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The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review of an immigration order because the petitioner failed to specifically argue the dispositive legal elements of his asylum and withholding of removal claims. The court held that the petitioner forfeited review of the nexus and government protection determinations by not addressing them distinctly in his opening brief.
The First Circuit affirmed the denial of a habeas petition challenging a first-degree murder conviction, ruling that the Sixth Amendment speedy-trial clock did not begin until Carr's 1997 indictment. The court further held that Carr's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel failed because his attorneys' strategic choices were not objectively unreasonable and the additional evidence would not have changed the outcome under state law.
The First Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration, holding that an individual courier could not be bound by a vendor agreement he signed only as the owner of a corporation. The court ruled that equitable estoppel theories failed because the benefits flowed to the corporate entity, not the individual, and the claims were not sufficiently intertwined with the agreement.
The First Circuit affirmed Mark Anthony Figueroa's money laundering conspiracy conviction, ruling that the district court's admission of a cooperating witness's kidnapping testimony and law enforcement overview testimony did not constitute reversible error. The court held that any evidentiary mistakes were harmless given the overwhelming independent evidence linking the defendant to drug trafficking proceeds.
The Seventh Circuit denied a Honduran citizen's petition for review of an asylum denial, upholding the finding that gang extortion was motivated by perceived wealth rather than gender. The court held that general country conditions and academic articles were insufficient to establish the required nexus between the petitioner's proposed social groups and the feared harm.
The Sixth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel affirmed the lower court's denial of a creditor's claim for non-dischargeability based on willful and malicious injury but vacated and remanded several other claims due to insufficient factual findings. The panel also upheld procedural rulings regarding default judgments and recusal motions while ordering further proceedings on the debtor's counterclaims for preferential transfers and attorney's fees.
The Fourth Circuit denied a petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order rejecting an asylum claim based on gang violence. The court found substantial evidence supporting the lower tribunal's conclusion that the petitioner failed to prove the Guatemalan government was unable or unwilling to protect him.
The Fourth Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus, ruling that a district court has no obligation under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e) to evaluate a class settlement after denying class certification. The court further held that mandamus cannot serve as a substitute for an appeal when adequate appellate remedies exist.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protection because the petitioner failed to prove a nexus between his alleged persecution and his proposed social group. The court also held it lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of a motion for continuance.
The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment in a prisoner civil rights case, holding that the plaintiff properly exhausted administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court affirmed the denial of class certification but remanded the Eighth Amendment claim for trial.
