Where former U.S. Attorney General Sessions opined that immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA, lack authority to administratively close cases, but his opinion was at odds with the plain meaning of the regulations and the government ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Although 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) requires a defendant to exhaust his administrative remedies before seeking a sentence reduction in federal court, because the requirement was a nonjurisdictional claim-processing rule, it could be waived or forfeited. Background Saeed Abdul Muhammad moved ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Where the resident of El Salvador was only 15 when members of the MS-13 gang beat him and made death threats, the immigration court erred by not taking his age into account when analyzing his past persecution and fear of ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Where a South Carolina county warned residents before it sprayed for mosquitoes in an effort to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, including issuing a press release to many media outlets and providing the experienced pilot with the locations ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Where the record did not show the decedent had frequent, regular and proximate contact with a company’s asbestos insulation, the company prevailed on the wrongful death claims. Background After Charles F. Connor died at the age of 90 of mesothelioma, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker Products Liability

Where a woman who had been associated with former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn brought defamation claims against several media organizations claiming a conspiracy to defame and injure her, neither linking to the original article via a hyperlink nor ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker Tort

Where an elementary school principal omitted a fourth grader’s essay on LGBTQ equality from a student booklet because the material was not age-appropriate, she did not violate the First Amendment as her decision was reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Where defendants were granted reductions in their terms of supervised release under the First Step Act, the district court erred in not providing explanations for its decisions. Background Timothy McDonald, Anthony Ballard and Riccardo Mercellus Davey appeal district court orders ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

A rule promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services, prohibiting physicians and other providers in Title X programs from referring patients for an abortion and imposing other requirements on entities receiving Title X funds, was enjoined. HHS inadequately ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Judge Albert Diaz Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III Judge Julius N. Richardson Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Where evidence disclosed since a conviction for rape and burglary 44 years ago suggests the police suppressed material evidence in violation of the defendant’s rights under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), the district court was directed to consider ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker