Plaintiffs, who own property over portions of the Beatrice Mine in Buchanan County, Virginia, cannot rely on the CERCLA discovery rule to file their 2011 and 2013 lawsuits challenging another coal company’s activity draining water into the Beatrice Mine from ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Environmental Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

A man serving nearly 25 years in prison hoped that cryptic comments a juror made to his father before his 2005 trial would show that the juror was biased and that his attorney was deficient. Marvin Powell, convicted of federal ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Habeas Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

A defendant convicted on federal drug and firearms charges is not entitled to habeas relief on a claim that his counsel was constitutionally ineffective when she failed to tell the trial court that, before trial began, a juror approached defendant’s ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

A Pakistani citizen initially granted asylum, who voluntarily adjusted his status to lawful permanent resident, is not entitled to additional protections that would have been available to an asylee prior to his removal for misrepresenting facts in order to obtain ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

The 4th Circuit upholds a Virginia statute that says only candidates for federal, state­wide and General Assembly elections may be identified on the ballot by the name of the political party that nominated them or as “Independent”; the burden on ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

In sentencing a pharmacy intern for structuring cash transactions to evade reporting requirements, a district court did not err in enhancing defendant’s sentence under federal guidelines for his leadership role and his abuse of a position of trust in connection ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

An anonymous tip that a black man had loaded a gun in a 7-Eleven parking lot and then concealed it in his pocket before leaving in a car provided an objective basis for inferring danger, despite West Virginia gun ownership ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Paul V. Niemeyer Search & Seizure

A Norfolk sheriff’s deputy who was seriously injured during a training session on a Naval base when she jumped from a training structure onto a set of mats, landing in a gap between them, cannot sue the U.S. for her ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Paul V. Niemeyer Tort

A West Virginia state trooper had probable cause to arrest defendant for his expired inspection sticker, and the trooper did not use excessive force in taking plaintiff to the ground in order to handcuff him after plaintiff failed to comply; ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

The 4th Circuit upholds Virginia’s voter-ID law, which requires voters to present photo identification when they vote or shortly thereafter, against plain­tiffs’ challenges under the Voting Rights Act and the federal Constitution. The Virginia law, Va. Code § 24.2- 643(B), ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Rights Judge Paul V. Niemeyer