Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
The First Circuit affirmed the convictions of two Massachusetts State Police officers for defrauding federal highway safety grants but vacated a forfeiture order against one defendant. The court held that the government failed to prove which portion of the financial aid received by the defendant was directly traceable to the fraud rather than what he would have received anyway.
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a former student's civil rights claims against school officials and a police officer regarding sexual assault by a coach. The court held that the school officials lacked actual knowledge of the abuse and that the plaintiff failed to prove the state created the danger or that the officer was properly served.
The First Circuit affirmed the District Court's grant of qualified immunity to state officials sued over the deaths of veterans at a state-run facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege that the defendants directly caused the harm or that the law was clearly established to prohibit the alleged conduct.
The First Circuit affirmed a felon-in-possession conviction, ruling that circumstantial evidence of control and behavior was sufficient to prove constructive possession of a firearm found under a car seat. The court also held that the defendant waived his facial Second Amendment challenge by failing to adequately develop the argument on appeal.
The First Circuit affirmed Tevin Abercrombie's conviction for unlawful firearm possession by a felon, ruling that circumstantial evidence of his control over the vehicle and suspicious behavior supported a finding of constructive possession. The court also held that Abercrombie waived his facial Second Amendment challenge to the statute by failing to adequately develop the argument on appeal.
The First Circuit affirmed the denial of James Garrey's habeas petition, ruling that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did not unreasonably apply federal law in upholding a prosecutor's peremptory strike of a minority juror. The court held that the state trial court's acceptance of the prosecutor's race-neutral explanation was reasonable given the ambiguous record and the high deference required under AEDPA.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a district court order that had enjoined enforcement of a federal statute withholding Medicaid funding from certain abortion providers. The appellate court held that the statute does not constitute a bill of attainder because it imposes prospective conditions on federal funds rather than retrospective punishment.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a district court order that had enjoined enforcement of a federal statute withholding Medicaid funding from specific abortion providers. The appellate court held that the statute does not constitute a bill of attainder because it imposes prospective conditions on federal funds rather than punishing past conduct.
The First Circuit affirmed Haoyang Yu's conviction for possessing a stolen trade secret, finding sufficient evidence that he downloaded and retained proprietary microchip design files after leaving Analog Devices. The court also rejected Yu's claim of unconstitutional selective prosecution, ruling that he failed to prove he was treated differently than similarly situated non-Chinese individuals.
The First Circuit affirmed Haoyang Yu's conviction for unlawful possession of a stolen trade secret, finding sufficient evidence that he retained proprietary microchip design files after leaving his employer. The court also rejected Yu's constitutional challenges, ruling that the government provided a legitimate, non-discriminatory basis for the investigation and prosecution.