In the corporate world, “pierce” and “veil” are words you don’t want to hear. The whole point of forming a corporation is to avoid individual liability. And so having a judge lift a corporation’s veil of protections to hold the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

Even acting pursuant to a warrant, a police detective was not entitled to qualified immunity for compelling a teenager to perform a sexual act. Background In 2014, Manassas police detective David E. Abbott investigated allegations that 17-year-old Plaintiff T. Sims ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Search & Seizure

Even acting pursuant to a warrant, a police detective was not entitled to qualified immunity for compelling a teenager to perform a sexual act. Background In 2014, Manassas police detective David E. Abbott investigated allegations that 17-year-old Plaintiff T. Sims ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Immunity Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Search & Seizure

When inmates sue under § 1983 for prison officials’ disregard of a serious and ongoing medical need, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the date, if any, on which adequate treatment is provided. Background Appellant Eric ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Prisons & Jails

An officer’s conviction for injuring an arrestee was affirmed, in part because the officer’s past conduct toward individuals he perceived as disrespecting law enforcement was probative of his state of mind during the events giving rise to the crime. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

Overturning the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in an equal-pay case, the circuit court held that an employer did not prove its affirmative defenses so convincingly that a juror would be compelled to accept them. The Maryland Insurance Administration, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Discrimination Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

In an Equal Pay Act case, an employer offering reasons for pay disparities between men and women must show it actually applied those reasons in the wage decision process to avoid liability, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

On direct appeal, this court found no plain error in defendant’s sentencing as a career offender; however, trial counsel’s failure to do research or to object led to a much longer sentence than defendant would otherwise have received. The standards ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

Sims v. Labowitz (VLW No. 017-2-209, 30 pp.) (Keenan, J.) (King, J., dissenting) 16-2174; USDC at Alexandria. (Hilton, S.J.) 4th Cir. Holding: In a child pornography case involving teen sexting, a police detective consulted with an assistant prosecutor and obtained ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

A bakery delivery company with a “mixed fleet” of vehicles must pay overtime to nonexempt salaried employees who worked more than 40 hours a week, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The weight of the delivery vehicles ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Milano Keenan