Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment dismissing a plaintiff's diversity action against an insurance company. The appellate panel held that the district court properly exercised subject matter jurisdiction and that the insurance policy granted the defendant authority to settle claims.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a White employee's claim that mandatory racial sensitivity training created a hostile work environment. The court held that the allegations failed to meet the extremely high threshold required to prove a workplace permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, or insult.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision in this civil rights education case. The panel found no reversible error after reviewing the parties' briefs and the record.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order denying a parent's motion to represent her minor child in a civil action. The court held that under binding precedent, a non-attorney parent or guardian cannot bring an action on behalf of a minor child without retaining a lawyer.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed a petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The dismissal occurred because the petitioner failed to pay the required docketing fee and file the necessary discrimination statement.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc in a Fourth Amendment case involving warrantless observation through a motel window. A dissent argued that the majority eroded privacy protections by relying on a plain view doctrine that ignored the reasonable expectation of privacy behind closed curtains.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in an employment discrimination case. The panel held that the appellant failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact regarding his termination.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court's denial of a petition for a writ of mandamus. The court held that the petitioner had adequate alternative means of relief through a standard appeal and that mandamus was not the proper mechanism to challenge the constitutionality of the veterans' claims system.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in a pregnancy discrimination and Family and Medical Leave Act case. The court held that the plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence that her pregnancy or leave requests were the motivating factors in her termination.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in an employment discrimination case. The court held that the plaintiff failed to raise genuine disputes of material fact regarding pretext or the severity of alleged workplace conduct.
