A defendant’s constitutional right against double jeopardy was not violated by her convictions for both felony murder and felony hit-and-run. Background One morning in September 2014, a woman later identified as Defendant Sarah Flanders drove a red Dodge Durango onto ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Fifth Amendment Judge Rudolph Bumgardner III Virginia Court of Appeals

A regional jail authority is preliminarily enjoined from confiscating publications mailed to inmates by the Human Rights Defense Center. The policy banning delivery of such publications is not rationally related to any legitimate purpose identified by the defendants. Background Plaintiff ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional First Amendment Judge James P. Jones Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

In 1871, Congress passed a law “directed at the organized terrorism in the Reconstruction South,” now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1985. Over 140 years later, the Ku Klux Klan, various neo-Nazi organizations, and associated white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville. ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Federal Jurisdiction First Amendment Judge Norman K. Moon Second Amendment Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The government obtained valid consent to enter a storage unit containing Paul Manafort’s business documents, obtained a valid warrant to seize some of the documents, and properly executed the warrant. Background On May 26, 2017, Special Agent J. Pfeiffer interviewed ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Judge T.S. Ellis III Search & Seizure U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A vehicle owner served with a notice of violation, which cited a no-stop right turn on red with photo and video evidence, did not show that her constitutional rights were violated either by the city red-light-camera ordinance or its authorizing ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Due Process Equal Protection Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy I. Bellows Municipal Traffic Virginia Circuit Courts

The federal Copyright Remedy Clarification Act’s broad abrogation of states’ sovereign immunity for copyright infringement was not a valid exercise of Congressional authority, either under Article I’s Copyright Clause or § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Background In 1717, the ...

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

An inmate was entitled to partial injunctive relief related to his ongoing pain after another prisoner broke his jaw. Dental care to date has not ameliorated his pain or ability to chew food, and he is entitled to further evaluation. ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

Six defendants tried together were properly convicted of murder and attempted murder offenses related to their gang membership. Their convictions were upheld despite challenges to prosecutorial conduct, jury instructions, evidence admitted at trial, joint trial, access to counsel, warrantless cell ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Criminal Due Process Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District