Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Mackie James Walker, Jr. The court found the petition moot because the district court had recently denied relief on his underlying motions.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Eric Lee Smith's motion for a new trial, finding no abuse of discretion in the lower court's ruling. The court held that Smith failed to meet the stringent five-part standard required to prove newly discovered evidence would likely result in acquittal.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed in part and denied in part a petition for review of a denial of cancellation of removal because the petitioner failed to prove exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his U.S. citizen children. The court held that while it cannot reweigh factual findings, the undisputed record facts do not legally constitute the required level of hardship under the statute.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a district court order denying a preliminary injunction against a Maryland statute restricting 340B drug distribution. The court held that its recent decision finding a similar West Virginia law likely preempted by federal law controls this appeal.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a supervised release revocation sentence because the district court misclassified a drug-testing violation as a Grade B offense instead of the correct Grade C classification. The court remanded the case for resentencing to apply the proper sentencing guidelines and address potential statutory limits on the term of supervised release.
The Fourth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that allowed a civil rights lawsuit to proceed against detention officers. The appellate court held that the complaint failed to plausibly allege that any specific officer acted with deliberate indifference to the plaintiff's medical needs.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Trent Russell's conviction for wrongfully obtaining health information and destroying records, rejecting claims that his interview was coerced and that the evidence was insufficient. The court held that the screenshot of Justice Ginsburg's medical visits constituted protected health information and that the district court properly limited cross-examination without violating the Confrontation Clause.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Derickson Lawrence's eleven convictions for wire and mail fraud, ruling that the evidence sufficiently proved his intent to defraud cardholders and the government. The court further held that the district court properly joined the fraud schemes and correctly applied a sentencing enhancement for sophisticated means.
The Fourth Circuit held that a North Carolina Prayer for Judgment Continued conditioned on community service constitutes a conviction under federal immigration law. Consequently, the petitioner remains ineligible for cancellation of removal due to having two prior crimes involving moral turpitude.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights complaint filed by a pro se appellant. The court found no reversible error in the district court's adoption of a magistrate judge's recommendation.