Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Second Circuit clarified that sanctions for lost electronic evidence under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e)(2) require a specific finding of intent to deprive the opponent of that information. The court rejected the application of a lesser negligence standard, affirming the district court's denial of an adverse inference instruction in a civil rights excessive force case.
The Second Circuit affirmed Robert Sylvester Kelly's RICO and Mann Act convictions, ruling that sufficient evidence supported each count and that the underlying state laws were constitutional as applied to him. The court rejected claims of juror bias, ineffective assistance during voir dire, and errors in evidentiary rulings and restitution orders.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal regarding prison conditions at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. The court held that the district court had not entered a final decision or an appealable injunction.
The Second Circuit affirmed R. Kelly's RICO and Mann Act convictions, rejecting challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence and the constitutionality of the underlying state laws. The court also upheld the district court's evidentiary rulings, jury selection process, and restitution orders, leaving the defendant subject to his original sentence and financial penalties.
The Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment, holding that school officials violated a high school student's due process rights by extending his suspension based on new charges without providing notice or a hearing. The court further ruled that the officials are not entitled to qualified immunity and that the student has standing to seek expungement of the disciplinary records.
The Second Circuit held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's commercial activity exception applies to claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act, abrogating sovereign immunity for a Russian state-owned bank. The court further ruled for the first time that the ATA's immunity provisions cover foreign state instrumentalities, not just agencies.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court order compelling a law firm to submit a privilege log to the government, holding that such a log would violate the client's Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The court ruled that when documents are protected under Fisher v. United States, an in camera review by the judge is generally required before any disclosure can be made.
The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's medical neglect claims but vacated the dismissal of his excessive force allegations. The court held that the district court erred by relying on a defendant's self-serving report and a video to evaluate the sufficiency of the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6).
The Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of a pretrial detainee's Fourteenth Amendment claims regarding unsanitary conditions and segregation without a hearing. The court also reversed summary judgment on a failure-to-protect claim, finding a factual dispute over whether the plaintiff exhausted administrative remedies under the PLRA.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of asylum and withholding of removal for a Ukrainian national convicted of possessing a stolen vehicle. The court held that the Washington state statute aligns with the federal definition of an aggravated felony and that the conviction constitutes a particularly serious crime.
