Correspondent
Breaking news correspondent, covers late-night developments and emergency rulings.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a nonparty challenging a district court's refusal to docket his unauthorized motion. The court held that the order returning the motion was neither a final judgment nor an appealable interlocutory order, leaving the appellant without standing to proceed.
The Federal Circuit transferred an appeal involving federal employment discrimination to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania because district courts hold exclusive jurisdiction over such claims. The court relied on the prohibition against bifurcating discrimination allegations from other employment actions.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the Benefits Review Board's award of permanent total disability benefits to a longshoreman, finding substantial evidence supported the lower tribunal's conclusion that the worker reached maximum medical improvement and could not return to the workforce. The court rejected the employer's arguments regarding alternative employment and job retraining, noting the employer failed to meet its burden of proof and forfeited the retraining argument.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of a BIA order denying asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The court held that substantial evidence supported the Agency's finding that the petitioner's abuse was motivated by her abuser's drug use rather than a protected ground.
The Fourth Circuit denied a petition for review of an immigration judge's denial of asylum and withholding of removal, ruling that substantial evidence supported the agency's finding that the petitioner failed to prove a nexus between her claimed social group and the persecution. The court affirmed that not every threat referencing a protected group is made on account of that group, emphasizing the need to prove the persecutor's specific reasons for targeting the individual.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of the BIA's decision, upholding the finding that Mexican men deported from the U.S. is too broad to constitute a cognizable particular social group. The court further held that substantial evidence supported the conclusion that the petitioner's harm was motivated by personal interference in a relationship rather than membership in a protected class.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review challenging an adverse credibility finding against an asylum seeker from China. The court held that substantial evidence supported the Board of Immigration Appeals' conclusion that the petitioner submitted false information, which alone justified the denial of relief.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review challenging an immigration judge's conduct and the denial of asylum claims for a family of Mexican nationals. The court held that the judge's inquiry into the government's appeal strategy did not constitute fundamental unfairness and that substantial evidence supported the finding that the petitioners could safely relocate within Mexico.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture claims for a Guatemalan national, finding insufficient evidence of a nexus between his harm and his indigenous status. The court held that the petitioner failed to prove past persecution or a well-founded fear of future harm due to inconsistent testimony and the lack of a protected ground connection to the gang extortion he suffered.
The Sixth Circuit held that the 30-day filing deadline for immigration petitions is subject to equitable tolling following the Supreme Court's decision in Riley v. Bondi. However, the court dismissed Jorge Oxlaj-Perez's petition because he failed to demonstrate the extraordinary circumstances required to toll the deadline.
