Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a prisoner's motion to reopen the appeal period because the filing missed the statutory deadline. Consequently, the court lacks jurisdiction to review the underlying habeas dismissal, leaving the district court's ruling in full force.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of Michael Henderson's federal habeas petition, ruling that his trial counsel's performance did not fall below an objective standard of reasonableness. The court found no reasonable probability that securing Richardson hearings or deposing a detective would have altered the outcome of Henderson's capital sexual battery conviction.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se civil rights complaint because the plaintiff failed to cure specific deficiencies identified by the district court. The court held that the dismissal without prejudice was not an abuse of discretion since the statute of limitations had not yet expired.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the defendants, holding that the appellant abandoned her primary discrimination and retaliation claims by failing to raise them in her initial appellate brief. The court further ruled that claims regarding disability discrimination and hostile work environment were not preserved for appeal because they were not raised in the district court.
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment and ADA claims regarding his removal from a drug treatment program, ruling that prison officials' good-faith judgments lack the requisite culpable state of mind for constitutional liability. However, the court vacated the dismissal of his state-law negligence claim because the lower court relied on precedent that the Supreme Court has since abrogated.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction blocking a West Virginia statute that sought to force drug manufacturers to deliver discounted drugs to unlimited contract pharmacies. The court held that the state law likely preempts the federal 340B program by impermissibly altering the spending-power bargain struck by Congress.
The Supreme Court held that Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, as applied to licensed talk therapists, constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. The Court reversed the lower courts, ruling that the state law impermissibly prescribes what views counselors may express to clients rather than merely regulating professional conduct.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's claims challenging actions by judges of another federal district. The court held that federal courts lack subject-matter jurisdiction to review the decisions of other federal judges and that the complaint failed to state a claim due to redundancy and insufficient factual allegations.
The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of a Title VII failure-to-accommodate claim, holding that the plaintiff's objections to fetal cell therapy and constitutional rights plausibly established a sincerely held religious belief. The court clarified that an employee need not provide a detailed theological treatise to satisfy the pleading standard if they assert a common religious objection within a formal accommodation request.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal lawsuit challenging a state court foreclosure judgment, ruling that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars federal courts from acting as appellate bodies over state court decisions. The court further held that absolute judicial immunity protects state judges from liability for official acts, even when the plaintiff alleges the judge lacked a proper oath of office.
