Seventh Circuit: USA v. Juan Adame

Crim, Interstate commerce, FRE


Sufficient evidence on merits.

Use of building for rental establishes interstate commerce requirement of the arson statute.

Historical cell site data admissible under Daubert, since it was appropriately qualified.  Ultimately harmless.

Agent testimony variations from deposition are not properly considered here, since the record was not amended to include the deposition version.

Fact that deft talked about fire on incidental audio associated with video allowed into jury room not overly prejudicial.

USA v.   Juan Adame

Seventh Circuit: Noah Dietchweiler v. Steve Lucas

Due Process

Per curiam -- Due process satisfied for high school suspension where there was notice of the general allegation and a chance to be heard, despite lack of date-specific accusation of drug use.

Concurrence (2) -- troublingly unspecific notice.


Noah Dietchweiler v.  Steve Lucas

Seventh Circuit: Arlene Simpson v. St. James Hospital

Discrimination, Title VII

Anecdotal evidence insufficient to establish valid comparators.


Arlene Simpson v. St. James Hospital

Seventh Circuit: Chun Sui Yuan v. Loretta E. Lynch

Immigration

Insufficient substantial evidence for agency's adverse findings on credibility.


Chun Sui Yuan v.   Loretta E. Lynch

Fifth Circuit: Mary Smith, et al v. Regional Transit Authority

ERISA, Agency

IRS standard is the appropriate test for determining, for the purposes of ERISA, if a private company is an agency or instrumentality of a government body, and by this standard, the private company that operates the transit system qualifies.

Deft not estopped from invoking governmental exemption, as the terms of the statute control.

Statute of limitations ran from first letter saying that some claims would not be funded.

PArty asserting discovery violation has to establish significance of the evidence sought.

Mary Smith, et al v. Regional Transit Authority

Fifth Circuit: Patricia Morris v. Town of Independence, et al

Discrimination

Given window clerk's part-time status and sui generis duties, there were no relevant comparators to test a claim of racial discrimination.


Patricia Morris v. Town of Independence, et al

Fifth Circuit: Noris Rogers v. Pearland Indep School District

FRCP, Title VII,

Mere statement asserting claim is not enough to preserve disparate impact theory of claim.

Difference between comparator's criminal record and that of plaintiff establishes that they are not similarly situated.

Dissent: Comparator valid, since the relevant bit is that the convictions were not disclosed on the application form.


Noris Rogers v. Pearland Indep School District

Fourth Circuit: Sutasinee Thana v. Board of License Commissioners

Jurisdiction, First Amendment, FRCP

Federal action challenging state liquor control agency restriction on First Amendment grounds is not an imprudent challenge to state court authority via the federal system, since (1) the prudential abstention doctrine technically only applies to holdings of the state's top court; (2) the challenge is to the agency action, not to the court; (3) administrative actions are categorically removed from prudential abstention; (4) the state proceding was a deferential review on merits, and the federal case is seeking damages from violations of the First Amendment; and (5) plaintiff is still actively pursuing the state appeal.


Sutasinee Thana v. Board of License Commissioners

Fourth Circuit: Stella Andrews v. America’s Living Centers, LLC

FRCP, Fees

Award of costs for repetitive litigation can include fees where provided by statute at issue or equitably justified by the conduct of the plaintiff.

Circuit split flagged.

Where refiling is not in bad faith, wanton, or oppressive, award of fees is precluded.  Here, Magistrate explicitly suggested refiling action.


Stella Andrews v. America’s Living Centers, LLC

Fourth Circuit: John Vannoy v. Federal Reserve Bank

FMLA, ADA

Letter to employee regarding the medical leave did not comport with statute, since it didn't mention right to restoration of status.

Assertion of prejudice by plaintiff makes the lack of notice a genuine issue of material fact for the fact-finder at trial.

Plaintiff must make an evidentiary showing of pretext to present a genuine issue where deft has established a bona fide reason for the allegedly retaliatory act.

No equitable basis for ADA claims.


John Vannoy v. Federal Reserve Bank

Second Circuit: OneWest Bank, N.A. v. Robert W. Melina

FRCP

A national bank is considered to be a citizen of the state which its articles of association designate as the location of its main (head) office, regardless of the location of its principal place of business.

OneWest Bank, N.A. v. Robert W. Melina

Second Circuit: Weiland v. Lynch

Immigration

Per curiam -- given recent S.Ct. U.S. holding, interstate commerce element of the federal law is not considered when comparing a state statute to a federal statute to determine whether the state statute qualifies as an aggravated felony for Immigration purposes.

Weiland v. Lynch

First CIrcuit: US v. Bermudez-Melendez

Sentencing

Appeal waiver doesn't bar challenge where term in agreement was that sentence would be in accord with recommended sentence.

Where there is no guidelines range, statutory minimum is the range, and variances must be justified.

Court had no duty to explain variance prom plea deal level -- general description of facts sufficed to explain upward variance.  Sufficient consideration of personal history.

Rhetorical flourishes are permissible during imposition of sentence.

Community-protection rhetoric in imposition of sentence is permissible when framed as an aspect of general deterrence.

Substantively reasonable.


US v. Bermudez-Melendez

First Circuit: Paret-Ruiz v. US

Forfeiture, Takings

The statutory remedy is the sole remedy for challenging a civil forfeiture, even when the underlying criminal case doesn't result in conviction.  Waiver of that process waives FTCA remedy.

Court of Claim is sole venue for a Constitutional claim based in the taking -- amount in question here prevents court from having jurisdiction.

No clear error in denial of malicious prosecution clam, as evidence in record supports fact-finder's determination that one of the agents believed the deft to be guilty/


Paret-Ruiz v. US

DC Circuit: National Fed. of the Blind v. DOT

Administrative

Specific statutory right of action  against agency displaces APA review -- the challenge should have been filed with the court of appeals.

Confusion over venue was not sufficient reasonable cause to waive the filing date requirement.


National Fed. of the Blind v. DOT

DC Circuit: Florent Bayala v. DHS

FOIA

Withholding of single document means FOIA claim is not moot - plaintiff's averment that the document is no longer being sought means that administrative exhaustion is moot, though.

As administrative exhaustion is not jurisdictional, remand to consider whether gov't litigation strategy comports with statute.


 Florent Bayala v. DHS

DC Circuit: Sierra Club, et al v. FERC

Standing, Environment

Member living under a mile away gives associational standing to challenge increased constuction and output at natural gas port, given construction plans.

Environmental analysis was a substantial part of the export strategy, so not moot.

Intervening causation defeats challenge to export strategy by challenging port expansion.

Foreseeable and proximte effects on national markets required for cumulative analysis.

Shift in metrics not raised in agency proceedings


Sierra Club, et al v. FERC

DC Circuit: Sierra Club v. FERC

Standing, Environment

Organization meets causation and redressibility requirements for associational standing in challenge to an increase in natural gas production levels due to member who fishes in the area, given the presumptive increase in tanker traffic.

On merits, claim that increasing production at this port will lead to exports, causing domestic harms is flawed, because it relies on an intervening act - a decision to increase exports.

Agency hard look did not have to take a hard look at other projects occurring outside the jurisdiction which might have had a cumulative effect.


Sierra Club v. FERC

USA v. State of Washington

Treaties

Culvert construction, by diminishing the number of fish, violates fishing rights terms in treaties with tribes.

Abrogation of treaty rights requires legislation -- agency action doesn't constitute waiver.

 State cannot compel FG to limit culvert construction, as it has no standing to assert treaty rights, and the action is barred by sovereign immunity.

Injunction not overbroad -- was a valid exercise of equitable discretion to order state to remedy rather than the FG through the state, since the state held title to the culverts.


USA v. State of Washington

Ninth Circuit: Lia Lingo v. City of Salem

Fourth Amendment, Exclusionary Rule, S 1983

Exclusionary rule does not apply in S1983 actions.

Scent of MJ gave probable cause for arrest, even if it came from a candle.


Lia Lingo v. City of Salem