Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's summary judgment in favor of mortgage lenders, ruling that appellants failed to prove the existence of an enforceable contract. The court held that the plaintiffs' claims lacked the written evidence required under Washington's statute of frauds and contract principles.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Alfred Clark's foreclosure-related claims, ruling that he failed to plausibly allege the defendants were debt collectors under the FDCPA or that he was not in default. The court held that amending the complaint would be futile because no viable legal theory existed to support his allegations under federal or Nevada law.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Matthew Keirans's 144-month prison sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court abused its discretion by weighing the unique harm of his identity theft. The court held that the lower court properly imposed special conditions of supervised release based on Keirans's decades-long pattern of deception and history of mental health and substance abuse issues.
The Seventh Circuit clarified that the Supreme Court's decision in Department of the Navy v. Egan imposes a rule of mandatory judicial deference rather than a limit on subject-matter jurisdiction. The court affirmed the dismissal of a federal employee's retaliation claim because adjudicating it would require second-guessing the Executive Branch's security clearance decisions.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment supervisory liability claim against the Secretary of Corrections. The court held that generalized allegations of understaffing and poor training were insufficient to prove the official knew or should have known these conditions would specifically cause the plaintiff's injuries.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a felon-in-possession sentence despite a procedural error regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act. The court held that the error was harmless because the time gaps between the defendant's prior offenses were too large to constitute a single occasion.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Delta Air Lines against former pilots alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The court held that the pilots' abuse of sick leave provided a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for their constructive termination and that their compensation was not reasonably certain for pension calculations.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a defendant's sentence, rejecting the claim that denying a sentencing reduction for acceptance of responsibility violates the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. The court held that the denial of a reduction is not a penalty for exercising trial rights but rather the withholding of a reward for those who accept responsibility.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the revocation of Gregory Largent's supervised release and his 18-month prison sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court erred by modifying a contact condition without a separate hearing. The court held that Largent failed to demonstrate plain error, as he had counsel and an opportunity to present evidence during the proceeding.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a district court dismissal of a pro se excessive force complaint, ruling that the lower court applied an overly strict pleading standard and failed to include a second officer as a defendant. The appellate court held that the plaintiff's allegations, accepted as true, sufficiently stated a plausible claim under the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness test.
