A federal statute that authorizes civil commitment of persons who have engaged in or attempted child molestation and are found to be “sexually dangerous,” on a “clear and convincing” standard of evidence, is constitutional on its face, says the 4th ...

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

A lawyer can pass the $75,000 threshold for diversity jurisdiction and keep a case in federal court by adding the value of an injunction to a claim for damages, under a recent decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Federal Courts Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

The 4th Circuit reverses dismissal of Liberty Tax Service’s breach-of-contract suit against a former franchisee for failure to meet the $75,000 amount in controversy; the district court failed to account for the value of the injunction Liberty sought in addition ...

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

The 4th Circuit affirms dismissal of one airline pilots’ union’s RICO lawsuit against another pilots’ union; plaintiff union has failed to state a RICO claim with allegations that defendants have engaged in racketeering activity in order to achieve a single ...

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

A North Carolina statutory scheme that seeks to end race- and gender-based discrimination in state highway construction subcontracting passes muster with the 4th Circuit in its application to African-American and Native American subcontractors, based on the state’s strong evidence of ...

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

Although the 4th Circuit in 2008 reversed appellant’s conviction for embezzlement from his employer, a nonprofit organization that received over $10,000 annually in federal funds, appellant is not entitled to a certificate of innocence that would allow him to collect ...

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

A defendant sentenced to 192 months in prison on child pornography charges cannot overturn his conviction or sentence with a challenge to the government’s alleged use of “secret” administrative subpoenas to investigate his case, the 4th Circuit says. Defendant contends ...

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

In this case involving the government’s request for forfeiture of $358,390 in criminal proceeds from a corporation that owned a motel and participated in a conspiracy to bring prostitutes from out-of-state to work in West Virginia motels, the 4th Circuit ...

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

A defendant whose 264-month sentence for distribution of crack and powder cocaine was reduced to 240 months under the retroactive crack cocaine amendment to the federal sentencing guidelines, was not entitled to an additional reduction to 216 months, ordered eight ...

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

The 4th Circuit upholds defendant’s sentence for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, which the district court calculated by counting his prior North Carolina conviction for larceny from the person as a “crime of violence” under the federal ...

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