DC Circuit -- Dick Heller v. DC

D.C. Gun control laws authorized by statute.

Basic registration scheme does not impinge on 2A guarantees.

Aspects of current registration scheme implicate 2A under intermediate scrutiny - remand for facts.

Prohibitions on assault weapons survives intermediate scrutiny.

Dissent - Ban on semiautomatics & registration scheme unconstitutional under Heller.

Dick Heller v. DC

DC Circuit -- USA v. Abdul Khanu

Tax - govt corrctly established deficiency by "cash" method (spending outpaces reported income); deft's insistence that he underreported cash on hand at beginning of year does not avail.

No need to reach question of whether govt-confiscated funds from deft's safe were in custody of deft, as other funds establish the deficiency.


USA v. Abdul Khanu

Eighth Circuit -- Estrella Valencia v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Immigration petitioner's ineffective assistance claims were not supported by a showing of prejudice; BIA did not abuse discretion to hear claim.

Estrella Valencia v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Eighth Circuit -- Victoria Johnson v. James Carroll

 Appropriateness of force during arrest a matter for trial, given contested facts.

Remand for consideration of costs for state law claims.

Summary judgment granting qualified immunity for state law claims was error.

Dissent - Officers used appropriate force.

Victoria Johnson v. James Carroll

Eighth Circuit -- James Riley v. Sun Life and Health Insurance

 District Court erred in holding that VA benefits could be offset in employer-provided long term disability benefits - VA is not similar to SSA, as the Plan requires.

Dissent - Abuse of discretion appropriate, not de novo.  Administrator's decision was kosher.

James Riley v. Sun Life and Health Insurance

Eighth Circuit -- Caleb R. Sturge v. Northwest Airlines, Inc.

ERISA Claim will not lie as court has no jurisdiction (as it has nothing to do with a CBA) and plaintiff did not establish causation between the dismissal and his pending claim.

Caleb R. Sturge v. Northwest Airlines, Inc.

Federal Circuit -- BOND V. SHINSEKI

VA appeals claims must be evaluated both in relation to pending claims and with respect to potential new claims.

BOND V. SHINSEKI

Federal Circuit -- ABSOLUTE SOFTWARE v. STEALTH SIGNAL

Error in summary judgment on IP tracking patent infringement claim, as nothing in record as to whether device reports one or two IP's.

Conjunctive/disjunctive "or."

No error in literal/equivalent findings of non-infringement.

No errors in construction generally.

ABSOLUTE SOFTWARE v. STEALTH SIGNAL

Federal Circuit -- TIANRUI GROUP CO v. ITC

International Trade Commission can investigate and grant relief based on extraterritorial conduct in violation of trade secret regulations of the Tarriff Act.

Dissent: No, it can't.

TIANRUI GROUP CO v. ITC

Ninth Circuit -- MEZA-VALLEJOS V. HOLDER

Where a period of voluntary departure ends on a holiday, weekend, or any day in which the courts are not open to the petitioner, the period constructively ends on the first subsequent business day.

Skidmore (lack of) deference.

MEZA-VALLEJOS V. HOLDER

Eighth Circuit -- Forrest Allred v. Gilbert Vilhauer

 Finder of fact's determination that not too many cattle were burned in the burn pit is not erroneous.

Forrest Allred v. Gilbert Vilhauer

Eighth Circuit -- Diane Marie Banks v. Kondaur Capital Corporation

 Where creditor has not produced bearer note, summary judgment for creditor is inappropriate.

Diane Marie Banks v. Kondaur Capital Corporation

Eighth Circuit -- United States v. Jason Todd Garreau

 District Court holding of inevitable discovery affirmed on grounds of valid inventory search.

United States v. Jason Todd Garreau

Seventh Circuit -- USA v. Roger Loughry

District Court abused discretion in not reviewing pr0nographic tapes before ruling on 403 objection.

Error in not explaining ruling sufficiently.

Introduction of offline pr0n was unduly prejudicial for online pr0n prosecution.

USA v. Roger Loughry

Seventh Circuit -- Jeremy Greene v. John Doruff

In a 1A tort claim, plaintiff must establish that there was sufficient probability that the action was prompted by the illicit motive; the burden then shifts to the deft to establish that the action would have been undertaken without the motive. 

Jeremy Greene v. John Doruff

Fourth Circuit -- US v. Torrell Vann

Majority per curiam - For purpose of modified categorical analysis of priors, where the wording of the plea/indictment tracks two sections of the statute, the deft does not necessarily plead to violating both.

Concurrence - Categorical approach mandatory & dispositive.  Statute isn't an ACCA predicate.

Concurrence - Residual priors a hopeless muddle under Taylor.

Concurrence - Categorical required, as elements of statute aren't cleanly divisible.

Concurrence - Although the state supreme ct. has held the statute to be a single offense, plain text reading of statute reveals the disjunctive elements.

Concurrence - statute too broad, Shepard docs unilluminating.

C/D - Modified categorical = valid predicate.

US v. Torrell Vann