Where the defendant was previously convicted of felony assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation under North Carolina law, that conviction constituted a “crime of violence” under the sentencing guidelines because it required intentional conduct, and thus matched the guidelines’ definition ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the record supported a conclusion that a West Virginia administrator’s actions favored a local business over out-of-state competition and that the state agency had prejudged the outcome of an administrative proceeding, the district court did not err in enjoining ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the Virginia Supreme Court concluded that the performance of the attorney for a defendant charged with involuntary manslaughter fell below the standard of care, but that the failure did not prejudice the defendant, and the defendant failed to demonstrate ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the district court issued a class-wide injunction regarding government procedures to detain aliens pending removal hearings, but the statute expressly precludes “jurisdiction or authority to enjoin or restrain” provisions of the immigration laws on a class-wide basis, that aspect ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where a defendant argued that statements he made to the police without benefit of counsel about a gun involved in a felon-in-possession charge should have been suppressed, but he knowingly waived his right to counsel by voluntarily answering a detective’s ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the Fourth Circuit previously held that constructive amendments to an indictment not objected to below must be reversed without reference to the four factors of plain error review, but that rule is inconsistent with subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where a party consents to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge, but then seeks to withdraw it before any other party consents, it need not show good cause to withdraw its consent. Background A district court may refer a case ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where a trustee sued the United States to void a debtor’s tax penalty obligations to the IRS, and to recover the debtor’s prior payments to the IRS, his claims were dismissed. A “noncompensatory tax penalty that is statutorily required and ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where a Honduran native’s first application for asylum was denied as untimely, but he then filed a second application after his brother’s murder, the Board of Immigration Appeals or BIA, erred by refusing to reopen the application. The murder constituted ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.

Where the record showed that an asylum applicant was not targeted because of her membership in a particular social group but because the assailant attacked anyone who aided his former wife, the asylum claim was denied. Background Veronica Toledo-Vasquez petitions ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.