Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Barry Ray Knight's conviction for child pornography offenses but vacated specific supervised release conditions that were not orally pronounced. The court rejected Knight's argument that a pornography restriction was overbroad because it applies only to visual depictions rather than written descriptions.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction against Idaho's 'recruiting' prong of its abortion trafficking statute, ruling it unconstitutionally overbroad under the First Amendment. However, the court reversed the injunction regarding the 'harboring' and 'transporting' provisions, finding those terms cover non-expressive conduct unlikely to violate the Constitution.
The Second Circuit vacated a default judgment against a corrections officer, ruling that the district court abused its discretion by awarding damages while dismissing identical claims against co-defendants for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Applying the prohibition on inconsistent judgments, the court held that a plaintiff cannot prevail against a defaulting defendant when the same legal bar precludes the claims against litigating co-defendants.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a nearly $100 million forfeiture judgment against Julian Omidi and his business for a health care fraud scheme. The court rejected the argument that a '100% Fraud Rule' applies, holding that all proceeds derived from the fraud must be forfeited even if some legitimate transactions contributed to those proceeds.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a physician's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, ruling that his admission to knowingly issuing prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice satisfied the mens rea requirement established in Ruan v. United States. The court held that Pham's explicit acknowledgment that he acted without a legitimate medical purpose inherently proved he knew he was unauthorized under the Controlled Substances Act.
The Second Circuit held that district courts must independently evaluate equitable factors in IDEA reimbursement cases rather than deferring to state administrative agencies. Although the court found the district court initially erred by deferring to the IHO and SRO, it affirmed the judgment because the lower court ultimately conducted its own independent balancing of equities.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a federal sentence for child pornography offenses, rejecting a facial due process challenge to two Congressionally directed sentencing enhancements. The court held that enhancements for computer usage and image quantity remain rationally related to legitimate government interests despite changes in technology.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a sentence for a UCLA professor who exported military-grade circuits to China without a license. The court held that export controls listed for national security reasons qualify as such under the Sentencing Guidelines, even if they also satisfy foreign policy treaty obligations.
The Second Circuit reversed a district court order that had declined to enjoin pending state-court proceedings in a massive No-Fault insurance fraud scheme. The court held that the Anti-Injunction Act does not bar federal intervention where hundreds of baseless state lawsuits are themselves part of a RICO violation.
The Second Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction against pending state-court proceedings, holding that an exception to the Anti-Injunction Act applies where federal arbitration claims are at stake and state litigation threatens irreparable harm. Applying the standard for enjoining state court actions under 28 U.S.C. § 2283, the court found State Farm likely to succeed on its claim that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the state proceedings.