Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a twenty-year mandatory minimum sentence for a defendant convicted of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury. The court rejected the defendant's argument that the sentence violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed district court awards of attorneys' fees to landowners in a dispute over oil and gas drilling operations. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in calculating fees or denying a request for oral argument.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a wire fraud sentence and dismissed an appeal based on a valid plea agreement waiver. The court rejected an ineffective assistance claim because the record was not developed for direct review.
The Eighth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a defendant who pleaded guilty and signed an appeal waiver. The court granted counsel leave to withdraw after finding no non-frivolous issues outside the waiver's scope.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of summary judgment against police detectives and a prosecutor in a civil rights suit alleging a reckless investigation and evidence suppression. The court held that genuine disputes of material fact exist regarding whether the defendants violated clearly established law by ignoring exculpatory evidence and coercing witnesses.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling granting qualified immunity to two state troopers who shot and killed a driver during a traffic stop. The court held that the troopers did not violate clearly established law when they used force to stop a vehicle that accelerated with an officer partially inside.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment to four former employees of Wilbur-Ellis Company. The court held that the employer failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its claims of trade secret misappropriation, breach of duty of loyalty, and tortious interference.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a drug trafficking sentence after finding any alleged errors in the district court's application of sentencing guidelines were harmless. The court held that the district judge would have imposed the same sentence regardless of the defendant's objections.
The Eighth Circuit vacated a federal sentence and remanded the case due to procedural errors regarding sentencing guidelines. The court found the district court failed to explicitly address whether a state robbery conviction constituted relevant conduct to the federal firearms charge.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion for early termination of supervised release for a defendant convicted of distributing child pornography. The court held that the district court acted within its broad discretion given the severity of the offenses and the defendant's history.