Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fifth Circuit Offers Litigants A Primer About When They Need to Cross-Appeal Versus Urging Affirmance on Alternative Grounds

In Domain Protection LLC v. Sea Wasp LLC, No. 20-40411 (5th Cir. Jan 13, 2022), the panel uses the occasion of “three appeals arising from one lawsuit—one from the plaintiff, one from the defendant, one from [a] sanctioned lawyer— . . . to clarify when arguments should be made in responsive briefing and when theyContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Offers Litigants A Primer About When They Need to Cross-Appeal Versus Urging Affirmance on Alternative Grounds”

Fed. R. Evid. 103(b) Requires Renewal of Objection at Trial If Order on Motion in Limine Is Modified or Violated at Trial, Holds Fifth Circuit

In United States v. Lara, No. 20-50112 (5th Cir. Jan. 11, 2022), the Fifth Circuit grants only plain-error review on a claim of evidentiary error, when two criminal defendants – who won an exclusionary order in a pretrial motion in limine – failed to renew their objection when the government elicited the disputed testimony atContinue reading “Fed. R. Evid. 103(b) Requires Renewal of Objection at Trial If Order on Motion in Limine Is Modified or Violated at Trial, Holds Fifth Circuit”

Instructional Order to Court-Appointed Trustee in Post-Judgment Proceedings Not an Appealable Order, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In Acheron Capital, Ltd. v. Mukamal, No. 21-13052 (11 th Cir. Jan. 6, 2022), a panel of the Eleventh Circuit holds that an order authorizing a court-appointed trustee’s auctioning off of life-insurance policies was neither a “final decision” subject to appellate review, nor did it fall into any of the exceptions that permitted interlocutory reviewContinue reading “Instructional Order to Court-Appointed Trustee in Post-Judgment Proceedings Not an Appealable Order, Holds Eleventh Circuit”

State Lacked Standing to Challenge Appointment of Federal Defender in State Post-Conviction Proceedings, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In Booker v. Florida Dep’t of Corr., No. 20-14539 (11th Cir. Jan. 3, 2021), an Eleventh Circuit panel holds that whatever intrusion it might present on an ongoing state proceeding, the state lacks Article III standing to object to appointment of a federal defender to represent a death-row prisoner in a state post-conviction proceeding. BookerContinue reading “State Lacked Standing to Challenge Appointment of Federal Defender in State Post-Conviction Proceedings, Holds Eleventh Circuit”

Homeowners Association Lacked Standing to Enforce Consent Decree with Postal Service to End Delivery of Mail Addressed to “Ypsilanti” to Its Development, Split Sixth Circuit Holds

In Glennborough Homeowners Ass’n v. USPS, No. 21-1340 (6th Cir. Dec. 22, 2021), a panel affirms an order dismissing a case by a housing development seeking to enforce a consent decree against the U.S. Postal Service, though it divides on the reasoning. The majority affirmatively holds that the plaintiff Association lacks standing, while one judgeContinue reading “Homeowners Association Lacked Standing to Enforce Consent Decree with Postal Service to End Delivery of Mail Addressed to “Ypsilanti” to Its Development, Split Sixth Circuit Holds”

Fifth Circuit Scales Back Nationwide Injunction of Federal Vaccine Mandate to Just the Fourteen States that Were Named Plaintiffs

In State of Louisiana v. Becerra, No. 21-30734 (5th Cir. Dec. 15, 2021) (per curiam), the Fifth Circuit denies the federal government’s motion to stay a district court’s preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for medical providers receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds. But it scales it back from a fifty-state injunction toContinue reading “Fifth Circuit Scales Back Nationwide Injunction of Federal Vaccine Mandate to Just the Fourteen States that Were Named Plaintiffs”

Eleventh Circuit Casts Doubt on “Matter of Substantive Law” Exception to Appellate Jurisdictional Bar of 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d)

In Vachon v. Travelers Home & Mar. Ins. Co., No. 20-12765 (11th Cir. Dec. 14, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit held that it lacked appellate jurisdiction over a remand order under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d), rejecting application of the “matter of substantial law” exception. In a concurring opinion, two judges hold that they would have affirmedContinue reading “Eleventh Circuit Casts Doubt on “Matter of Substantive Law” Exception to Appellate Jurisdictional Bar of 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d)”

Court Could Judicially Notice That a Federal Prison Hospital Was Within the “Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction” of the United States, Holds Eighth Circuit

Upholding the conviction of a federal prisoner for assaulting a fellow inmate, the Eighth Circuit holds in United States v. Love, No. 20-3386 (8th Cir. Dec. 14, 2021) that it did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights for the court rather than the jury to find that the place of the assault was withinContinue reading “Court Could Judicially Notice That a Federal Prison Hospital Was Within the “Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction” of the United States, Holds Eighth Circuit”

Split Tenth Circuit Holds That FISC’s Pre-Clearance Rulings Under Section 702 Program Are Not “Advisory Opinions” in Violation of Article III

As part of a 170-page decision (with a 48-page dissent) affirming a criminal conviction for conspiring and providing material support to a State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization, United States v. Muhtorov,  No. 18-1366 (10th Cir. Dec. 8, 2021), the panel divides over whether annual preapproval of surveillance procedures by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)Continue reading “Split Tenth Circuit Holds That FISC’s Pre-Clearance Rulings Under Section 702 Program Are Not “Advisory Opinions” in Violation of Article III”

Split Eleventh Circuit Panel Holds That Nationwide Injunction of a Federal Vaccine Mandate in Louisiana Court Does Not Moot Issue of an Emergency Injunction Pending Appeal in Florida, Casting Doubt on Propriety of the Louisiana Court’s Nationwide Order

In a 94-page order about whether to grant the State of Florida an injunction pending appeal of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in hospitals, a split panel in State of Florida v. Dep’t of Health and Human Servs., No. 21-10498 (11th Cir. Dec. 6, 2021), holds that the entry of a “nationwide” injunction ofContinue reading “Split Eleventh Circuit Panel Holds That Nationwide Injunction of a Federal Vaccine Mandate in Louisiana Court Does Not Moot Issue of an Emergency Injunction Pending Appeal in Florida, Casting Doubt on Propriety of the Louisiana Court’s Nationwide Order”