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The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Jibril family's lawsuit, holding they lacked Article III standing to seek prospective injunctive relief. The court ruled that without evidence of current watchlist status or a substantial risk of future injury, the plaintiffs could not demonstrate the concrete injury required for judicial review.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed Stephen Bannon's conviction for contempt of Congress, rejecting his argument that the statute requires bad faith or that advice of counsel is a valid defense. The court held that the statutory term 'willfully' is satisfied by a deliberate and intentional refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena, regardless of the defendant's subjective belief in their legal justification.
The D.C. Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of a federal employee's due process claim, holding that career appointees in the Senior Executive Service possess a protected property interest in their tenure after completing their probationary period. The court reasoned that because the Civil Service Reform Act limits removals to specific causes for tenured SES employees, they are entitled to constitutional procedural protections before being removed.
The D.C. Circuit denied petitions challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's certification of the Evangeline Pass Expansion Project, ruling that the agency reasonably applied the National Environmental Policy Act. The court also upheld FERC's decision to deny windfall profit credits to existing pipeline customers who would not use the new capacity.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's sua sponte dismissal of Deborah Walton's complaint, holding that she lacks standing to bring a qui tam action under the False Claims Act. The court further ruled that her retaliation claim fails because she is not an employee or agent of the defendants, and that she forfeited other federal claims by failing to adequately brief them.
The Ninth Circuit enforced the National Labor Relations Board's order requiring Starbucks to bargain with Workers United, rejecting the company's arguments regarding election procedures and court jurisdiction. The panel held that the Regional Director properly ordered a mail-ballot election during the pandemic and that the Board's order was final and reviewable despite severing a potential compensatory remedy.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction banning wolf trapping in Montana during grizzly bear denning season but vacated the order's geographic scope and prohibition on research trapping. The court held that while plaintiffs raised serious questions regarding unlawful grizzly bear take under the Endangered Species Act, the district court's injunction was overbroad in its application to areas outside the occupied grizzly range and to state research activities.
The Second Circuit held that periodic reviews of a Connecticut prisoner's administrative segregation status satisfied due process even while he was incarcerated in Virginia. However, the court found a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether Virginia Department of Corrections administrative remedies were available to the plaintiff, rendering summary judgment on his First, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment claims inappropriate.
The Ninth Circuit held that the Board of Immigration Appeals erred by failing to apply the presumption of past persecution and shifting the burden to the government regarding internal relocation for an asylum seeker from India. The court remanded the case for a reasoned, individualized analysis of whether the petitioner could safely relocate within India given his continued political advocacy, while affirming the denial of Convention Against Torture relief.
The Ninth Circuit dismissed a petition for review of a denial of motions for remand and administrative closure, holding that the criminal alien bar precludes judicial review of factual challenges to removal orders for aliens with covered convictions. The court ruled that the Supreme Court's decision in Nasrallah v. Barr abrogates the Ninth Circuit's prior 'on the merits' exception, which previously allowed review of factual findings when relief was denied on grounds other than the conviction itself.
