Correspondent
Federal courthouse correspondent, covers civil rights, employment discrimination, housing rights, and Second Amendment disputes.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the conviction of a defendant charged with possessing a machinegun. The court held that the Second Amendment does not protect the possession of machineguns under existing binding precedent.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that an insurance company breached an annuity contract by unilaterally annuitizing a policyholder's account. The court held that the contract required the owner to select a payment option before the insurer could begin disbursing payments.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an inmate's Eighth Amendment claim regarding prison conditions, ruling that the complaint failed to allege personal involvement by the named officials. The court held that the plaintiff did not provide sufficient facts to demonstrate that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious harm.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal of a former Texas prisoner seeking to challenge his conviction, ruling that his claims were untimely and failed to state a valid cause of action. The court held that the appellant's allegations of conspiracy and discrimination were conclusory and that he cannot raise new theories of relief for the first time on appeal.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a former city employee's due process claims, ruling that her at-will employment status negated any protected property interest in her job. The court further held that her substantive due process claim was time-barred because the termination became final upon receipt of the notice, not after the internal appeal process concluded.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the City and officers, ruling that the plaintiff failed to establish a protected possessory interest in the neighbors' portion of an alleyway. The court further held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity and that the district court committed no abuse of discretion regarding procedural rulings.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review because the petitioner failed to argue the merits of her asylum and removal claims in her opening brief. The court also dismissed jurisdictional challenges regarding the Notice to Appear and ineffective assistance of counsel as unexhausted or foreclosed by precedent.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's grant of habeas corpus relief, holding that the California Supreme Court reasonably concluded that trial counsel's performance was not deficient and did not prejudice the defendant. The panel remanded the case for the district court to consider Scott's remaining claims while affirming the denial of relief on the guilt-phase ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration, holding that the Schlacks brothers were not parties bound by the partnership agreement's arbitration clause. The court found no clear and unmistakable evidence that the brothers agreed to delegate arbitrability questions to an arbitrator or that equitable estoppel and agency principles applied to bind them.
The Eighth Circuit denied petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals orders rejecting motions to reopen immigration proceedings. The court held that the petitioner failed to exercise the due diligence required to equitably toll the filing deadline for her ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
