Judge Allyson K. Duncan | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Gang Expert Testimony OK’d

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 2, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A defendant who served as “first word” for a local “clique” of the transnational gang La Mara Salvatrucha cannot overturn his murder and racketeering-related convictions for the murder of a woman who had contacts with rival gang members; the 4th Circuit approves the use of testimony from a police expert on gangs as an element [...]

Losing Benefits No Basis for Plea Withdrawal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 27, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A former mail carrier cannot withdraw his guilty plea to a charge of fraudulently obtaining workers’ comp benefits under the Federal Employment Compensation Act after he learned the plea would cause a loss of government benefits; the 4th Circuit says the trial court did not violate Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 by not advising defendant [...]

Hospital Gets Jury in Stark Law, FCA Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 4, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A federal appeals court vacates a $45 million judgment against a Sumter, S.C., health care system for Stark Law violations and sends the case back, saying the district court’s handling of the case violated the defendant’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury.
In early 2003, the members of Sumter County’s gastroenterology specialty group informed defendant Tuomey [...]

Factory Worker Can Pursue Harassment Claim

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 14, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Employment Discrimination, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A female production worker at a Roanoke packaging plant who alleges the male employee who supervised her shift sexually harassed her by stalking her, threatening her with disciplinary action if she did not have sex with him and told other employees she was a “whore” and had a sexually transmitted disease, can pursue her Title [...]

Appeal Waiver Applies to ‘Any Sentence’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 13, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A convicted felon pleading guilty to possession of ammunition, who waived his right to appeal “any sentence,” cannot seek to have his sentence on the firearm charge reduced in light of his assistance to the government in prosecuting an unrelated case, and the 4th Circuit dismisses this appeal of the district court’s denial of the [...]

Former Employees Win Arbitration & Fees

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 24, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Attorneys, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A securities firm that lost its FINRA arbitration proceeding against former employees who left to work for a competitor winds up paying over $1 million in attorney’s fees under a South Carolina statute that penalizes frivolous lawsuits; the 4th Circuit affirms the district court order refusing to vacate the arbitration award in favor of the [...]

States Can’t Get Forfeited Escrow Funds

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 24, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

The 4th Circuit vacates a district court forfeiture order for funds escrowed by defendant cigarette manufacturer, a nonparticipant in the tobacco-litigation settlement agreement who was prosecuted for tobacco-related crimes, because the district court granted an interest in the escrowed funds to two states who failed to prove they had a superior legal interest in the [...]

Tort Claim for Medication Pump Preempted

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Allyson K. Duncan, Products Liability

The 4th Circuit upholds the district court decision that plaintiff has no common law tort claim against defendant Medtronic, maker of the allegedly defective SynchroMed pump for delivery of medication through a catheter, as her claim is preempted by the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 and regulations which provided for premarket approval by the federal [...]

Intracompany Complaints Are ‘Protected Activity’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 31, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Allyson K. Duncan, Labor

A medical technologist’s complaints within her company about time-sheet alterations that allegedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act are protected activity and she may sue under the FLSA’s antiretaliation provision, 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3), on a complaint that she was terminated for her intracompany complaints.
Plaintiff was a medical technologist at defendant laboratory. She met with [...]

‘Anonymous’ Witness OK for Gang Trial

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 25, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

The 4th Circuit says a defendant convicted of racketeering and various gang-related crimes cannot overturn his convictions with a claim that his Confrontation Clause rights were violated because the government allowed two El Salvadorian police officers to testify without revealing their identities to the defense.
Defendant Israel Ramos-Cruz is a citizen of El Salvador who entered [...]

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