Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of John Rodgers Burnley's civil rights complaint as duplicative. The court found no reversible error in the lower court's procedural ruling and dispensed with oral argument.
The Fourth Circuit denied Debra Nelson's petition for a writ of prohibition, ruling that such relief is an extraordinary remedy unavailable when adequate appellate review exists. The court held that the writ cannot substitute for a direct appeal in her underlying employment discrimination case.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Richard Vandale Clowney's Section 1983 complaint because his appellate objections to the magistrate judge's recommendation lacked the required specificity. Although Clowney filed objections on time, they were too generalized to alert the district court to the true legal grounds for his appeal, resulting in a waiver of substantive review.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's lawsuit seeking damages against federal prison officials for alleged constitutional violations. The court held that the plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under the *Bivens* doctrine.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to prison officials in an inmate's civil rights action, finding no reversible error in the lower court's ruling. This unpublished per curiam decision leaves the dismissal of the inmate's claims against the defendants in full force and effect without establishing new legal precedent.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's summary dismissal of the plaintiff's civil rights complaint, finding no reversible error in the lower court's ruling. Simultaneously, the court ordered the plaintiff to show cause why he should not face monetary sanctions or a prefiling injunction due to a pattern of excessive and frivolous filings.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's civil rights complaint because the appellant failed to challenge the specific legal basis for the dismissal in his informal brief. The court held that this failure resulted in a forfeiture of appellate review regarding the merits of the underlying claim.
The Eleventh Circuit denied Allied Universal's petition for review and granted the National Labor Relations Board's application for enforcement. The court held that the Board's procedures satisfied due process requirements and that substantial evidence supported the finding that security lieutenants were not supervisors under the National Labor Relations Act.
The Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment for Dr. Dale Woolridge, holding that conducting a forensic medical exam on a child without parental consent or a court order violates clearly established constitutional rights absent exigent circumstances. The court also reversed summary judgment for investigator Gerardo Talamantes on judicial deception claims, finding a genuine dispute of material fact regarding the materiality of his statements to the juvenile court.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Dawn Plagianes's ADA claims because she failed to file her EEOC charge within the statutory 180-day deadline. The court held that the limitations period began when the school district unequivocally notified her of its termination decision in April 2021, not when her resignation or termination became effective later that summer.
