Although a Swiss corporation argued the missing party, a British Islands entity, was not indispensable to resolution of claims involving performance under fuel contracts, its own complaint confirmed the missing party was necessary and indispensable. Because joining the missing party ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Practice Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Where the defendant’s prior conviction for robbery under Maryland law qualified as a predicate violent felony and his prior Maryland conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute constituted a “controlled substance offense” under the Sentencing Guidelines, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

The warrantless forensic searches of defendant’s electronic devices lacked the requisite nexus to the recognized historic rationales justifying the border search exception. Background In April 2015, a minor alerted law enforcement officers that Raymond Idemudia Aigbekaen and another man had ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Although the defendant’s statement admitting possession of a gun was involuntary, his motion to suppress failed because prior to any involuntary admissions, the police believed he possessed a weapon, had probable cause to search the car and would have inevitably ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Where the district court wrongly concluded that the defendant’s prior conviction for conspiracy qualified as a controlled substance offense under the Sentencing Guidelines, the defendant was not entitled to resentencing because the defendant failed to raise his objection before the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Where a prisoner’s three separate civil rights actions against corrections employees were dismissed on the same day, the prisoner could appeal the dismissals in forma pauperis because a dismissal does not count as a “prior occasion” under the Prison Litigation ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

The Board of Immigration Appeals acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it upheld the decision of an immigration judge denying asylum to a victim of domestic violence whose uncontroverted testimony established that the police in her home country frequently ignored her ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

A majority of the panel upheld a jury’s conclusion the defendant terminated a 30-year employee because of her age, 61. It said the decision was supported by the evidence, including her tenure and comments made around her termination, and found ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Discrimination Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

A film festival’s use of a stylized photo of a Washington D.C. neighborhood known for its vibrant nightlife was not a fair use protecting it from a copyright infringement lawsuit, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals News Copyright Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Although a defendant satisfied the requirements to receive temporary protected status, or TPS,  and would have been granted TPS had the Immigration and Naturalization Service reviewed all documents in its possession, the denial of TPS was not fundamentally unfair because ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Diana Gribbon Motz