2019 Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1 - 500 of 1146
Date: December 31, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1376, 18-1285
Justia Opinion Summary: At 2:30 a.m., Bey and two friends went out to purchase space heaters. Bey had purchased his older minivan days earlier, so it had a temporary registration tag but no license plate. The three went to a Livonia store but…
Date: December 26, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1909, 18-1988
Justia Opinion Summary: Hershey started as a truck driver for Lou’s under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in July 2012. In January 2013, Hershey used a company radio to “discuss[] the poor working conditions.” Hershey began displaying…
Date: December 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3977
Justia Opinion Summary: The Playpen website, a message board for advertising and distributing child pornography, is within the “dark-web,” protected by the “Tor hidden service network,” rendering the website relatively inaccessible. A foreign…
Date: December 23, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5262
Justia Opinion Summary: Giles County contracted with private probation companies to supervise people it convicted of misdemeanors. Probationers sued Giles County, its Sheriff, the probation companies, and some company employees, alleging RICO…
Date: December 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2405
Justia Opinion Summary: Davis suffers from asthma but lives in a complex that allows residents to smoke in their condominiums. Davis asserts that the smell of smoke regularly emanating from a neighbor’s condo aggravated her asthma. Unsatisfied…
Date: December 19, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6296
Justia Opinion Summary: While traveling to a mental health treatment facility, Blough got out of his fiancée’s (Reich) vehicle holding his knife, walked through traffic, and wandered into a residential neighborhood. Blough was experiencing…
Date: December 19, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5189
Justia Opinion Summary: Mason, a Sheriff’s Department investigator, and uniformed officers were tracking Harrelson, a fugitive, whose vehicle was previously seen outside the home of Wooden and Harris. They approached the home. Mason, who was…
Date: December 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1352
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, inmates in Michigan prison facilities, were once juveniles housed with adult inmates, a policy that Michigan has since abandoned. They filed 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims stemming from alleged sexual abuse by adult…
Date: December 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5673
Justia Opinion Summary: Foster was suspected of conspiring to illegally distribute methamphetamine in southeastern Tennessee. In searching garbage Foster had left on the curb, officers discovered materials indicating methamphetamine use and…
Date: December 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6012
Justia Opinion Summary: A Tennessee jury convicted Atkins of murdering his stepfather in 2000 when he was 16 years old. A state court imposed a life sentence that renders Atkins eligible for release after at least 51 years’ imprisonment. His…
Date: December 16, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5278
Justia Opinion Summary: Aguilar-Calvo pleaded guilty to illegal reentry, 8 U.S.C. 1326(a) and (b)(1). He had been previously convicted of felony drug possession, assault, driving under the influence, and illegal reentry. In its sentencing…
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2445, 18-1715
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, four female students each reported sexual assault to the campus police and authorities. The plaintiffs contend that the administration’s response was inadequate, caused them physical and emotional harm, and…
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1715
Date: December 12, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-4110, 18-3787, 18-3788, 18-4095, 18-4097, 18-4107
Justia Opinion Summary: FES distributes electricity, buying it from its fossil-fuel and nuclear electricity-generating subsidiaries. FES and a subsidiary filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory…
Date: December 11, 2019
Docket Number: 19-3233
Date: December 10, 2019
Docket Number: 19-3319
Justia Opinion Summary: A collective bargaining agreement between Local 1982 and Midwest consisted of a Master Agreement (MA), formed between the parties’ affiliated regional employer group and the union, and a Local Agreement. The union filed…
Date: December 6, 2019
Docket Number: 19-3378
Date: December 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5896
Justia Opinion Summary: Three out of every five hospitals use Ciox, a medical records provider, which processed 4.3 million pages per day in 2018. Ciox is subject to the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 110…
Date: December 3, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1704
Justia Opinion Summary: Morrissey, a licensed practical nurse, worked for Coldwater, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, from 2001 until she quit in 2016. Morrisey alleges that she was under a 12-hour work restriction due to a…
Date: November 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5450
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011-2012, Godofsky was a doctor at a “pill mill,” the Central Kentucky Bariatric and Pain Management clinic. The clinic accepted payment by only cash (later by debit card), at $300 for the first visit and $250 per…
Date: November 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5595
Justia Opinion Summary: Tennessee family medicine physicians, mostly in rural areas, received increased Medicaid payments in 2013-2014. In 2015 Tennessee’s Medicaid agency, TennCare, brought an administrative action to “recoup” an average of…
Date: November 25, 2019
Docket Number: 19-3162
Justia Opinion Summary: An undercover FBI agent, posing as a mother, posted a Craigslist ad, indicating that she wanted to talk about “taboo” subjects with an “open-minded” counterpart. Fortner sent the agent an e-mail asking if he could have…
Date: November 25, 2019
Docket Number: 19-8004
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2017, Debtor purchased a vehicle with Creditor-provided financing. In July 2018, Debtors filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy petition and proposed plan. The proposed plan did not treat any claims in Section 3.2…
Date: November 22, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1036
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Hudson became a firefighter. He was outspoken about his Christian faith. According to Hudson, other firefighters watched pornography in communal spaces and engaged in extra-marital affairs at the fire station.…
Date: November 21, 2019
Docket Number: 14-3864
Justia Opinion Summary: Maslenjak, an ethnic Serb and native of Bosnia, came to the U.S. as a refugee, claiming she and her family feared persecution in Bosnia because her husband had evaded conscription into the Serbian army. In fact,…
Date: November 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6285
Justia Opinion Summary: Nichols admitted that he had sexually abused young girls on multiple occasions and sometimes documented the abuse in videos and photographs; videos and photographs in his possession depicted graphic scenes of adult men…
Date: November 21, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5533
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Beamus was convicted of conspiracy to possess 6.68 grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B), and related firearms offenses, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), 924(c)(1)(A)(i). He had prior…
Date: November 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6239
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Nelson learned from Heard, who was previously unknown to Nelson, that Crawford was dealing cocaine. Heard identified Crawford’s driver’s license photograph and provided Crawford’s telephone number. Nelson…
Date: November 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4181
Justia Opinion Summary: The Ohio Department of Public Safety fired Trooper Johnson after he sexually harassed women while on duty. When the Department learned of the first incident, it let him sign a “Last Chance Agreement,” which said the…
Date: November 8, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1106
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Mosley visited the Kohl’s stores in Northville and Novi, Michigan and encountered architectural barriers to access by wheelchair users in their restrooms. He sought declaratory and injunctive relief under the…
Date: November 8, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5070
Justia Opinion Summary: D.T.’s parents, concerned that their son, who has autism, was not getting an appropriate education in the Tennessee schools, removed him from public school and placed him in a private therapy program, where he improved.…
Date: November 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1671
Justia Opinion Summary: Wilson recruited people near Escanaba and taught them how to package, transport, price, and sell heroin and crack cocaine. One or two women would travel as passengers to pick up the drugs from Wilson and would conceal…
Date: November 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2089
Justia Opinion Summary: Winget created the Trust, retaining the right to revoke the Trust at any time and to receive income generated by the trust property during his lifetime. He also served as the trustee with broad powers. Venture (a…
Date: November 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3874
Justia Opinion Summary: While in federal prison in Ohio, Gallivan had surgery. According to Gallivan, the surgery left him permanently disabled and the Bureau of Prisons was to blame. The Bureau found no evidence that its employees had done…
Date: November 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1869
Justia Opinion Summary: Benton, a former schoolteacher, was convicted by a jury for having sex with a 12-year-old student. The judge sentenced her to 25-38 years’ imprisonment. With new appellate counsel, Benton raised constitutional and…
Date: November 6, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1122
Justia Opinion Summary: The Gaetanos run a cannabis dispensary. After a failed business transaction, a third party sued the Gaetanos and their attorney, Goodman, and filed a disciplinary complaint against Goodman. An ethics inquiry uncovered…
Date: November 6, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5148
Justia Opinion Summary: Babb worked as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Maryville, a small practice group. Approximately a month into her employment, one of Maryville’s physician-owners observed Babb “placing her face very close to a…
Date: November 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5942
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were hourly workers at an Amazon fulfillment center. After clocking out, they were required to undergo an anti-theft security screening. They were not compensated for the time spent in the screening process.…
Date: November 1, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3446
Justia Opinion Summary: Franklin County officers detected child pornography being downloaded via file-sharing software. They traced the downloads to Meckley's IP address. Meckley lived with Parrish. Parrish had a North Carolina conviction for…
Date: October 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3886
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a management employee of the Summit County Board of Developmental Disabilities, worked under renewable one-year agreements that contained broad arbitration provisions. When Plaintiff joined the Ohio Army…
Date: October 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1434
Justia Opinion Summary: Richardson was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his wife by causing her to fall from a cliff in Pictured Rocks National Park in 2006. The district court denied a federal habeas petition that claimed…
Date: October 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1676
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Flack pled guilty to receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A and was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment, the bottom of his Guidelines range. A year…
Date: October 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2152
Justia Opinion Summary: Indian Head manufactured gaskets and purchased three consecutive Continental liability insurance policies, providing coverage until 1987. The gaskets contained asbestos. Indian Head was eventually flooded with lawsuits…
Date: October 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4072
Justia Opinion Summary: Williams and another man armed with a rifle forced the occupants out of a vehicle. Williams fled to another vehicle driven by a getaway driver; his accomplice drove off in the victims' vehicle. Later that morning,…
Date: October 15, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5515, 18-5222
Justia Opinion Summary: Officers executed three search warrants as part of a Lexington, Kentucky drug-trafficking investigation—one at Salas’s residence, one at Pedroza’s residence, and one at a trailer that the two men used for construction…
Date: October 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3329
Justia Opinion Summary: Ohio H.B. 214, signed into law in 2017, prohibits any person from purposefully performing or inducing or attempting to perform or induce an abortion if the person has knowledge that the pregnant woman is seeking the…
Date: October 10, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-3847, 18-3866
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued, claiming that certain Tristar pressure cookers had defective lids that could come open while the cookers were in use, exposing the user to possible injury. The district court certified three separate…
Date: October 10, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5736
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Patterson stopped a vehicle with four passengers, including a seven-year-old. Another passenger, Owen, exited the vehicle holding a bag and attempted to flee. Patterson gave chase. Owen returned to the vehicle,…
Date: October 9, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1156
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Rizk a citizen of Lebanon, received deferred admission to the U.S. as the fiancée of a U.S. citizen, Derbass. They married in 1998. Rizk obtained conditional permanent resident status. They divorced in 2001.…
Date: October 8, 2019
Docket Number: 17-1574
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, 18-year-old Bennett lived with her boyfriend, Benson, who physically and emotionally abused Bennett. For a time, Stephanie McClure stayed at their apartment. When she moved out, McClure took Benson’s video game…
Date: October 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2021
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Byrd, who had no criminal record, suggested that he and his girlfriend (Atkinson) rob Joiner at a bank ATM. Byrd provided the gun, but at the last minute tried to cancel the plan. Atkinson, armed, approached…
Date: October 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3277
Justia Opinion Summary: White was convicted of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, aggravated murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, and having weapons while under disability. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the…
Date: October 7, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2398, 18-2397
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties manufacture and sell equipment that removes water from industrial waste. Gethin founded Watermark's predecessor, “J-Parts,” after leaving his position at JWI. JWI sued Gethin and J-Parts for false…
Date: October 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3857
Justia Opinion Summary: Garcia-Romo filed an application with the Immigration Court to cancel his removal order, seeking a form of discretionary relief that the Attorney General may grant to noncitizens to allow them to remain in the U.S. if…
Date: October 4, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5483, 18-5421
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs worked as multi-dwelling unit sales representatives for Insight, a Louisville cable, internet, and phone services provider. In 2011, Time Warner announced it was acquiring Insight. Plaintiffs claim that Time…
Date: October 4, 2019
Docket Numbers: 19-3648, 19-3657
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal prosecutors asked the district court for permission to withhold classified information from defense counsel for Asgari, an Iranian scientist charged with theft of trade secrets. Applying the Classified…
Date: September 25, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1381
Justia Opinion Summary: Logan worked as a cook for MGM. As part of her job application, she agreed to a six-month limitation period to bring any lawsuit against her employer. After leaving the job, she sued MGM under Title VII of the Civil…
Date: September 25, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1778, 18-1895
Justia Opinion Summary: French created pro-union flyers and asked a union organizer to distribute them at his workplace, Charter Communications. Three months later, Charter fired French and two of his colleagues. In the intervening period, all…
Date: September 24, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2217, 18-2103
Justia Opinion Summary: OHL, a third-party logistics company that provides transportation, warehousing, and supply-chain management services for other companies, operates warehouses throughout the country, including five in Memphis. OHL and the…
Date: September 24, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5777, 18-5752
Justia Opinion Summary: Beane, formerly an Air Force electrical engineer, became involved in a conspiracy theory that the government creates for each citizen a "straw man" and that the Federal Reserve holds in trust that citizen’s inherent…
Date: September 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1917
Justia Opinion Summary: Speech challenged University of Michigan policies prohibiting,“[h]arassing or bullying another person—physically, verbally, or through other means.” The office that investigates alleged violations defined terms on its…
Date: September 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1901
Justia Opinion Summary: Rudolph’s son texted Rudolph's ex-husband, Kyle: “[S]he has the .22 out”. Kyle went Rudolph’s home, the two spoke and Rudolph allowed Kyle to take Rudolph’s gun. After Kyle left, Rudolph went to sleep. Around 3:00 A.M.,…
Date: September 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3674
Justia Opinion Summary: Buddenberg, formerly the County Health District fiscal coordinator, learned that the District had obtained a state grant for tire removal, and, without competitive bids, District workers took on the work. Buddenberg…
Date: September 19, 2019
Docket Number: 17-4257
Justia Opinion Summary: As a felon in possession of a firearm, Wright had three prior convictions for “serious drug offenses,” and qualified as an armed career criminal. A Maryland district judge accepted his plea and gave him the 15-year…
Date: September 19, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5315
Justia Opinion Summary: In its 28 U.S.C. 1782(a) discovery application, ALJ sought a subpoena for documents from FedEx and deposition testimony of a FedEx corporate representative. ALJ alleged that FedEx Corp. was involved in contract…
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1911
Justia Opinion Summary: Gresham is serving a 75-year sentence in a Marquette, Michigan state prison. He filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action against prison employees, alleging that they improperly forced him to take antipsychotic medication. The Sixth…
Date: September 17, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5305
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1965, in Memphis, Tennessee, Plaintiffs wrote the song Ain’t That a Lot of Love and registered it with the U.S.Copyright Office. The following year, in London, England, brothers Mervyn and Steve Winwood, members of…
Date: September 16, 2019
Docket Number: 17-4091
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, a Cincinnati officer ran the license plate number of an SUV and found that it had been reported stolen. The SUV stopped after the officer activated his emergency lights. When the officer stepped out of his…
Date: September 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4186
Justia Opinion Summary: Rebecca, employed by SNS, enrolled herself and her husband in SNS’s health-benefits coverage. In 2013, Rebecca fell at work and injured her knee. Her injury was too severe to permit her to continue working. She signed a…
Date: September 12, 2019
Docket Number: 16-4755
Justia Opinion Summary: The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) imposes a mandatory 15-year minimum sentence for a conviction under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) if the defendant has three or more previous convictions for “violent felon[ies]” or “serious drug…
Date: September 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2303
Justia Opinion Summary: The UAW negotiates collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs) with automotive manufacturers including Fiat Chrysler (FCA). Plaintiffs claim that FCA officials bribed UAW officials to get a more company-friendly CBA. The…
Date: September 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3347
Justia Opinion Summary: Winston completed a prison sentence in 2009. He lived with his sister for 29 months, working at a call center and opening a hauling business. He purchased a car in 2010. With a VA loan, he purchased the Cummington Road…
Date: September 12, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5637, 18-5636
Justia Opinion Summary: Police found Bowens and Hope in a vehicle with a marijuana blunt between them and two firearms. Both were charged under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), as unlawful users of controlled substances possessing firearms. To prove that…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Number: 17-6238
Justia Opinion Summary: Tennessee’s Billboard Act, enacted to comply with the Federal Highway Beautification Act, 23 U.S.C. 131, provides that anyone intending to post a sign along a roadway must apply to the Tennessee Department of…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-3909, 18-3680, 18-4022
Justia Opinion Summary: The Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. 901–44, provides federal funds to individuals totally disabled by a respiratory disease commonly caused by coal mine employment. The Secretary of Labor has broad implementation…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4234
Justia Opinion Summary: Ligon, age 19, used her friend’s identification to purchase a gun. The gun was subsequently used in an attempted robbery involving acquaintances of Ligon’s boyfriend. Ligon pleaded guilty to making a false statement in…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Number: 19-3064
Justia Opinion Summary: Henness was convicted of offenses including aggravated murder from conduct occurring in 1992 and was sentenced to death. Henness challenged Ohio’s method of execution under 42 U.S.C. 1983. As his execution date…
Date: September 9, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5683
Justia Opinion Summary: Senator Rand Paul was mowing his lawn when he stopped to gather a few limbs in his path. Without warning, Boucher—Paul’s next-door neighbor, whom he had not spoken with in years—raced toward Paul and attacked him from…
Date: September 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4036
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1968, the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of County Commissioners and Cincinnati consolidated their sewer districts into a single sewer system and entered an agreement providing that the city would manage the sewer…
Date: September 6, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-5332, 18-5158, 18-5316
Justia Opinion Summary: The IRS searched Ellis’s apartment and found personal identifying information for more than 400 people on printouts from the Alabama Department of Corrections’ database and in a TurboTax database on laptops seized from…
Date: September 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5850
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Torres sued his former employer, Precision, alleging that the company had fired him for seeking benefits under Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Law. Precision argued that it had not retaliated against Torres…
Date: September 6, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5137
Justia Opinion Summary: Goodrich operated chemical-manufacturing plants at a Calvert City, Kentucky industrial site. In 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency designated the site a “Superfund Site” subject to the Comprehensive Environmental…
Date: September 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5350
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of petitioner's 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence. The court held that petitioner could not prevail on his ineffective assistance…
Date: September 4, 2019
Docket Number: 17-3731
Justia Opinion Summary: Bullard was charged with trafficking heroin and as a felon in possession of a firearm. He unsuccessfully moved to suppress the evidence, then entered a plea agreement that recognized that Bullard could face 10 years to…
Date: September 4, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2022
Justia Opinion Summary: The Detroit Police Department executed a search warrant on McGrew's home. She heard a bang at the door. When she investigated, Detroit Police Officers were standing in her living room, wearing all black. Masks concealed…
Date: August 30, 2019
Docket Number: 17-6157
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, a Memphis restaurant manager was murdered during a closing-time robbery. Saulsberry worked at the restaurant and helped plan the robbery but was not there during the robbery. In his state trial, the judge…
Date: August 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2237
Justia Opinion Summary: Clayton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for sexually exploiting minors. One minor, J.P. texted her father from Clayton’s house, saying she was being held against her will. Her father called Battle Creek…
Date: August 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3825
Justia Opinion Summary: Endres has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; since age six, Endres has taken medication to treat that condition, beginning with Ritalin. Endres began medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). …
Date: August 30, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-8038, 18-8040
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor sold her home to the Deans; they discovered mold in the basement. A court entered judgment on an arbitration award to the Deans: $28,172.99, plus attorney fees of $98,722.58. The Deans filed a lien against the…
Date: August 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2181
Justia Opinion Summary: Shortly before his high school graduation, 18-year-old Kyle apparently experimented with LSD. The after-effects afflicted him for several days, resulting in his having to be removed from class because of behavioral…
Date: August 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6130
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs own two dental practices, several properties that generate rental income, a sports bar, and an indoor basketball gymnasium that they rent out as an event center. Around 2009, they began “buying property” and…
Date: August 27, 2019
Docket Number: 17-6370
Justia Opinion Summary: Knight was charged with two counts of bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1344; assault and robbery of a person having control of mail matter, 18 U.S.C. 2114(a); possession of stolen property, 18 U.S.C. 2114(b); use of a firearm…
Date: August 27, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-2328, 18-2326
Justia Opinion Summary: Brintley is blind. To navigate the internet, she uses a screen reader that scans webpages and narrates their contents. The technology struggles with some material, especially pictures and video. With some effort,…
Date: August 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2378
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sparkses own property subject to a homeowners’ association. When they fell behind on their assessments, the Association engaged Equity Experts to collect that debt. Equity Experts also sought to collect from the…
Date: August 27, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6329
Justia Opinion Summary: Sensabaugh, the former head football coach at David Crockett High School in Washington County, Tennessee, made two Facebook posts expressing his concerns about the conditions and practices of schools within the District.…
Date: August 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2174
Justia Opinion Summary: Spurr is the stepmother of Nathaniel, a Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) tribal member in Fulton, Michigan. Nathaniel obtained an ex parte personal protection order (PPO) from the NHBP tribal court,…
Date: August 23, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-6120, 17-6119, 17-6226, 17-6233
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Davis was the Rowan County, Kentucky County Clerk, responsible for issuing marriage licenses. Same-sex marriage offended her religious beliefs; when the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to…
Date: August 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1640
Justia Opinion Summary: Convicted of criminal sexual assault and domestic violence, Clark argued that his convictions should be set aside based on a Sixth (and Fourteenth) Amendment violation that allegedly arose when a scheduling error…
Date: August 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3916
Justia Opinion Summary: Police received a report of a drunk driver, with the vehicle’s license plate number. The database reported the vehicle as stolen. The suspect’s name came back: Powell, who was allegedly “armed and dangerous.” Using the…
Date: August 23, 2019
Docket Number: 19-1636
Justia Opinion Summary: Doe sued the University for violating his due-process rights during a disciplinary hearing. The Sixth Circuit remanded Doe’s case in light of a related ruling requiring live hearings and cross-examination in such…
Date: August 22, 2019
Docket Number: 16-5854
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Pike and Slemmer, students at the Knoxville Job Corps Center, had a strained relationship; Pike told Iloilo, that she intended to kill Slemmer. The next day, Iloilo observed Pike and Slemmer together. That…
Date: August 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1605
Justia Opinion Summary: The day after a controlled buy, Detroit police officer Benitez obtained a warrant to search 12011 Bramell. His affidavit stated that a reliable confidential informant had been at two Burnette addresses and “12011 BRAMELL…
Date: August 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5545
Justia Opinion Summary: One summer night in 2015, at a Louisville nightclub, someone discharged a firearm, shooting eight people. Six of those people sued the nightclub’s owner, Cole’s Place, in state court, arguing that Cole’s Place failed to…
Date: August 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6303
Justia Opinion Summary: A1 learned that government auditors thought that the company had overcharged a federal agency by several million dollars for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. A1 challenged the auditors’ decisions at two…
Date: August 22, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6314
Date: August 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1677
Justia Opinion Summary: The Clean Air Act directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for certain air pollutants, 42 U.S.C. 7409. Each state must propose a state implementation…
Date: August 21, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5993
Justia Opinion Summary: Vanderhoef crashed his Ford Mustang into Dixon’s vehicle. Dixon, an off-duty, part-time reserve Maryville, Tennessee police officer, responded by holding Vanderhoef and his passengers at gunpoint for about two minutes.…
Date: August 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2428
Justia Opinion Summary: McCloud pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to one count of actually distributing the drug, 21 U.S.C. 846 and 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii). He was sentenced to 180 months of…
Date: August 20, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6062
Justia Opinion Summary: Due to an unsafe condition on the premises, Osborne suffered a broken arm at the Center, which is owned and operated by Metro Nashville. Osborne obtained a state court judgment against Metro under the Tennessee…
Date: August 16, 2019
Docket Number: 17-5405
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Vowell pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, agreeing that his prior criminal history qualified for a sentence enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) 18 U.S.C. 924(e). Vowell…
Date: August 16, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3385
Justia Opinion Summary: Boxill worked at Franklin County Municipal Court. Boxill alleges that the defendants, judges and an administrator, formulated a concealed policy that female employees asserting complaints about abusive and discriminatory…
Date: August 15, 2019
Docket Number: 18-4139
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendants, exploration and production companies, contracted with landowners (plaintiffs) to drill for oil and gas on leased properties in Ohio’s Utica Shale Formation between 2010-2012. The agreements provide for…
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1316
Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2010, police found Joann’s car alone in a church driveway and thought the driver might be in the water. Police activated a dive team and contacted the Coast Guard. Joann’s daughter reported that Joann had…
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1795
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1874
Justia Opinion Summary: American Islamic Community Center (AICC) unsuccessfully sought zoning permission to build a mosque in Sterling Heights, Michigan. AICC sued, alleging violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act…
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6010
Justia Opinion Summary: The FBI gained control over Playpen, a child pornography website. Agents used a controlled server containing a copy of the website and continued operating Playpen to catch its users. Playpen uses Tor, which conceals…
Date: August 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3720
Justia Opinion Summary: Cleveland Gang Impact Unit officers arrested Johnson based on an outstanding warrant, issued when Johnson failed to appear in state court for his arraignment. They searched Johnson and found a loaded pistol with an…
Date: August 13, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5753
Justia Opinion Summary: Virginia Run Cove is a privately owned Memphis street that offers access to the parking lots of several businesses, including a Planned Parenthood clinic. It is described on county records as “common area” in a…
Date: August 12, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1885
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Clark and Harrington were jointly tried for the Martin murder. The only evidence connecting Clark to the crime was the preliminary testimony of Martin’s neighbor, Stewart. At trial, Stewart would not say what…
Date: August 12, 2019
Docket Number: 19-5084
Justia Opinion Summary: Shelby County Deputy Lane responded to a hit-and-run call. People at the scene told Lane to follow Studdard, who was walking away along the road and had slit his wrists. Lane turned his motorcycle around and rode after…
Date: August 8, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3802
Justia Opinion Summary: Dyer, a Ventra employee, has migraine headaches that often prevent him from working. Ventra’s collective bargaining agreement's attendance policy does not require the employee to justify an absence; points are assessed…
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1675
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson moved to Michigan while on probation, violating the terms of his release from a Florida prison. Florida officials issued a warrant. Federal agents found and arrested Johnson and prosecuted him for a federal gun…
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2201
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, O’Neal was convicted in state court of the second-degree murder of Shelby, who was shot at a gas station. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to 36-80 years in prison. At trial, O’Neal argued that Hickman…
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Number: 19-3196
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs submitted proposed ballot initiatives to the Portage County Board of Elections that would effectively decriminalize marijuana possession in Garrettsville and Windham, Ohio. The Board declined to certify the…
Date: August 6, 2019
Docket Number: 17-5074
Justia Opinion Summary: Carman was indicted for her involvement in a massive conspiracy to sell untaxed cigarettes. A jury convicted Carman and others of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The district court held a forfeiture hearing the…
Date: August 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1592
Justia Opinion Summary: Bank of America advances funds whenever customers deposit checks. During this “float” period, it permits the customer to withdraw the funds while the bank confirms the check’s validity. In Michigan, Thomas would enlist…
Date: August 6, 2019
Docket Number: 18-8048
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor is the sole member of REN, a Kentucky limited liability company that owns Louisville real estate. The Chapter 7 Trustee sought authority to sell that property, asserting that Debtor’s interest in REN was estate…
Date: August 5, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-6410, 17-6493
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Puckett, a Nashville homebuilder, was overloaded with debt. Banyan, a mortgage broker, and Puckett recruited straw buyers to purchase his unsold homes with loans funded by SunTrust and Fifth Third. For a fee…
Date: August 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-1314
Justia Opinion Summary: A 911 caller reported that two men had approached and tried to break into her parked car. Officers were dispatched. Because there was fresh snow, the officers followed a trail of snowprints to the Coffey home. Outside…
Date: August 5, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1727, 18-1373
Justia Opinion Summary: Hubbell worked as a FedEx parcel sorter. She alleges that her manager told her she should accept a demotion because “females are better suited to administrative roles and males are better suited to leadership roles,”…
Date: August 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2056
Justia Opinion Summary: Shyan Frye, age 13, was struck by a train while walking her bicycle over a rail crossing in Huron Township, Michigan. At the time of the accident, the train was traveling below the applicable speed limit and its horn…
Date: August 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3002
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced him as an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e). The Sixth Circuit agreed that…
Date: August 5, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3583
Justia Opinion Summary: Gonzalez, a citizen of Guatemala, surrendered himself at the U.S. border and requested asylum. Gonzalez alleges that he would be persecuted and tortured because of his status as a former taxi driver if he is removed to…
Date: August 2, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6059
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert was admitted to a nursing home multiple times. During his final stay, he fell out of bed, sustained a head injury, and later died. His estate sued in state court, alleging negligence, negligence per se, violations…
Date: August 1, 2019
Docket Number: 17-2444
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition for habeas relief. Petitioner raised two issues regarding whether the interrogating officer mislead him to believe that he did not have…
Date: August 1, 2019
Docket Numbers: 18-1144, 18-1315
Justia Opinion Summary: Hendrickson petitioned for review of the Board's finding that Hendrickson's statements constituted unfair labor practices because they coerced employees in the exercise of their rights under the National Labor Relations…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3667
Justia Opinion Summary: Buchanan was convicted of one count each of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The district court sentenced him to 50 months’ imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit vacated…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3798
Justia Opinion Summary: Moreno-Martinez, a citizen of Honduras, arrived in the U.S. in 1999, returned to Honduras in 2003, and reentered in 2004. In 2007, DHS issued “Notice to Appear” under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), ordering Moreno-Martinez…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: 18-6118
Justia Opinion Summary: Pineda-Duarte, a citizen of Mexico, has twice been removed for entering the U.S. without authorization. He returned again and went to Clark County. Kentucky State Police had under surveillance a farm that was suspected…
Date: July 30, 2019
Docket Number: 17-5488
Justia Opinion Summary: Owens covered his estranged wife’s nose and mouth with duct tape, hogtied her arms and legs behind her back, and left her alone in a shed to die. A Tennessee jury convicted Owens in 2003 of second-degree murder. The…
Date: July 30, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5786
Justia Opinion Summary: Hennessee pled guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The government sought an enhanced penalty under the Armed Career Criminal Act, section 924(e)(1) based on Hennessee’s three prior…
Date: July 29, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3373
Justia Opinion Summary: Novak created a “farcical Facebook account” that looked like the Parma Police Department’s official page. The page was up for 12 hours and published posts including a recruitment advertisement that “strongly encourag[ed]…
Date: July 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-2388
Justia Opinion Summary: Clayton, the father of Bailey’s child, was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. Bailey was present at Clayton’s trial when a victim, K.P., testified. K.P. and her mother reported that Bailey later threatened to…
Date: July 26, 2019
Docket Number: 18-3904
Justia Opinion Summary: Elyria Police officers, dispatched to the house, observed blood on the frame of an open window. Wiseman appeared near a vehicle parked in the driveway and stated that there was a handgun on the driveway. The officers…
Date: July 25, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-2270, 17-2281
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Montgomery was sexually assaulted and murdered in her Kalkaska, Michigan home. Months later, 22-year-old Peterson was in jail on an unrelated charge. Another inmate informed officers that Peterson had made an…
Date: July 25, 2019
Docket Numbers: 17-3866, 17-3867
Justia Opinion Summary: A 2004 Ohio statute regulated the "off-label" prescription of mifepristone (RU-486), which is commonly used in conjunction with misoprostol, to induce first-trimester abortions without surgery. Planned Parenthood…
Date: July 25, 2019
Docket Number: 17-3867
Date: July 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5478
Justia Opinion Summary: The Tennessee General Assembly alleged that the federal government violated the Spending Clause and the Tenth Amendment by enacting and implementing statutes that require states to provide Medicaid coverage to eligible…
Date: July 24, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5537
Justia Opinion Summary: A Colombian father brought his one-year-old son, TCG, to the United States, planning that TCG would stay with TCG’s Colombian mother, who was attempting to immigrate to the U.S. Mother was detained by INS in Texas, so…
Date: July 23, 2019
Docket Number: 18-5220
Justia Opinion Summary: Fairness Campaign e-mailed a press release, stating that it would protest at the KFB-sponsored annual Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair, describing KFB’s policies as “anti-LGBT, anti-teacher, anti-union,…
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