Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Southwick), habeas corpus Affirming district court judgment granting sec. 2241 petition on holding that Louisiana state prisoner had a state-created liberty interest in parole that had been granted under Louisiana law, in suit arising from rescission of that parole just prior to its effective date. The Court first … More October 23, 2023, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Wiener, Stewart, Douglas), prisoner suit Affirming summary judgment dismissal of jail detainee’s § 1983 claims. per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham), appellate jurisdiction Dismissing as frivolous appeal from 2012 summary judgment. per curiam (Higginbotham, Stewart, Southwick), criminal, sentencing Affirming sentence on conviction of possessing a counterfeit mail key. per curiam (Higginbotham, Smith, Elrod), … More October 19, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Wiener, Southwick, Duncan), First Amendment Vacating preliminary injunction against enforcement of city ordinance regulating aspects of operations, including business hours, of sexually-oriented businesses, and remanding for further proceedings. The Court summarized, “Under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the Ordinance is likely constitutional. The City’s evidence reasonably showed a link between SOBs’ … More October 12, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Elrod, Willett), spoliation, trade secrets Affirming spoliation sanction of default judgment and damages award against spoliating defendant in suit alleging misappropriation of proprietary software code. Higginson, J. (Smith, Higginson, Willett), takings Reversing judgment that city violated Takings Clause when it refused to compensate a homeowner for damage to her … More October 10-11, 2023, decisions
Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Willett, Engelhardt, Oldham), insurance, diversity jurisdiction Remanding appeal of summary judgment in favor of insurer regarding coverage for Covid-related shutdown of music festival, for purposes of determining the existence of diversity jurisdiction where the record did not adequately document the citizenship of LLC parties to the litigation. The Court noted … More October 5, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Richman, C.J. (Richman, Wiener, Willett), criminal, Anti-Kickback Statute, sufficiency of evidence, Travel Act, Speedy Trial Act, Bruton violation, Court Reporter’s Act, jury instructions, prosecutorial conduct, sentencing, restitution The Court upheld the sufficiency of evidence to support the Anti-Kickback Statute convictions of six co-defendants, holding that the government need not prove defendants had … More October 2-3, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminal Act Affirming 190-month sentence on conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon, as enhanced for under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Teh Court rejected the defendant’s argument that the facts of the prior convictions for purposes of the ACCA enhancement … More September 25, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Jolly, Dennis, Higginson), criminal, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction of transporting within the United States an alien who “has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law.” The Court held there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that the person the defendant was … More September 20-21, 2023, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Engelhardt), Title VII, employment discrimination, Americans with Disabilities Act Affirming summary judgment dismissal of various employment discrimination claims. per curiam (Stewart, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing Affirming 96-month sentence on conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. per curiam (Jolly, Engelhardt, Douglas), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and … More September 18, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Dennis, Engelhardt, Oldham), Title VII, employment discrimination Reversing summary judgment dismissal of employee’s discrimination claims after he was fired for his refusal to cut his hair and beard in violation of his religious vow, in light of Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). The Court held that the … More September 15, 2023, opinions
