The 4th Circuit affirms a defendant’s conviction and sentence on two counts of assaulting a correctional officer, despite errors in the indictment charging him with the offenses. Defendant contends we should recognize as plain error the failure of count I ...

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

A law firm trying to collect on a debt allegedly owed not by plaintiff, but by her late husband, could not avoid her suit under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act with a Rule 68 Offer of Judgment that provided ...

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

In this case in which a family won a multi-million dollar Federal Tort Claim Act award from the U.S. for their child’s brain damage caused by government doctors, the 4th Circuit remands the case for a second time for the ...

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

Although a search warrant application did not specifically connect defendant to the residence to be searched, police had obtained extensive detail from a woman whose nephew shared defendant’s strong interest in acquiring weapons and explosives, and who confiscated from her ...

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

A claimant who suffered back, wrist and shoulder injuries when he fell 25 feet from a deer stand has his claim for social security disability benefits remanded to the Appeals Council because the 4th Circuit cannot determine from the record ...

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

The 4th Circuit has no jurisdiction to hear Liberty University’s constitutional challenge to the “individual mandate” of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as the federal Anti-Injunction Act strips the federal court of jurisdiction; the 4th Circuit vacates the ...

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

The Commonwealth of Virginia does not have standing to challenge the “individual mandate” to maintain health insurance, a provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and a Virginia statute that purports to limit enforcement of the federal ...

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

The en banc 4th Circuit vacates a North Carolina defendant’s federal drug trafficking sentence that was enhanced because of a prior state conviction for marijuana possession, in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision from last year that casts doubt ...

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

In order to qualify for a one-level sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility, a defendant need only timely notify prosecutors of an intention to enter a guilty plea; departing from a standard adopted by other circuits, the 4th Circuit says ...

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

The legal battle over the federal health care act has made it to the next level. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments May 10 in the first two cases to advance from the trial court level to ...

Tagged with: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli Federal Courts Heath Care Act Judge Andre M. Davis Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Judge Henry E. Hudson Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Judge Norman K. Moon