Eigth Circuit: United States v. Christopher Strong, Sr.

FRE

Preliminary hearings sufficed for procedural reasonable balancing in weighing evidence of prior bad acts under 403/413.  Severing counts unrelated to 413 was a sufficient remedy.

Exclusion of expert testimony to refute claim that deft pushed victim into path of car was proper, as the incident was primarily proffered to establish that she had been hit by the car.

Where two crimes are specifically barred from being simultaneously charged as they are similar enough to be considered "double counting," an enhancement based on one can be applied with relation to a third crime.


United States  v.  Christopher Strong, Sr.

Eighth Circuit: United States v. Yoirlan Rojas

FRE

Agent's testimony establishing elements of crime was harmless error, given that elements were established, and that the intent element could be inferred from the patterns of activity. 

Fraudulent credit cards suppressed prior to trial were properly introduced to rebut deft's contention that he was unfamiliar with the distinction between credit cards and gift cards.

United States  v.  Yoirlan Rojas

Seventh Circuit: Venita Miller v. GreenLeaf Orthopedic Associate

FRE

No abuse of discretion in denial of impeachment on cross & rebuttal  when impeachment has been accomplished in prior appearance on the stand.

No abuse of discretion in exclusion of diary as present sense impression, as there's no indication that it was a present sense impression.

No abuse of discretion in limited admission to rebut fabrication, given trial judge's understanding of the theories of the case.

Venita Miller v.   GreenLeaf Orthopedic Associate

Seventh Circuit: Nationwide Advantage Mortgage v. GSF Mortgage Corporation

Contracts, Posner

Where one party to a contract initiates a relationship with a stranger to the contract  based on the contractual relationship between to the two parties and unknowingly incurs costs for the counter-party in doing so, the counterparty does not have a claim for unjust enrichment.


Nationwide Advantage Mortgage v. GSF Mortgage Corporation

Seventh Circuit: Marcos Gray v. Marcus Hardy

Prisons

Although individual claims of infestation are insufficient to present a genuine issue of fact, the claim must be assessed holistically.

Harms of infestation present an issue for the finder of fact.  (1984 quote.)

Knowledge of conditions can be imputed to incoming warden (caption not changed).


Marcos Gray v.   Marcus Hardy

Seventh Circuit: Board of Trustees of the Autom v. Full Circle Group, Inc.

Posner, Successor liability

Where a sophisticated buyer acquires a company and there is a genuine issue of continuity of business, the hypothetical nature of a funded pension liability exit payment at the time of acquisition is not sufficient for summary judgment for lack of liability.

Alter ego liability requires fraud.  Probably.


Board of Trustees of the Autom v.   Full Circle Group, Inc.

Seventh Circuit: John Otrompke v. Bradley Skolnik

Posner, Free Speech, Standing


Candidate for admission to the state Bar has no standing to preemptively challenge a an allegedly unconstitutional provision of the rules, since the Bar might decide not to unconstitutionally enforce it.


John Otrompke v.   Bradley Skolnik

Seventh Circuit: Jaded Martinez v. Peter Cahue

Hague Act

Where a parent potentially has rights under state law, but the former spouse's removal of the child to a foreign country was lawful, the emigrating parent may invoke the foreign statute's mandate that the child be returned there after temporarily returning to the state.

Jaded Martinez v.   Peter Cahue

Sixth Circuit: USA v. Ricky Brown

Fourth Amendment

Canine alert on a car and a general reputation of the suspect are insufficient basis for a warrant for the home.

Where the affidavit advances no relevant facts with respect to the residence, the good faith exception is precluded.
 

USA v. Ricky Brown

Sixth Circuit: USA v. Ralph Dennis

ERISA

Health care providers have no direct standing under the Act.

Assignment of the right to payment is sufficient to guarantee derivative standing under the Act.

Where a provider and an insurer have a post-reimbursement recoupment agreement and reversal of payment is not subsequently passed back to the customer, a provider's claim that the insurer has recouped covered costs doesn't state a claim under the Act, since the insured customer is not affected by the question.

 Circuit split hinted at.

USA v. Ralph Dennis

Third Circuit: USA v. Ralph Dennis

Entrapment

Although the government's actions considered individually would not justify the entrapment instruction, where the investigation goes beyond providing the simple menas for committing the crime, their actions should be considered cumulatively.

Past narcotics convictions can establish separate predisposition for those counts.

 OUtrageous prosecution requires conduct substantially beyond entrapment.


USA v. Ralph Dennis

Second Circuit: MPC Franchise, LLC v. Tarntino

Trademarks

The requisite level for scienter under the Lanham Act for fraudulent patent applications is actual knowledge of a competitor's use of the mark.

MPC Franchise, LLC v. Tarntino

Federal Circuit: Per Aarsleff A/S v. US

[Opinion issued under seal. Redacted version to follow.]



  Per Aarsleff A/S v. US

DC Circuit: Carlos Alexander v. WMATA

Discrimination

In considering, for purposes of the statute, whether someone is disabled, courts must also consider whether the employer regarded the person as either having that disability or having a record of that disability.

Under the statute, discretionary administrative exhaustion tolls the borrowed statute of limitations.


Carlos Alexander v. WMATA

DC Circuit: Jeffrey Swaters v. DOT

Administrative

Agency refusal to release specimen from drug test is consistent with regulations, and neither the denial nor the regulation are arbitrary/capricious, given policy objectives.

No constitutional error from denial of discovery.

Jeffrey Swaters v. DOT

DC Circuit: Chris Stovic v. RRRB

Railroads retirement

Act gives courts APA jurisdiction over denials of requests to reopen.

Denial on merits here.


Chris Stovic v. RRRB

DC Circuit: USA v. Juan Vega

Crim

Stream of commerce suffices for circumstantial evidence that deft intended cocaine to reach US.

Sufficient instruction on mens rea.

Urging in closing that jury serve as community conscience and use of first person singular was harmless error, given strength of case.

 False testimony not later corrected by govt was not dispositive.

Not issuing missing evidence instruction on lack of govt records on out of court photo lineups was harmless error.

No Brady violation on late-disclosed photo with attribution problems.

No error in refusal to admit notes frm quesitoning as prior inconsistent statement.

Error in manager/supervisor sentencing bump, as no showing that employees knew they were doing something illegal.

No error in admission of mistaken identification, given curative instruction.

Deft claim that Title III has no extraterritorial application, even if true, would not preclude extraterritorial wiretapping.

No error in denial of cross on why cooperating witnesses were wearing electronic monitoring devices.

Drug making video not overly prejudicial.



USA v. Juan Vega

Ninth Circuit: MK Hillside Partners v. CIR

Tax, Estoppel

Provision in statute giving tax court authority to consider a relevant statute of limitations for individual members of a partnership empowers the court to rule that the statute of limitations has not run at the partnership level.

 No judicial estoppel, as the positions aren't inconsistent.



MK Hillside Partners v. CIR

Ninth Circuit: USA v. Steven Grovo

Crim, Conspiracy

Given the general mens rea of conspiracy, asynchronous contact on computer bulletin board suffices for actions "in concert" as required by the statute.

Active participation on a bulletin board suffices to prove furtherance of the board's common goal.

Communication with a closed community can constitute advertisement.

Where victim was harmed by both image and subsequent viewing of image, restitution must be disaggregated.


 USA v. Steven Grovo

Eighth Circuit: United States v. Yousef Qattoum

Crim.

No abuse of discretion in denial of motion to withdraw plea of guilty, as the deft was likely aware of illegal nature of conduct since he had, among other things, been arrested for it previously.

Use of money orders created a tacit understanding of conspiracy to launder money sufficient that there was no plain error in denial of motion to withdraw guilty plea.

United States  v.  Yousef Qattoum