elements of the medical practice to be cookie-cutter and superficial cover for the actual work of the practice.

Even absent a showing as to the amount of "clean money" in a commingled account, no plain error in the aggregation of all withdrawals in computing the total amount of withdrawals to determine if the amount withdrawn must necessarily have included the criminal proceeds.

No plain error in mail fraud conviction where finder of fact might have found an implied promise in the patient communications of a proper standard of care.

Witness' opinion of illicit nature of practice sufficiently based in commonsensical inference.

Arguendo, if Confrontation Clause was violated by not allowing deft to cross after prosecution assertion in direct that witness (who had been notified that she was a target of an investigation) was not a suspect; testimony was cumulative.


http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-20159-CR0.pdf

Third Circuit: Marie Gillispie v. Regionalcare Hospital Partners

Whistleblower who merely objected in internal meetings to non-reporting of facts already known to the decisionmakers does not qualify for the protections of the federal statute.

State common-law employment protections are preempted by the state whistleblower statute.

http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/164307p.pdf


Second Circuit: Edrei v. Bratton

A 14th Amendment S1983 action alleging excessive force in the use of acoustic weapons states a claim where the force is intentionally applied and the officer is aware of its unreasonable use, given lack of exigency, proportionality of response, and mitigation.

http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/594b7f87-3c10-48a4-8c8c-42b1d446d0a8/1/doc/17-2065_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/594b7f87-3c10-48a4-8c8c-42b1d446d0a8/1/hilite/

Second Circuit: ING Bank N.V. v. M/V TEMARA

A statutory maritime lien arises by operation of law when a vessel contracts for covered supplies and the supplies are delivered pursuant to the contract, regardless of whether the eventual provision occurred through a chain of intermediaries.

The subcontractor is operating pursuant to another's agreement with the party to the contract with the vessel, and therefore the subcontractor cannot assert a lien against the vessel.

Equitable remedies such as unjust enrichment are not a basis for a judgment against the vessel, as the lien is an in rem action.

Error for the District Court to issue a sua sponte summary judgment absent notice to parties where a reasonable possibility existed of a factual dispute.

http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/594b7f87-3c10-48a4-8c8c-42b1d446d0a8/2/doc/16-3923_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/594b7f87-3c10-48a4-8c8c-42b1d446d0a8/2/hilite/






Second Circuit: U.S. v. Daugerdas

Although, since the interest attached at the time of the offense, the government has a superior claim to the forfeited funds, if the recipient of a gratuitous transfer can allege facts sufficient to infer that the transfer preceded the criminal acts, Due Process and the statute both allow the third party, despite the issues resolved in the criminal action, to claim a superior interest, since commingling of funds would bar the relation-back of the government's interest.

"Pled."

http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/594b7f87-3c10-48a4-8c8c-42b1d446d0a8/3/doc/17-898_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/594b7f87-3c10-48a4-8c8c-42b1d446d0a8/3/hilite/