The 4th Circuit upholds dismissal of a § 1983 suit filed by appellant against Howard County, Md., officials after the county rejected appellant’s petition for a referendum to challenge a bill that would substantially increase the size of a neighborhood ...

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

M. Blane Michael, a judge for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1993, has died at age 68. Michael’s family announced his death through the Richmond-based court on March 25, but did not elaborate on the cause of ...

Tagged with: Federal Courts Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

When an employee of your biggest client is sexually harassing your employee, it’s a tough situation to manage. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hasn’t officially looked at whether an employer can be liable for harassment by non-employees. But ...

Tagged with: Employment Discrimination Federal Courts Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Judge Robert B. King Judge Roger L. Gregory

Saying it could conceive of few social groups “more readily identifiable than the family,” the 4th Circuit grants a petition for review of a BIA order of removal of petitioner and his family to El Salvador, as the BIA’s conclusion ...

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

The 4th Circuit rejects claims by former NFL football player Rae Carruth that he should get a new trial for conspiracy to murder Carruth’s pregnant girlfriend because of the state trial court’s decision to admit evidence of certain statements made ...

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

Although defendant police have a dashboard video of their seizure of plaintiff, whom they mistook for another man wanted on various crimes, seven seconds of the man’s scuffle with police took place outside camera range, and the 4th Circuit dismisses ...

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

In this drug and gun case, the 4th Circuit vacates one of defendant’s firearms conviction because he has made a “plausible showing” that requires the district court to conduct an in camera review, for a possible Brady nondisclosure violation, of ...

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

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