December 21-22, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication Graves, J. (Graves, Willett, Engelhardt), insurance Affirming declaratory judgment in favor of insurance company that it did not owe coverage or defense to its insured for damages incurred by insured’s employees. Southwick, J. (Higginbotham, Southwick, Higginson), excessive force, municipal liability Reversing 12(b)(6) dismissal of excessive force claims against officer who punched plaintiff … More December 21-22, 2022, opinions

December 19, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Jones, Southwick, Ho), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, search and seizure Affirming in part, reversing in part, and remanding; affirming conviction of _________; reversing conviction of for insufficient evidence; and remanding for Government to elect between overlapping counts of ________. The Court found no reversible error in the district court’s denial … More December 19, 2022, opinions

December 15, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication Ho, J. (Richman, Ho, Engelhardt), Richman, C.J., concurring; immigration Denying Salvadoran citizen’s petition for review of BIA order affirming IJ’s denial of motion to reopen proceedings for removal in absentia. The Court held that the IJ did not err in finding that the failure to provide the petitioner with a Notice to … More December 15, 2022, opinions

December 9, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Wiener, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, search and seizure, sentencing Affirming conviction and 16-month sentence for smuggling bulk cash, and upholding denial of motion to suppress evidence obtained from a border search while defendant attempted enter Mexico from the United States. After being pulled over at the border, officers noticed the defendant … More December 9, 2022, opinions

November 28, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication Haynes, J. (Smith, Barksdale, Haynes), immigration Denying in part and dismissing in part Venezuelan citizen’s petition for review of BIA order denying application for withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Court held that the petitioner’s conviction on one count of falsely seeking a tax refund of less … More November 28, 2022, opinions

November 15, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Clement, Duncan, Wilson), criminal, sentencing, forfeiture Affirming conviction of numerous wire-fraud and money-laundering charges arising from fraud to induce Department of Veterans Affairs to pay over $71 million in GI-Bill funds to defendant’s trade school; and affirming sentence of 235 months and restitution to the VA of $65.2 million; but … More November 15, 2022, opinions

November 10, 2022, opinions

Unpublished per curiam (Stewart, Willett, Oldham), prisoner suit Affirming severance of prisoner’s excessive force claims from sec. 1983 claims against prison nurse, and summary judgment dismissal of claims against nurse. per curiam (Wiener, Elrod, Engelhardt), habeas corpus Affirming in part, vacating in part, and remanding from dismissal of sec. 2241 petition. per curiam (Clement, Southwick, … More November 10, 2022, opinions

November 2-9, 2022, opinions

(Playing a bit of catch-up after some traveling and oral arguing, so the “Designated for Publication” summaries will be a bit briefer than usual) Designated for publication Graves, J. (Wiener, Graves, Oldham), Wiener, J., dissenting; products liability Affirming dismissal of products-liability claims against firearms manufacturer for an allegedly faulty trigger mechanism. The Court held that … More November 2-9, 2022, opinions

October 25, 2022, opinions

Designated for publication per curiam (Southwick, Higginson, Willett), immigration Denying Salvadoran citizens’ petition for review of BIA order affirming IJ’s denial of application for asylum and withholding of removal. The Court held that the record did not compel a contrary finding to the IJ’s finding that no factual nexus exists between the familial relationship alleged … More October 25, 2022, opinions