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[11/06] Classmate: Hasan said terror fight a war on Islam
[11/06] NYC man charged in $365K fitness Web site scam
[11/06] Virginia Supreme Court upholds power line plan
[11/06] Judge OKs plea deal from 'Girls Gone Wild' founder
[11/06] Judge vacates $1.26B ruling against PepsiCo

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Case Summaries

Constitutional Law

[11/03] Norse v. City of Santa Cruz
In a First Amendment action based on plaintiff's ejection from city council meetings, judgment for defendants is affirmed where the ejection was not on account of any permissible expression of a point of view, and plaintiff was protesting the good faith efforts of the chairperson to enforce the council's rules.

[11/02] Arar v. Ashcroft
In an action under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Fifth Amendment based on plaintiff's detention at a U.S. airport and subsequent removal to and alleged torture in Syria, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where 1) plaintiff insufficiently pleaded that the alleged conduct of defendant U.S. officials was done under color of Syrian law; and 2) in the context of extraordinary rendition, allowing a Bivens action against policymaking federal officials would have the natural tendency to affect diplomacy, foreign policy, and the security of the nation.

[10/30] Brown v. City of Pittsburgh
In a First Amendment case against the city of Pittsburgh challenging the constitutionality of an ordinance establishing two types of zones limiting speech around health care facilities, district court's judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, dismissed in part, and remanded where: 1) district court's denial of preliminary injunctive relief with respect to plaintiff's facial challenge is reversed; 2) the combination of the ordinance's "buffer" and "bubble" zones is invalid but either zone, individually, is valid on its face; 3) district court's denial of preliminary injunctive relief with respect to plaintiff's claim of selective enforcement is affirmed but vacated with respect to her claim that the ordinance is unconstitutional as applied to particular clinic locations; and 4) plaintiff's appeal from the district court's order partially dismissing her complaint is dismissed.

[10/29] Holder v. Town of Sandown
In plaintiff's section 1983 action against the town and employees arising from his arrest for simple assault of his estranged wife, grant of defendants' motion for summary judgment is affirmed as an officer had sufficient information to conclude that the state offense of simple assault had taken place, and as such, there was no violation of the Fourth Amendment.

[10/29] Guillemaro-Ginorio v. Contreras-Gomez
In plaintiffs' case against the Office of the Insurance Commissioner of Puerto Rico and two consecutive Insurance Commissioners claiming that they were investigated and sanctioned for Insurance Code violations solely because of their political affiliations, district court's judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $4.7 million and a permanent injunction is affirmed as all of defendants' grounds for relief are without merit.

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Asset Forfeiture

[10/27] US v. Venturella
District court's conviction of defendants for mail fraud and order to pay a criminal forfeiture money judgment and restitution is affirmed as: 1) forfeiture is not limited solely to the amounts alleged in the count(s) of conviction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 981(a)(1)(C); 2) defendants waived their rights to forfeiture calculations review on appeal; and 3) imposing restitution and forfeiture for the same crime is not an improper double payment.

[10/20] US v. $186,416.00 in U.S. Currency
In a civil forfeiture action seeking the proceeds of medical marijuana distribution, judgment for the government is reversed where the evidence relied upon by the district court was itself tainted by the illegal search and should have been suppressed, and without the suppressed evidence, the government lacked probable cause to connect the defendant currency to a violation of federal law.

[10/16] Shipping Corp. of India Ltd. v. Jaldhi Overseas Pte Ltd.
In defendant's appeal from the district court's order vacating portions of an order of maritime attachment and garnishment, the order is affirmed in part where electronic fund transfers (EFTs) being processed by an intermediary bank are not property subject to attachment under Rule B of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions. However, the court of appeals remands the cause for further proceedings with respect to the remaining portions of the attachment order affecting EFTs of which defendant was the originator.

[09/11] US v. Bucci
Defendant's sentence, a forfeiture order and convictions for drug trafficking and related crimes is affirmed where: 1) district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant discovery in support of his vindictive-prosecution claim; 2) a second superseding indictment was timely filed as defendant did not "engage" in a monetary transaction until the funds were deposited into his account; 3) defendant had no reasonable objective expectation of privacy in the front of his home; 4) officers had probable cause to believe there was evidence of criminal activity in defendant's vehicle to conduct a search; 5) district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the government a rebuttal opening statement; 6) district court's imposition of enhancement did not violate defendant's Sixth Amendment rights where the court was aware of its discretion to impose a below-guideline sentence and adequately considered defendant's argument for a below-guideline sentence; and 7) district court did not plainly err in instructing the jury that "proceeds" meant "gross proceeds" for forfeiture purposes.

[09/08] US v. Taylor
Defendant's sentence for fraud in obtaining disaster relief assistance is affirmed where: 1) any error resulting from recalculation of the loss to FEMA caused by defendant's offenses did not affect defendant's substantial rights, and therefore was harmless; 2) the district court's order of restitution and forfeiture against defendant would not result in double recovery to the government; and 3) the district court did not err in not offsetting defendant's restitution obligation by the amount he was required to forfeit.

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Evidence

[11/06] US v. Jones
Defendant's drug and firearm convictions are affirmed where the evidence would not permit a rational jury to find defendant guilty of possessing methamphetamine while simultaneously acquitting him of intent to distribute, and thus the district court was not required to give a lesser included offense instruction.

[11/06] US v. Owens
District court's imposition of an enhancement under U.S.S.G. section 2G2.2(b)(3)(B) on a defendant convicted of transportation and possession of child pornography is affirmed where, although defendant did not have an explicit agreement or precise bargain with the woman, the content of his conversations lead to the conclusion that he reasonably anticipated or believed that his exchange of child pornography would result in a sexual encounter with the woman and her children.

[11/05] US v. Schultz
District court's conviction of defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed where: 1) the 18 U.S.C. section 921(a)(20)(A) exclusion does not apply to defendant's predicate conviction; 2) section 921(a)(20)(A) is not impermissibly vague, as an ordinary individual would have notice that the exception applies only if he or she committed an enumerated or similar offense related to the regulation of business practices; 3) the district court did not clearly err in denying defendant's request to conduct a Franks hearing; and 4) defendant's claim that district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the statements that he made when his home was searched is without merit.

[11/05] US v. Bell
Denial of defendant's motion to suppress evidence of crack cocaine and firearm found during search of his home is reversed as the warrant was not supported by probable cause because an affidavit failed to establish the reliability of the informants, and law enforcement officers did not sufficiently corroborate the informants' reports.

[11/05] US v. Oquendo-Rivera
District court's decision revoking supervised release and sentencing defendant to a further term in prison following his arrest for allegedly shooting at an officer, is set aside and remanded where, given the relatively weak evidence, district court's decision is undermined by reliance on guesswork regarding the event.

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Criminal Law & Procedure

[11/06] US v. Collier
Defendant's bank fraud sentence is affirmed where, after the district court announced it would adhere to its prior sentence enhancement and upward departure determinations, its request that the parties recommend sentences "within the Guidelines range" did not, without more, demonstrate that the court had forgotten that the Guidelines were advisory.

[11/06] US v. Madison
Defendant's firearm possession sentence is reversed where the district court impermissibly considered the 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) factors, rather than relying exclusively on assistance-related factors, in arriving at a sentence 72 months below the statutory minimum.

[11/06] US v. Jones
Defendant's drug and firearm convictions are affirmed where the evidence would not permit a rational jury to find defendant guilty of possessing methamphetamine while simultaneously acquitting him of intent to distribute, and thus the district court was not required to give a lesser included offense instruction.

[11/06] Sell v. US Dep't. of Justice
In an action alleging that plaintiff was the victim of medical malpractice that occurred while he was in federal custody awaiting trial, dismissal of the action on statute of limitations grounds is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's mental illness did not prevent him from discovering the alleged injury; and 2) the continuous treatment doctrine did not toll the statute.

[11/06] US v. Owens
District court's imposition of an enhancement under U.S.S.G. section 2G2.2(b)(3)(B) on a defendant convicted of transportation and possession of child pornography is affirmed where, although defendant did not have an explicit agreement or precise bargain with the woman, the content of his conversations lead to the conclusion that he reasonably anticipated or believed that his exchange of child pornography would result in a sexual encounter with the woman and her children.

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Sentencing

[11/06] US v. Collier
Defendant's bank fraud sentence is affirmed where, after the district court announced it would adhere to its prior sentence enhancement and upward departure determinations, its request that the parties recommend sentences "within the Guidelines range" did not, without more, demonstrate that the court had forgotten that the Guidelines were advisory.

[11/06] US v. Madison
Defendant's firearm possession sentence is reversed where the district court impermissibly considered the 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) factors, rather than relying exclusively on assistance-related factors, in arriving at a sentence 72 months below the statutory minimum.

[11/06] US v. Owens
District court's imposition of an enhancement under U.S.S.G. section 2G2.2(b)(3)(B) on a defendant convicted of transportation and possession of child pornography is affirmed where, although defendant did not have an explicit agreement or precise bargain with the woman, the content of his conversations lead to the conclusion that he reasonably anticipated or believed that his exchange of child pornography would result in a sexual encounter with the woman and her children.

[11/06] US v. Grubbs
District court's sentence of 240 months imprisonment and a life term of supervised release on a defendant convicted of knowingly transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to engage in sexual activity and related offenses is affirmed where: 1) district court's use of uncharged conduct in determining defendant's sentence did not violate the Sixth Amendment; 2) district court did not err by relying on uncharged conduct that was proven by the preponderance of the evidence standard; and 3) the district court did not commit reversible error in calculating defendant's Guidelines range, and the sentence was therefore procedurally reasonable.

[11/05] US v. Oquendo-Rivera
District court's decision revoking supervised release and sentencing defendant to a further term in prison following his arrest for allegedly shooting at an officer, is set aside and remanded where, given the relatively weak evidence, district court's decision is undermined by reliance on guesswork regarding the event.

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