Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of Michael Stephen Combs' federal habeas petition challenging his murder conviction and death sentence. The panel held that the California Supreme Court's silent denial of Combs' ineffective assistance of counsel claims was not an unreasonable application of the Strickland standard.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of an employment discrimination lawsuit, ruling that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' gaming enterprise was not a necessary party to the case. The court held that the plaintiff's claims against the corporate casino operator could proceed without the Tribe, as the operator retained exclusive authority over hiring and firing decisions.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in a civil rights case alleging excessive force during a jail booking. The court held that body-worn camera footage contradicted the plaintiff's version of events, leaving no genuine dispute for a jury to resolve regarding the reasonableness of the officers' actions.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a wrongful death complaint alleging that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to an inmate's serious dental needs. The court held that the plaintiff failed to plead facts supporting a claim of conscious disregard of a medical need and lacked a causal link between alleged staffing policies and the specific injury.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of Scot Gaither's federal habeas petition, ruling that his waiver of appellate counsel was knowing and intelligent. The court also held that his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel was procedurally defaulted and lacked merit.
The Tenth Circuit denied Robert G. Johnson's request to file a second or successive habeas petition because the evidence he presented was identical to evidence previously rejected by the court. The court reaffirmed that Johnson failed to make the required prima facie showing of newly discovered exculpatory evidence under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(2)(B).
The Third Circuit summarily affirmed the District Court's order remanding a foreclosure and ejectment dispute to state court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The appellate court held that neither federal question jurisdiction nor diversity jurisdiction existed because the underlying state claims did not present federal issues and the parties were not completely diverse.
The Third Circuit dismissed a petition for a writ of mandamus as moot because the underlying motion had already been resolved by the District Court. The court found that no live controversy remained since the requested relief was no longer available.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Merit Systems Protection Board's decision to sustain the removal of a federal employee for excessive absences, rejecting claims of due process violations and whistleblower retaliation. The court held that prolonged absence without a foreseeable end constitutes just cause for removal, even when the employee has a history of disputes with management.
The Federal Circuit vacated the patent infringement judgment against Gen Digital, ruling that the asserted software claims were directed to an abstract idea under the first step of the Alice analysis. The court also held that damages based on foreign sales were impermissible under U.S. patent law and ordered a reconsideration of enhanced damages and attorney fees.
