Officer’s ‘Known Facts’ OK Under Leon

N.C. Road Project Violates NEPA

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 15, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

The 4th Circuit vacates summary judgment for state and federal highway agencies in North Carolina that approved construction of the “Monroe Connector Bypass,” a new 20-mile toll road linking Mecklenburg and Union Counties; the agencies violated the National Environmental Protection Act by failing to disclose “critical assumptions” underlying project approval and by providing the public [...]

Title VII Severance-Pay Claim Remanded

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Employment Discrimination, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Reversing the trial court, the 4th Circuit says a female county employee laid off after 26 years on the job can sue under Title VII on a claim that she was offered a less favorable severance package than that offered to male employees who held similar positions. The district court dismissed the complaint, holding that [...]

Testimony on ‘Intent’ Admissible

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

A defendant who emigrated from Bosnia and spoke little English gets a new trial on charges of violating currency reporting requirements when he took $40,000 cash with him as he tried to leave the U.S. to attend his father’s funeral; the 4th Circuit says the district court erred in finding defendant was not prejudiced by [...]

Association Pays Tax for Beach Club Income

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 14, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, Taxation

A tax-exempt subdivision association must pay taxes on net income from two parking lots and a beach club that benefit the private interests of association members rather than the general public; the 4th Circuit affirms the Tax Court judgment, as the income is not “substantially related” to the association purpose of promoting social welfare, but [...]

No Revocation for ‘Hearsay’ Heroin Charge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 13, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

A district court that admitted and relied on hearsay evidence of defendant’s state-court heroin charge, nolle prossed after the chemist who authored the crime lab report failed to appear in state court, violated Rule 32.1 and the 4th Circuit vacates the district court order revoking defendant’s supervised release for an earlier robbery conviction. Defense counsel [...]

‘Father’ Convicted of Passport False Statements

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 15, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Immigration, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

An Afghan native who became a naturalized U.S. citizen and works as a translator cannot overturn his convictions for making false statements on passport applications based on identifying himself on the applications as the “father” of his three stepsons; although the application form does not define “father” and common usage of “father” may include “stepfather,” [...]

No Reversal for Indictment Errors

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

The 4th Circuit affirms a defendant’s conviction and sentence on two counts of assaulting a correctional officer, despite errors in the indictment charging him with the offenses. Defendant contends we should recognize as plain error the failure of count I to allege an intent to commit another felony as required by 18 U.S.C. § 111(a) [...]

FDCPA Claim Not Mooted by Offer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 17, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Consumer Protection, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

A law firm trying to collect on a debt allegedly owed not by plaintiff, but by her late husband, could not avoid her suit under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act with a Rule 68 Offer of Judgment that provided for the maximum statutory damages but an equivocal offer of actual damages; since the FDCPA [...]

Reversionary Trust in FTCA Award

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 12, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, Tort

In this case in which a family won a multi-million dollar Federal Tort Claim Act award from the U.S. for their child’s brain damage caused by government doctors, the 4th Circuit remands the case for a second time for the Virginia federal district court to grant the government a reversionary interest in the child’s future [...]