A district court properly dismissed constitutional challenges to Virginia’s civil interdiction process, which can lead to criminal penalties for possession, consumption, or purchase of alcoholic beverages by individuals subject to a civil interdiction order. Background Virginia regulates the consumption, purchase, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Due Process Eighth Amendment Equal Protection Fourteenth Amendment Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

High school staff failed to timely respond to parents’ requests for disability testing, but an administrative fact finder reasonably concluded that the student’s poor scholastic record was caused by his frequent absences and disdain for teachers, not the violation. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Civil Rights Education Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Six defendants tried together were properly convicted of murder and attempted murder offenses related to their gang membership. Their convictions were upheld despite challenges to prosecutorial conduct, jury instructions, evidence admitted at trial, joint trial, access to counsel, warrantless cell ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

For people asking why trust in institutions is at historic lows, modern tech-driven phenomena are easy targets – think Facebook and Twitter, smart-phone addiction, big data and automation. But in a recent memoir, 4th U.S. Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson ...

Tagged with: Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

A plaintiff claiming that her supervisor defamed her with crude comments at work could not hold their employer vicariously liable for the statements. The comments were outside the scope of employment, and the district court lacked any indication that this ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Personal Injury Tort

A plaintiff who was owed a medical-malpractice judgment that would partially be reimbursed to Medicare had standing to sue the judgment debtor for delayed payment. However, the 37 days between the judgment and payment did not constitute “delay.” Background In ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Health Care Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Personal Injury

Considering revocation of the defendant’s supervised release, the district court correctly determined that it lacked jurisdiction to rule on the defendant’s challenge to the constitutionality of his underlying sentence. And based on the nature of the defendant’s threats to his ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Sentencing

United States border authorities must have individualized, reasonable suspicion – but not a warrant – in order to forensically search a cellphone, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled May 9. The opinion is U.S. v. Kolsuz (VLW 018-2-091). ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

A federal appeals decision denying underinsured motorist coverage for a fatal truck accident has generated “alarm and concern” about the interpretation of millions of Virginia auto insurance policies, according to lawyers for the claimants. A divided panel of the 4th ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge G. Steven Agee Judge Gerald Bruce Lee Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

In a class action against Bank of America for failure to provide information regarding lender-paid mortgage insurance, the district court did not err in concluding that the Plaintiffs’ type of mortgage loans didn’t require such disclosures under the Homeowners Protection ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Banking Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Mortgage