Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Seventh Circuit granted Indiana's emergency motion to stay a district court injunction that had barred enforcement of Senate Bill 10. Applying the Purcell principle, the court held that federal courts should generally avoid altering election rules on the eve of an election to prevent voter confusion and administrative chaos.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Baldwin County Board of Education, holding that the plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence of race-based employment discrimination or retaliation.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's order civilly committing a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity, holding that substantial evidence supported the finding that his mental illness posed a substantial risk of bodily injury to others if released. The court concluded that the statutory criteria for continued custody were met despite the defendant's stable condition in a structured facility.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a title insurer, holding that the insurer properly denied coverage because the insured failed to act within a contractual deadline, causing its property rights to revert. The court ruled that the insured's deliberate inaction and subsequent sale of the property with known title defects fell squarely within a policy exclusion.
The Fifth Circuit vacated an order from the National Labor Relations Board that found Starbucks violated labor laws. The court held that the Board applied the wrong legal standard when evaluating the employer's use of subpoenas during a union organizing campaign.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity for a police officer who used deadly force against a man holding a hatchet, ruling that the force was objectively unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances. The court held that the officer violated clearly established Fourth Amendment rights because the suspect posed no immediate threat and was fleeing when shot in the back.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on the jurisdiction of the Mine Safety and Health Administration over KC Transport's maintenance facility.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order rejecting a motion to reopen removal proceedings based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The court affirmed that the petitioner failed to satisfy the procedural requirements of Matter of Lozada because he did not provide his former counsel sufficient time to respond to allegations before filing his motion.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order that rejected a motion to reopen removal proceedings based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The court upheld the BIA's finding that the petitioner failed to meet procedural requirements because he provided his former attorney only three days to respond to allegations before filing the motion.
The Ninth Circuit vacated summary judgment on a False Claims Act retaliation claim, ruling that an employer's refusal to renew a contract after an employee reported Medicaid fraud created a genuine dispute of material fact. The court held that a reasonable jury could find the nonrenewal was likely to deter protected activity and that the employer's stated reasons were pretextual.
