Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal habeas corpus petition filed by an Arizona death row prisoner. The court held that the prisoner procedurally defaulted most of his ineffective assistance of counsel claims and failed to show cause and prejudice to excuse those defaults.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a challenge to federal firearm purchase requirements. The court held that requiring non-citizens to provide an alien registration number on Form 4473 does not violate the Second Amendment or related statutes.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's thirty-five count employment discrimination complaint. The court held that the pleading was an impermissible shotgun complaint that failed to provide defendants adequate notice of the claims against them.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in a civil rights lawsuit brought by a woman arrested outside a courthouse. The panel held that the arresting officer had probable cause, which defeats the plaintiff's Fourth and First Amendment claims.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's civil rights complaint for failing to follow court orders to sever unrelated claims. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion by dismissing the entire case without prejudice when the plaintiff refused to organize his claims into separate lawsuits.
The Ninth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that had blocked President Trump's Executive Order excluding certain federal agencies from collective bargaining requirements, ruling that the unions failed to prove the order was motivated by retaliation.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a pro se civil rights suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court vacated and remanded the case to ensure the dismissal was entered without prejudice.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Merit Systems Protection Board order denying a federal employee's whistleblower retaliation claims. The court found the administrative judge's credibility determinations regarding the petitioner's disclosures were virtually unreviewable and supported by substantial evidence.
The Eleventh Circuit denied a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order refusing to reopen removal proceedings. The court held that the petitioner failed to demonstrate the reasonable diligence required for equitable tolling of the ninety-day filing deadline.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted a petition for hearing en banc in the case of Jackler versus the Department of Justice. The court has ordered the parties to file new briefs and scheduled oral argument for a future date.
