When a defendant directed officers searching his home to a gun under the couch, he was responding to their question to his wife, not to him. Therefore, no grounds existed to suppress his voluntary statements about the gun. No other ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

In three wrongful death suits in which the jury found liability and awarded punitive damages, the district court erred in finding that the plaintiffs failed to show an “aggravating factor” under North Carolina law that would support punitives. Extensive trial ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard M. Gergel Medical Malpractice

The University of South Carolina didn’t violate student groups’ First Amendment rights by making inquiries into harassment allegations after a rally for “free speech,” the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 16. The appeals court unanimously upheld the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Margaret Seymour Judge Pamela Harris

WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. Senate has confirmed two more of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, bringing to 26 the number of new appellate judges that have been approved this session of Congress. The judges confirmed Aug. 16 — South Carolina U.S. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

A university did not restrict or chill students’ speech by seeking their response to complaints that they had harassed others. The students, who’d sought and obtained university approval for a campus “Free Speech Event,” met with an official to discuss ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional First Amendment Judge Pamela A. Harris

By the unambiguous terms of a plea agreement, the government had discretion to determine whether the defendant had complied with his obligation under the agreement to give full and complete testimony when asked. Given this discretion, it was not required ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Contract Criminal Judge William B. Traxler Jr. Sentencing

After U.S. Supreme Court precedent invalidated one of the defendant’s three predicate convictions mandating a sentence enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act, his sentence could not be sustained by a “substitute” conviction that appeared on his pre-sentence report but ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Due Process Judge Roger L. Gregory Sentencing

After a trip to his native U.K., a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. was denied admission upon his return, based on a seven-year-old conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. His removal order was ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Immigration Judge G. Steven Agee

A numismatics lobbying group that intentionally imported ancient coins under international trade restrictions was unsuccessful in challenging forfeiture of the coins. Abuse of discretion is the appropriate standard for reviewing lower-court decisions to strike pleadings. Background In 1970, the U.S. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Procedure Judge Robert B. King

Evidence was sufficient to convict a former Norfolk city councilman who had been involved in numerous quid pro quo relationships with local developers for many years. The district court also did not err in declining to grant a new trial. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Albert Diaz