A defendant who pleaded guilty to murder and related crimes as a 17-year-old in 1995 in order to avoid the death penalty in South Carolina is not entitled to post-conviction relief to withdraw that plea in light of the Su­preme ...

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

The 4th Circuit affirms dismissal of Lib­ertarian political candidate Robert Sarvis’ constitutional challenge to Virginia’s three-tiered ballot ordering law; the three-tiered ballot ordering law imposes little burden on appellant’s constitutional rights and Virginia articulates several important interests sup­porting the law. ...

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

The 4th Circuit says a defendant who was discovered intoxicated on a stolen 24-foot motor boat not authorized to be in a restricted marine area at the Newport News shipyard and who false­ly told the Coast Guard he had fought ...

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

Exotic dancers were employees of de­fendant clubs, and not independent con­tractors, and the dancers are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and Maryland wage laws; the 4th Circuit af­firms the district court, which “properly captured the economic reality of ...

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

On March 3, 2015, homeowners sued ARC Construction LLC and Ali Ergul, ARC’s manager, in the District of Co­lumbia Superior Court with regard to renovation and demolition work performed on their neighbors’ half of a duplex home. The plaintiffs, who ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Declaratory Judgment Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Judge Henry F. Floyd Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

(AP) An attorney for a mentally ill man accused of trying to join al-Qaida-linked fighters in Syria asked a federal appeals court Thursday to overturn a ruling that would allow his client to be forcibly medicated, arguing that neither the ...

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

Debtors whose mortgage loan interest rate was increased upon default cannot effect a “cure” under 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2) by using their bankruptcy plan to bring post-petition loan payments back down to the initial interest rate, the 4th Circuit says; ...

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

A district court did not err in determin­ing that during a two-day crime spree, defendant committed two separate bur­glaries on different occasions, making de­fendant eligible for an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act; the 4th Circuit affirms defendant’s ...

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

In considering an undocumented alien’s Title VII claim against defendant carwash, a district court erred in refus­ing to enforce the EEOC’s subpoena seek­ing information related to the complaint; whether and to what extent Title VII cov­ers undocumented aliens is a ...

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

Attention corporate defendants: Failure to pay heed to internal processes and timely submit that civil complaint and summons to your insurance company can be very expensive. American Bank Holdings Inc. found out the hard way. Due to an eight-month delay ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Judge Paul V. Niemeyer Judge William B. Traxler Jr.