Where a man pleaded guilty in 2012 to discharging a firearm in connection with a Hobbs Act conspiracy, but the Supreme Court has since held that conviction could not stand, the man was entitled to resentencing. Background In 2012, Donzell ...

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

Where two citizens of Ghana were divorced pursuant to Ghanaian customary law, Virginia would recognize that divorce, although neither person was present nor domiciled in Ghana at the time. Background Barbara Boateng and Kingsley Kwame Gyasi — both Ghanaian citizens ...

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

Where a labor union alleged that two provisions of North Carolina’s Farm Act violated its First Amendment Rights, its argument was rejected. The provisions left undisturbed the ability of farmworkers and farmworker unions to associate with one another and advance ...

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

Where gender dysphoria falls within the broad definition of “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, a transgender woman’s claim that she was discriminated against on the basis of her gender dysphoria may proceed. Although the statute excludes ...

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

A group of North Carolina personal injury attorneys prevailed in a consumer protection suit after the court found the plaintiffs failed to preserve the argument that the reports accessed by the attorneys were a “motor vehicle record.” The ruling, handed ...

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

Where the district court erred by referring to statements from the defendant’s ex-wife during a sentencing hearing without balancing the parties’ interests, requiring a showing of good cause or disclosing them to the defendant, the error was harmless. The record ...

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

Where personal injury attorneys who solicited clients based on information collected by law enforcement after motor vehicle accidents in North Carolina were sued for allegedly violating the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act or DPPA, the attorneys prevailed. While the lawyers obtained ...

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

Where the defendant argued the district court erred by imposing a sentencing enhancement for use or possession of a firearm or ammunition in connection with another felony offense, but the court explained why it would have imposed the same sentence ...

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

A district court properly approved the settlement of a long-running class action suit brought by life insurance policyholders, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held. Writing for the 4th Circuit in its March 15 opinion, Judge Diana Gribbon ...

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

Where a high school student alleged that he was suspended after expressing non-threatening factual views about a school shooting in Florida, the district court erred in dismissing his First Amendment claim. Schools cannot silence such student speech simply because it ...

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