Where the term “relating to obstruction of justice” is ambiguous about whether an ongoing or a reasonably foreseeable proceeding must be obstructed, the court deferred to the reasonable interpretation of the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA. Background Jean Francois ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Julius N. Richardson

The text, structure and legal landscape in which the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or ADEA, was passed do not support a finding that the statute’s federal-sector provision encompasses disparate-impact liability. Background Dr. Jane DiCocco brought Title VII and Age ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Discrimination Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where the Fourth Circuit previously held that a federal law banning the purchase of a handgun by persons under 21 violated the Second Amendment, but the plaintiff in that case turned 21 before the mandate issued, her original claims were ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Julius N. Richardson

Because a defendant may complete the final element of an aggravated RICO conspiracy without using, attempting to use or threatening to use physical force, an aggravated RICO conspiracy is not categorically a crime of violence. Background Antonio Simmons, Nathaniel Mitchell ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge G. Steven Agee Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where a detainee alleged his doctor violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, by revealing in a medical setting that the detainee had not taken his HIV medication, the claim was dismissed. The court joined ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where the prosecutor’s improper statements during closing arguments on charges of sexual assault, including asking the jury to convict the defendant based on the prospective sins of others, the remarks so prejudiced the defendant’s substantial rights that he was denied ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where the drug defendant asked that his sentence be reduced by five years but received only a two-year reduction, there was no abuse of discretion because the district court considered his arguments and balanced the nature of his offense, his ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where police had probable cause to search a shoebox containing heroin and fentanyl based on information from a reliable confidential informant and their own independent corroboration of his story, a drug defendant’s challenge to his sentence failed. Background In 2017, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where the defendant falsely told police officers and court officials that the charges brought against him would be dismissed because he was an assistant United States attorney, or AUSA, and repeated that he was an AUSA when he was trying ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Julius N. Richardson

Where the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act applies only if the company employed 100 or more full-time employees on the date the first notice was required, and the undisputed evidence was that the government contractor employed fewer ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Employment Judge Julius N. Richardson