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Apr 24 2026
9th Cir. 3:24-cv-00429-CAB-DEB Unpublished

Fitzhugh v. United States

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Jeffery Lee Fitzhugh's Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit, ruling that his administrative claim was filed more than two years after the incident and lacked the necessary facts for equitable tolling. The court also upheld the district court's denial of leave to file a second amended complaint because Fitzhugh failed to cure identified deficiencies despite prior opportunities.

Civil Tort / Personal Injury
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Apr 24 2026
8th Cir. 25-1434 Panel Decision

United States of America v. Oscar Hudspeth, Sr

The Eighth Circuit affirmed Oscar Hudspeth's conviction for sex abuse in Indian country, ruling that excluding polygraph evidence did not violate his constitutional right to present a complete defense. The court held that while the defendant sought to explain his incriminating statements as reactions to a failed polygraph, the exclusion of the test results was proper and did not prevent him from presenting his overall defense strategy.

Criminal Mandatory Minimum Sex Offenses
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Apr 24 2026
4th Cir. 24-4266 Per Curiam

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KHRIY SHERROD SIMON

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Khriy Sherrod Simon's conviction for impersonating a federal agent, ruling that a rational jury could find he claimed to be a DEA agent to detain and search victims. The court also held that any error in excluding hearsay testimony regarding Simon's bail enforcement work was harmless given the overwhelming evidence of his federal impersonation.

Criminal Firearms
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Apr 24 2026
1st Cir. 25-1146 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES v. RAHIM SHAFA

The First Circuit affirmed Rahim Shafa's convictions for money laundering and drug offenses but vacated his sentence for misdemeanor misbranding due to the District Court's failure to clarify why the fraud guideline applied. The court remanded the case for resentencing on that specific count to resolve ambiguities regarding the acquitted-conduct amendment.

Criminal Money Laundering Sentencing Guidelines
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Apr 24 2026
Fed. Cir. 24-2053 Panel Decision

Jones v. United States

The Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of Federal Claims' judgment that the United States is not liable for the 2007 death of Todd Murray, a Ute Indian Tribe member. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a police officer shot Mr. Murray rather than him committing suicide.

Civil Forfeiture / Penalty Summary Judgment
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Apr 24 2026
9th Cir. 2:24-cv-01909-BJR Unpublished

WHISPER LAKE DEVELOPMENTS, INC. V. MAHAFFIE, ET AL.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a developer's federal constitutional claims, holding that the plaintiff failed to allege a constitutionally protected property interest in the disputed land or contractual payments. The court reasoned that the plaintiff conveyed legal title to the property and that the contract language did not create a legitimate claim of entitlement to payment for a specific number of lots.

Civil Securities
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Apr 24 2026
11th Cir. 1:18-cr-00098-SCJ-LTW-1 Per Curiam

United States v. Bickers

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Mitzi Bickers's 144-month sentence and restitution order, ruling that any procedural error regarding acquitted conduct was harmless. The court further held that Bickers waived her challenge to the restitution amount under the law-of-the-case doctrine.

Criminal Fraud
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Apr 24 2026
9th Cir. 3:13-cr-00358-BTM-2 Unpublished

USA v. Mendoza

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a writ of error coram nobis, holding that the defendant failed to prove prejudice from his counsel's alleged failure to warn him of immigration consequences. The court ruled that without contemporaneous evidence showing the defendant would have rationally rejected the plea to proceed to trial, the fundamental error standard was not met.

Constitutional Sixth Amendment - Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
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