Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court judgment that had granted habeas corpus relief to a state prisoner challenging his first-degree murder conviction. The panel held that the state court's summary denial of the prisoner's claims was not objectively unreasonable under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that had granted summary judgment to University of Washington officials. The panel held that the university violated a professor's First Amendment rights by disciplining him for a parody land acknowledgment statement in his course syllabus.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the lower court's grant of summary judgment in a personal injury case. The appellate panel found no reversible error in the magistrate judge's orders.
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of qualified immunity for police officers in a First Amendment retaliation case involving a domestic violence scene.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Merit Systems Protection Board's dismissal of an appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The court held that the petitioner failed to non-frivolously allege that his resignation from the Postal Service was involuntary due to coercion or duress.
The Ninth Circuit remanded the Environmental Protection Agency's 2024 rule regarding the flame retardant decaBromodiphenyl Ether without vacatur, finding the agency's decision not to regulate exposures in recycling, disposal, wastewater, and sewage sludge unsupported by substantial evidence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to Jestin Tafolla, a state prisoner seeking federal habeas relief. The court dismissed the appeal after finding no substantial showing of a denial of constitutional rights across all asserted claims.
The Ninth Circuit remanded the Environmental Protection Agency's 2024 rule regarding the flame retardant decaBDE, finding the agency failed to provide substantial evidence for its decision not to regulate exposures in recycling, disposal, wastewater, and sewage sludge.
The Ninth Circuit denied in part and granted in part a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision. The court affirmed the denial of a continuance to respond to government evidence but remanded the case regarding the abandonment of asylum applications.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a school district that denied an employee paid sick leave for mandatory guide dog training, ruling the denial did not violate the ADA or FMLA.
