North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Where an inmate with a medical condition had performed various prison jobs, he successfully alleged facts showing that after he was hospitalized for a short time, prison officials regarded him as disabled and as a consequence, he could not participate ...
Read More »Civil Rights – Inmate raises successful ADA and equal protection claim
Criminal Practice – Suspicionless stop of defendant not excused by exigent circumstances 
A majority of the en banc court refused to allow the suspicionless stop of the defendant following a report of “shots fired.” The stop was not justified by exigent circumstances and thus was not reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Background ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Sentencing court fails to address non-frivolous arguments
Where the sentencing court failed to address the defendants’ non-frivolous arguments against a life sentence, including his age and sentencing disparities with his co-conspirators, resentencing is required. Background A jury convicted appellant Lemont Jerrone Webb of multiple criminal offenses related ...
Read More »Civil Rights – Claim by inmate segregated for four years improperly dismissed
Where the record showed the confinement conditions were severe in comparison to those that exist in general population; that the inmate’s segregation status may have had collateral consequences relating to the length of his sentence and the segregation was for ...
Read More »Immigration – State conviction no basis for removal
Where a man convicted under a Virginia statute for willful discharge of a firearm was removed to Jamaica, he was ordered returned to the United States because his Virginia conviction did not qualify as a federal firearm offense for the ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – En banc review of ‘structural error’ ruling denied
In denying en banc review of the panel decision holding that an error of the rule announced by the Supreme Court in Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), is a structural error not amenable to harmless or ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Airline failed to reemploy pilot, violated USERRA
Although the pilot was not cleared to fly, an airline nevertheless violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, by not reemploying him “promptly” in an alternative position. Background As Thomas Harwood neared completion of a tour ...
Read More »Consumer Protection – Statute runs from each ‘violation’ of Fair Debt act
Where the debtors filed suit within one year of the defendant’s alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it was timely. Because the statute of limitations runs from the date of each “violation,” the fact the defendant had ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Jury’s $50K FMLA retaliation verdict overturned
Although the jury found for the plaintiff on her claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and awarded her $50,000, the evidence was not enough to permit a reasonable jury to conclude the company’s proffered rationale for firing her ...
Read More »Criminal Practice – Stop of defendant supported by reasonable suspicion
The stop of the defendant after a bar brawl was supported by multiple elements, including a tip from a witness describing a person with a gun, with a physical description matching the defendant, in a known problem area. Background Shortly ...
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