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 ...
Read More »Tort/Negligence – Hyperlinks don’t constitute republication of time-barred article
Immigration – BIA conflated particularity and social distinction requirements 
Where the Board of Immigration Appeals impermissibly conflated the particularity requirement with the social distinction requirement in the case of an El Salvadoran man seeking to avoid deportation on account of membership in the “former Salvadoran MS-13 members,” its determination ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Distribution of child pornography dooms sentence reduction 
Where the sentencing guidelines allow for a reduction if a defendant’s conduct was “limited to the receipt or solicitation of material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor,” the defendant was ineligible because he distributed child pornography by making it ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – There was no seizure when defendant selectively answered questions 
Where the defendant who pleaded to knowingly possessing a stolen firearm argued he was seized by the police because he acquiesced to their show of authority, but the record showed he selectively chose which questions to answer and which to ...
Read More »Arbitration – Parties waived appellate review of arbitration 
Where a medical practice and a member physician agreed that an arbitrator’s decision “shall be final and conclusive and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction without any right of judicial review or appeal,” the waiver was enforceable. Background Beckley ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Refusal, not service, prompted termination 
Where an employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration was terminated because he refused to participate in a DEA internal investigation, not because of his Coast Guard service, his claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, ...
Read More »Arbitration – Arbitration denied due to no binding contract 
Where an agent of the defendant changed material terms in a contract that were never agreed to by the plaintiffs, there was no binding contract and the defendant could not enforce the arbitration clause in the agreement. Background Sandeva “Sandy” ...
Read More »Bankruptcy – Treasury can claim debtor’s tax overpayment 
Although the bankruptcy code allows a debtor to claim certain personal property as exempt, the Treasury Department has a superior right to claim a tax overpayment, in order to offset monies owed to another federal agency. Background To finance the ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Constructive acceptance of deal dooms appeal 
Where the defendant challenged his sentence because the district court did not expressly accept the plea agreement containing an appeal waiver, the record showed the court constructively accepted the agreement by referring to it at sentencing and imposing a sentence ...
Read More »Civil Rights – No established right to higher ed enrollment 
Where a former student sued a Virginia State University administrator for alleged due process violations in connection with a student discipline proceeding, the administrator was entitled to qualified immunity because there was no clearly established right to continued enrollment in ...
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