Where a parent claimed the school board violated his First Amendment rights by restricting his speech at meetings, the board took that action because he had personally attacked individual board members. To the extent the speech of other parents was ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Henry F. Floyd Tort

Although a jury did not include any person with darker skin, because the codefendant struck two jurors with darker skin, and the prosecutor provided a non-pretextual reason for striking a third such juror, the Batson challenge failed. Background Terrence Deandre ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Henry F. Floyd

Where a class of pharmaceutical buyers claimed two manufacturers allegedly reached an anticompetitive settlement in a patent dispute, the district court erred in focusing on whether denial of certification would result in “multiple individual trials” when it certified a class. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Commercial Judge Henry F. Floyd

Where the district court discussed the defendant’s “extensive criminal history,” but never addressed his argument that two California drug convictions that were 34 and 28 years old were stale and should be excluded, his sentence was vacated and the case ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Henry F. Floyd

In an issue of first impression, the court joined the Sixth Circuit and D.C. Circuit in holding that when a district court exercises discretion to reduce a sentence under the First Step Act, the imposition of the sentence must be ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Henry F. Floyd

Nearly three years after a federal jury found that Walmart had infringed a competitor’s trademark in marketing its line of barbecue grills, a federal appeals court has determined that the trial didn’t cut the mustard. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Henry F. Floyd Trademark Trademark infringement Walmart

Where an employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration was terminated because he refused to participate in a DEA internal investigation, not because of his Coast Guard service, his claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Discrimination Judge Henry F. Floyd

Where the record showed a deaf inmate could not communicate in writing because of his lack of English proficiency, that point-to-point videophone calls would not have a “ripple effect” on fellow inmates or prison staff, and that the prison could ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Henry F. Floyd

Where an immigration attorney raised multiple challenges to her conviction for refusing to comply with directions from an immigration judge and a courtroom bailiff to cease distracting conduct during an immigration proceeding, the record demonstrated her conduct was sufficiently disruptive. ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Henry F. Floyd

Where the record showed that a coal miner developed black lung disease more than two years before he filed suit, even though the disease was not identified until later, the suit was barred by Virginia’s two-year statute of limitations. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Henry F. Floyd Products Liability