2020 Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 501 - 1000 of 1293
Date: August 3, 2020
Docket Number: 20-3717
Justia Opinion Summary: Two plaintiffs sought to qualify to run as independent candidates for President of the United States in the 2020 election. Ohio law requires them to file a nominating petition with at least 5,000 signatures of qualified…
Date: July 31, 2020
Docket Number: 20-3046
Justia Opinion Summary: After almost 20 years as a Reynoldsburg detective, Tye was charged with a federal drug trafficking offense. While awaiting a preliminary hearing, Tye committed suicide in his cell at the Delaware County Jail. In a suit…
Date: July 30, 2020
Docket Number: 18-4252
Justia Opinion Summary: Marqus, a citizen of Iraq, was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 2012 and later adjusted his status to Lawful Permanent Resident. In 2017, he was convicted of attempted criminal sexual conduct. In removal proceedings,…
Date: July 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4220
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal regulations require commercial truck drivers to undergo annual physicals to be “medically certified as physically qualified." A driver is not physically qualified if he has a clinical diagnosis of a respiratory…
Date: July 29, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1850
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Snow was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846, and conspiracy to kill a person while engaged in a conspiracy to distribute at…
Date: July 29, 2020
Docket Number: 19-2043
Justia Opinion Summary: Wilson, with the help of co-signer Allan, took out a student loan serviced by PHEAA. The two submitted a written request for forbearance on the loan and, in doing so, consented to calls to their cell phones. In October…
Date: July 27, 2020
Docket Number: 18-1204
Justia Opinion Summary: A Michigan jury convicted Stewart of the premeditated murder of his estranged wife, Venus. At trial Stewart’s accomplice testified that Stewart persuaded him to help by claiming that Venus was harming the couple’s…
Date: July 27, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1025
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, a jury convicted Nassiri of the second-degree murder of his wife. In 2018, Nassiri filed a 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas petition, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. A magistrate determined that Nassiri’s…
Date: July 27, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3395
Justia Opinion Summary: Police found Moore dead with a syringe in one hand, his cell phone beside him. Officers obtained a search warrant. The cellphone revealed text messages between Moore and “Joe,” indicating that Joe had delivered drugs to…
Date: July 27, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3908
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Melara, a citizen of El Salvador, entered the U.S. illegally and was removed after being apprehended. In 2016, Melara’s wife and children immigrated legally to the U.S. and became lawful permanent residents.…
Date: July 23, 2020
Docket Number: 18-4200
Justia Opinion Summary: Kesterson, a Kent State student-athlete, told her coach, Linder, that Linder’s son had raped her. Linder, a mandatory reporter under Kent State’s Title IX policy, never notified anyone. Linder stopped calling Kesterson…
Date: July 23, 2020
Docket Number: 20-5047
Justia Opinion Summary: The Tennessee Department of Health allowed two healthcare companies to merge into Ballad Health. Some of the board members of the resulting entity also had ties to another area healthcare organization, MEAC. The…
Date: July 21, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1500
Justia Opinion Summary: Trice entered a conditional guilty plea to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, reserving the right to challenge the warrant issued to search his apartment. Officers had entered the common area of his…
Date: July 20, 2020
Docket Number: 16-5569
Date: July 20, 2020
Docket Number: 16-5644
Date: July 20, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3922
Justia Opinion Summary: Skripkov worked as an event planner for the Chelyabinsk (Russia) regional government and served on a commission that oversaw government procurement activities. In 2010, regional leadership directed Skripkov to accept…
Date: July 20, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5100
Justia Opinion Summary: Police caught Maya and two accomplices smuggling 50 pounds of marijuana into Kentucky in a BMW transported on a car-hauling truck from another state. When they searched Maya’s home, police found a firearm in his bed near…
Date: July 17, 2020
Docket Number: 18-4175
Justia Opinion Summary: Carusone was convicted of felony murder exclusively on the theory—as the prosecution repeatedly emphasized in its closing argument at trial—that Carusone “plunged [a] knife into the victim’s heart.” That theory, as the…
Date: July 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1465
Justia Opinion Summary: Bourquin called the FBI to report a fabricated story, stating that “Raymond,” with whom he had been incarcerated, had described a plot to abduct, rape, sodomize, and set on fire a former federal prosecutor on August 10,…
Date: July 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3581
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, after being denied tenure, George filed a discrimination lawsuit against Youngstown State University and was reinstated as part of a settlement agreement. As soon as the university’s obligations under the…
Date: July 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4081
Justia Opinion Summary: The Harrises filed a voluntary Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. The bankruptcy court issued an automatic stay. The Harrises’ neighbors, the Cooleys, subsequently filed a lawsuit, seeking removal of an encroaching fence.…
Date: July 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-6116
Justia Opinion Summary: Barber pled guilty to conspiring to possess 50 or more grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base with the intent to distribute it, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(iii), 846, and was sentenced to 210 months…
Date: July 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-6372
Justia Opinion Summary: While incarcerated for a Kentucky state conviction, Dotson was convicted, in 1999, of federal crimes and sentenced to 322 months of imprisonment to run consecutively to his Kentucky sentence. The following year Dotson,…
Date: July 16, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5210
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal prison officials seized one of Callahan’s paintings and some mail-order photos on the ground that they violated the prison’s rules against possessing sexually explicit materials. After filing internal grievances…
Date: July 15, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3880
Justia Opinion Summary: Malone was adjusting the blade on his Craftsman table saw when the guard came off, causing injury to his fingers. Malone was later notified of a safety recall on the saw. Malone filed suit in an Ohio state court, against…
Date: July 15, 2020
Docket Number: 20-5178
Justia Opinion Summary: Weser and Goodson met while working with an animal rescue organization, Loudon County Friends of Animals (LCFOA). Weser allowed LCFORA to use her farm as a cat-rescue facility. After Weser and Goodson had a falling out,…
Date: July 14, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5658
Justia Opinion Summary: Garth pled guilty to possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). His sentencing guidelines range was originally 70-87 months’ imprisonment. Garth’s prior Tennessee…
Date: July 13, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3703
Justia Opinion Summary: Lorain Police Department officers, responding after hearing gunshots, spotted the man (Raymore) that McCollough (victim) had seen. They recovered a gun near where McCollough heard a “gun hitting the concrete,” ammunition…
Date: July 10, 2020
Docket Number: 17-1918
Justia Opinion Summary: Ashrafkhan came to the U.S. in 1991 after receiving a scholarship to study at Michigan State University. He earned a Ph.D. with a research focus on pathology and the genetics of cancer. In 2006, he founded Compassionate…
Date: July 10, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4076
Justia Opinion Summary: Kilic, a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a lawful permanent U.S. resident. A Michigan court sentenced Kilic to five to 20 years of imprisonment for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, making her deportable, 8…
Date: July 10, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5719
Justia Opinion Summary: Under its replacement-cost homeowner insurance contracts, State Farm calculated its payment obligations by estimating the amount it would cost to repair or replace damaged property and subtracting depreciation and the…
Date: July 10, 2020
Docket Number: 19-6163
Justia Opinion Summary: Fugate sold stolen firearms and other property that he acquired from co-defendants conducting thefts from automobiles across Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Authorities recovered 25 firearms from Fugate’s…
Date: July 9, 2020
Docket Number: 18-1672
Justia Opinion Summary: McReynolds and 17 codefendants were charged under federal drug laws. McReynolds was charged only under 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846. Only McReynolds went to trial. He admitted selling drugs but argued that he was not a…
Date: July 8, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3718
Justia Opinion Summary: Hargett, born in 1965, has a high-school education and previously worked as a semi-truck driver, municipal worker, maintenance mechanic, and industrial cleaner. He last worked in March 2015. Hargett applied for…
Date: July 7, 2020
Docket Number: 18-6210
Justia Opinion Summary: Firefighters, including Sparks, responded to a fire at the Pritchard residence. Sparks lost consciousness and died days later. Sparks suffered from coronary disease, hypertension, and diabetes and had not been taking his…
Date: July 7, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4020
Justia Opinion Summary: Koger, an inmate of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC), is a practicing Rastafarian. Between 2006 and 2018, Koger made several religious-practice accommodation requests, including requests to…
Date: July 6, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1027
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenney, an Aspen plant manager, resigned but returned seven years later as a production manager. Employee turnover sharply increased. Dozens of employees said they quit because of Kenney; two formal complaints were…
Date: July 2, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1116
Justia Opinion Summary: Igboba was convicted on 18 counts under 18 U.S.C. 286, 18 U.S.C. 1343, 18 U.S.C. 287, and 18 U.S.C. 1028A(a)(1), (b), and (c)(5), based on his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the government by preparing and…
Date: July 2, 2020
Docket Number: 20-1594
Justia Opinion Summary: Proponents of a criminal-justice reform initiative that they seek to place on the ballot for the 2020 Michigan general election sued state officials, who continued to strictly enforce the signature requirement for…
Date: July 1, 2020
Docket Number: 17-6024
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Hugueley stabbed correctional counselor Steed 36 times, stopping only after his homemade weapon broke off. Hugueley testified that he had planned the attack because Steed “had a smart ass mouth.” The jury…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: 17-2267
Justia Opinion Summary: Davenport, convicted of first-degree murder after a jury trial in Michigan state court. He was visibly shackled at the waist, wrist, and ankles during trial. Davenport’s right hand was uncuffed and there was a privacy…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4214
Justia Opinion Summary: Darby notified her Childvine supervisor that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was scheduled for a double mastectomy. Mayhugh expressed doubt about whether Childvine would allow Darby to remain employed when…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19-6180
Justia Opinion Summary: Ware was convicted in 1997 of several federal drug offenses and sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment. At the time, adherence to the federal sentencing guidelines was mandatory; the jury did not make any drug amount…
Date: June 29, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3342
Justia Opinion Summary: After a “very public complaint” by a female student, Oberlin instructed its faculty that they should “[b]elieve” students who report sexual assault. Professor Raimondo became Oberlin’s Title IX Coordinator, stating she…
Date: June 26, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1841
Justia Opinion Summary: Small, a Michigan prisoner, pro se, filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 complaint, alleging that, without provocation, Officer Brock several times brandished a knife, threatened to kill Small, and motioned in a manner suggesting how…
Date: June 26, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1893
Justia Opinion Summary: Byers received notice from Chase Bank that IRS Agent Conroy had requested information in connection with the IRS’s investigation into her then-husband. The notice stated that “[t]he requested information includes…
Date: June 26, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3469
Justia Opinion Summary: Technica makes high-end audio equipment and claimed tax credits for increasing research activities under 26 U.S.C. 41 for several tax years. The R&D tax credit is available when taxpayers increase certain research…
Date: June 26, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4013
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, 15-year-old Valadez Bonilla entered the U.S. illegally to be with his father. Months later, police charged him with drunk and disorderly conduct. Immigration authorities took custody of Valadez, then released…
Date: June 25, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1003
Justia Opinion Summary: Three employees and a customer were in the Coldwater, Michigan store when two men, their faces obscured, entered. One pointed a semi-automatic weapon while the other locked the front door. The men led the victims from…
Date: June 24, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1365
Justia Opinion Summary: General’s clinicians perform services in long-term care facilities. General bills Medicare under 42 U.S.C. 1395. A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contractor, AdvanceMed, initiated audits in 2002 after…
Date: June 23, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3356
Justia Opinion Summary: In an infamous 2009 incident, the state of Ohio tried to execute death-row inmate Broom by way of lethal injection but was forced to abandon the effort when the execution team concluded—two hours into the process—that it…
Date: June 23, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3724
Date: June 23, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3742
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Flowers was charged with possessing with intent to distribute over 50 grams of crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A); because Flowers had two prior felony drug convictions, his minimum sentence was life in…
Date: June 19, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1935
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3452
Justia Opinion Summary: Plain-clothes Euclid officers approached Wright’s parked SUV with weapons drawn. Thinking he was being robbed, Wright, an African-American, tried to back up. Officers flashed their badges. Wright stopped the SUV. …
Date: June 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-2388
Justia Opinion Summary: Each Domino’s pizza franchise is an independently owned and managed business with a separate legal identity. Domino’s allegedly required its franchisees to agree not to solicit or hire employees from other franchises…
Date: June 15, 2020
Docket Number: 18-1751
Justia Opinion Summary: Detroit police discovered Ralston dead in her home, with multiple stab wounds, plus “defensive-type” cuts and bruises. Ralston was clutching long brown hair, which was never matched to any person. Blood was found…
Date: June 12, 2020
Docket Number: 19-6106
Justia Opinion Summary: In February 2018, a confidential informant purchased 14.18 grams of methamphetamine from West for $300 in a Walmart restroom. Two months later, the same confidential informant met West inside a Meijer restroom and paid…
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1716
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3092
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Circuit affirmed Dunnican's convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g); possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(D); and carrying a…
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3984
Justia Opinion Summary: Cook sold variable annuities on behalf of Ohio National, under a contract between Ohio National and a broker-dealer, Triad. Ohio National paid commissions on the previously sold annuities to Triad, which in turn paid…
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: 20-3447
Justia Opinion Summary: Inmates housed in the low-security Elkton Correctional Institution, on behalf of themselves and others, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241 to obtain release from custody to limit their exposure to the COVID-19 virus.…
Date: June 8, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3489
Justia Opinion Summary: Garcia illegally entered the U.S. days before his eighteenth birthday and was found to be an “unaccompanied alien child.” Over a year later, Garcia applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the…
Date: June 8, 2020
Docket Number: 19-4241
Date: June 5, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1610
Justia Opinion Summary: For more than 60 years, Line 5 has carried oil from northwestern Wisconsin, across Michigan's Upper Peninsula, across the Straits of Mackinac, through the Lower Peninsula, ending in southwestern Ontario. The Clean Water…
Date: June 5, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1610
Date: June 5, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3236
Justia Opinion Summary: Smith was indicted for knowingly and intentionally distributing a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). The government filed a notice that Smith was subject to an increased…
Date: June 3, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-1422, 19-1166, 19-1292
Justia Opinion Summary: Confidential informants told Grand Rapids DEA agents that brothers Phillips and Lee bought and sold kilogram-level quantities of heroin and cocaine in Grand Rapids, Benton Harbor, and Kalamazoo. The investigators…
Date: June 3, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1906
Justia Opinion Summary: Over four months, Woodson and his accomplices targeted 14 Jared stores in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Illinois, and New Jersey. While inside a Jared store, Woodson would ask a clerk to see a diamond. An…
Date: June 3, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3646
Justia Opinion Summary: Holloway, the qui tam relator, sued Heartland Hospice and related entities under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729-3733, for orchestrating a corporate-wide scheme to submit false claims for payments from…
Date: June 2, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5516
Justia Opinion Summary: In the first trimester of pregnancy, an abortion may be performed by using medication or by using suction to remove the contents of the uterus. Starting around 15 weeks of pregnancy, physicians must use the dilation and…
Date: June 2, 2020
Docket Number: 20-1298
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Alam pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud for his role in a roughly $8,000,000 Medicare kickback scheme. He received a 101-month sentence. Alam, now 64, suffers from obesity, poorly…
Date: June 2, 2020
Docket Number: 20-1352
Justia Opinion Summary: In a consolidated putative class action based on the Flint Water Crisis, the defendants include government officials from the State of Michigan, the City of Flint, state agencies, and private engineering companies. While…
Date: June 1, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-1590, 19-1706
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Boulding was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute, 50 grams or more of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A)(iii), and possession with intent to…
Date: June 1, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3117
Justia Opinion Summary: Davis sought relief under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. She had fewer than $39,000 in assets but more than $200,000 in debt--more than $189,000 was unsecured. Chapter 13 allows Davis to satisfy her unsecured debts…
Date: May 29, 2020
Docket Number: 18-6185
Justia Opinion Summary: While pursuing an outstanding warrant for Buie, Columbia police officers learned that Buie had recently pawned firearms. Viewing surveillance footage from the shops, police saw Buie in possession of a rifle and a…
Date: May 29, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5759
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Richardson pled guilty to multiple federal crimes involving crack cocaine. Federal law then punished crack-cocaine offenses much more severely than powder-cocaine offenses. The district court sentenced…
Date: May 27, 2020
Docket Number: 18-4203
Justia Opinion Summary: Perez-Rodriguez, a citizen of Mexico, was ordered removed in June 2016. He reentered the country days later and was arrested and convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1546 for reentry after deportation and false personation in…
Date: May 26, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5849
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Smithers pleaded guilty to two aiding-and-abetting counts involving cocaine. The government had notified him that it would seek life imprisonment because he had four prior “felony drug offenses,” 21 U.S.C.…
Date: May 26, 2020
Docket Number: 20-3526
Justia Opinion Summary: The Plaintiffs claimed that Ohio’s COVID-19 restrictions and stay-at-home orders have made it impossibly difficult for them to meet existing requirements for initiatives to secure a place on the November ballot, in…
Date: May 22, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-1533, 19-1425, 19-1472, 19-1477
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014-2015, Flint and Michigan state officials caused, sustained, and covered up the poisoning of a community with lead- and legionella-contaminated water after the city began delivering Flint River water to its…
Date: May 22, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3254
Justia Opinion Summary: On October 27, 2010, Spears drove Smith and Chandler to Cincinnati to buy drugs. Chandler left the car and returned, stating that “his man was coming.” The men then heard a voice: “Chandler, where’s my money[?]” Smith…
Date: May 20, 2020
Docket Number: 18-5091
Justia Opinion Summary: Over a six-week period, Porter robbed nine different Louisville-area businesses, often using a pistol-grip shotgun. Porter eventually pled guilty to nine counts of Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm during and in…
Date: May 19, 2020
Docket Number: 18-3500
Justia Opinion Summary: Maria, a 33-year-old citizen of Guatemala, is a member of a Mayan indigenous group. She never attended school and cannot read or write. Maria lives in Nashville and works at a hotel. Maria is married to Juan who…
Date: May 18, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3417
Justia Opinion Summary: Guzman crossed the border as a teenager in 1998 and has never returned to Mexico. In 2014, Guzman was served with notice of removal proceedings. Guzman applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the…
Date: May 18, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5143
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2013, Lexington police tracked the source of a child pornography video to a Clark County IP address. Deputy Murray obtained a subpoena and identified Jones as the subscriber associated with the IP address.…
Date: May 18, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5156
Justia Opinion Summary: UK freshman Doe reported two rapes. After the first report, UK’s Title IX Office issued a no-contact order to the male student (John) and investigated. Doe reported subsequent encounters with John. The Office…
Date: May 15, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1075
Justia Opinion Summary: Stermer was charged with killing her husband by setting him and their house on fire. At trial, the Michigan prosecutor used a fire expert to support its claim but Stermer’s counsel never retained or consulted with an…
Date: May 15, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5281
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. Because he had a prior felony drug conviction, he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, even though…
Date: May 15, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-5319, 19-5320, 19-5347
Justia Opinion Summary: Rutherford County, Tennessee law enforcement officials raided stores selling legal cannabidiol (CBD) products and arrested their owners. All charges against the owners were eventually dismissed and expunged. Plaintiffs,…
Date: May 14, 2020
Docket Number: 18-1691
Justia Opinion Summary: T.R., in the seventh grade, met with the school principal, Gill-Williams. T.R. told Gill-Williams that she had been thinking about suicide for a month, stating. that “things at home like guns and knives" made her "want…
Date: May 14, 2020
Docket Number: 19-6282
Justia Opinion Summary: Enchant produces a holiday-themed light show, which it exhibits across the U.S. and Canada. “Enchant Christmas,” features large three-dimensional sculptures fitted with lights, including sculptures of polar bears, deer,…
Date: May 13, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1555
Justia Opinion Summary: Sergeant Faith of the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team, tasked with arresting “Marvin Seales a/k/a Roderick Siner,” met Officer Zberkot at a food processing plant. A manager led them to Seales. Seales protested, “You…
Date: May 12, 2020
Docket Number: 18-3913
Justia Opinion Summary: Freeman pleaded guilty to felony murder in 2001. An Ohio trial court sentenced Freeman to 15 years to life imprisonment, followed by post-release control for the maximum period allowable. Freeman failed to appeal. After…
Date: May 11, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1687
Justia Opinion Summary: Babcock joined the Michigan National Guard in 1970 and became a dual-status technician “a Federal civilian employee” who “is assigned to a civilian position as a technician” while maintaining membership in the National…
Date: May 11, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1959
Justia Opinion Summary: The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services contracts out most of its fostering and adoption services to private child-placing agencies (CPAs), which perform home evaluations of prospective adoptive and foster…
Date: May 11, 2020
Docket Number: 20-5465
Justia Opinion Summary: Kentucky Governor Beshear, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, prohibited “[a]ll mass gatherings,” including faith-based events.” The order excepts “normal operations at airports, bus and train stations, . . . shopping…
Date: May 8, 2020
Docket Number: 18-4081
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers discovered J.H. deceased in her home with drug paraphernalia and .58 grams of fentanyl. Text messages in J.H.’s cellphone indicated that she had attempted to buy or had bought drugs from Jeffries earlier…
Date: May 7, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1827
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Foreman pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute cocaine powder, and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug…
Date: May 6, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1724
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Smith was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of powder or 50 grams or more of cocaine base (crack cocaine); possession with intent to distribute 50…
Date: May 6, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3212
Justia Opinion Summary: Lake manufactures steel-framed buildings. In June 2016, in Akron, two Lake employees were working atop the steel frame of a partially completed building, 28 feet above the ground. The employees were wearing safety…
Date: May 6, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5015
Justia Opinion Summary: At Moody’s trial, the government produced a video of Moody cooking crack on his stove and waving a handgun while he mused about life in “the game” (drug trafficking). The court ruled that most of the video was…
Date: May 4, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1992
Justia Opinion Summary: Canton Police received a 911 call from Andrews, who stated that his fiance, White, had physically attacked him. Officers arrested White. Andrews later took White's medications to the jail; a “KOP” policy allows inmates…
Date: May 4, 2020
Docket Number: 19-2127
Justia Opinion Summary: The Bateses lost their condominium through a nonjudicial foreclosure. They claim the condo complex’s management company and its law firm violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which generally defines “debt…
Date: May 4, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5150
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1960, the Everly Brothers (Don and Phil) recorded, released, and copyrighted "Cathy’s Clown" and two other songs (the Compositions), granting the copyrights to Acuff-Rose. The original copyrights listed Phil and Don…
Date: May 4, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5861
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Hill, a principal of Meridian and the other principals sold Meridian to CMCO; the former Meridian principals were to work for CMCO. In 2012, Hill accepted employment with CMCO’s competitor, Peoples. CMCO filed…
Date: May 4, 2020
Docket Number: 20-5427
Justia Opinion Summary: Kentucky Governor Beshear issued a COVID-19 order, prohibiting “[a]ll mass gatherings,” including "community, civic, public, leisure, faith-based, or sporting events.” It excepts “normal operations at airports, bus and…
Date: May 1, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3410
Justia Opinion Summary: Cincinnati officers Scott and Moore responded to a reported incident of menacing. Two people alleged that Quandavier had driven by their home that night and threatened to kill them and that Quandavier carried guns.…
Date: April 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3287
Justia Opinion Summary: The DEA had been surveilling Benton and Merida. Merida went inside Benton’s home carrying four kilograms of powder cocaine. Moments later, Merida exited and drove away. DEA agents stopped and searched Merida’s car and…
Date: April 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3906
Justia Opinion Summary: Lemon asked a coworker for an Advil, explaining that he hurt his neck by “turn[ing] his head.” Later, he asked another coworker to cover his shift, stating that he hurt his neck at home. From the hospital, Lemon texted…
Date: April 30, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-5747, 19-5751
Justia Opinion Summary: Witnesses told Memphis police that Ward had pulled up in a car, had fired shots at individuals gathered outside, then got out of the car and continued shooting. People returned fire. The witnesses directed the officers…
Date: April 24, 2020
Docket Number: 18-5356
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, a jury convicted Brown as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g) The Armed Career Criminal Act increases the sentence for felons who possess firearms from a 10-year maximum to a 15-year minimum if…
Date: April 24, 2020
Docket Number: 20-5408
Justia Opinion Summary: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of Tennessee issued “shelter-in-place” orders. On April 8, 2020, the Governor ordered that “[a]ll healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities ... postpone…
Date: April 23, 2020
Docket Numbers: 18-1855, 18-1871
Justia Opinion Summary: Students at several of Detroit’s worst-performing public schools were subject to poor conditions within their classrooms, missing or unqualified teachers, physically dangerous facilities, and inadequate books and…
Date: April 23, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-2399, 19-2398
Justia Opinion Summary: Winburn represented himself at his trial for armed robbery, home invasion, and conspiracy. Based on Winburn’s disruptive behavior, the judge removed him from the courtroom and revoked Winburn’s permission to represent…
Date: April 22, 2020
Docket Number: 18-5840
Justia Opinion Summary: Queen, a Bowling Green firefighter, 2011-2016, was subject to harassment because he is an atheist. According to Queen, he was forced to participate in Bible studies; his co-workers and supervisors badgered him regarding…
Date: April 22, 2020
Docket Number: 19-2469
Justia Opinion Summary: Dowl pleaded guilty to presenting false tax returns, 18 U.S.C. 286. He received a sentence of 30 months of imprisonment plus 24 months of supervised release. On supervised release, Dowl was charged with four new state…
Date: April 21, 2020
Docket Numbers: 18-2199, 18-2200
Justia Opinion Summary: The Twenty-first Amendment permits the states to regulate the sales of alcohol within their borders. Michigan is among several states with a three-tier system that forbids alcohol producers (first tier) to sell directly…
Date: April 21, 2020
Docket Number: 18-3819
Justia Opinion Summary: Sumlin was convicted of the distribution of drugs that caused the 2015 death of Carrie Dobbins, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), which carries enhanced penalty provisions. The Sixth Circuit affirmed his convictions and…
Date: April 21, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-3071, 19-3070
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Fowler pled guilty to possession of child pornography and violations of the conditions of his supervised release from a previous conviction for the same. In addition to possessing child pornography, Fowler had…
Date: April 17, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5160
Justia Opinion Summary: The Spriggs’ bank account was established to receive social security checks. The Spriggs’ great-grandson, Vance, filled out an application in Mr. Spriggs’s name for a debit card to draw on the checking account. Mr.…
Date: April 15, 2020
Docket Number: 17-4118
Justia Opinion Summary: A masked gunman attempted to rob a Columbus Ohio restaurant. Employees escaped and flagged down a police officer. A man, matching the robber's description, discarded distinctive clothing items as he ran away. A pocket…
Date: April 15, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1037
Justia Opinion Summary: In a 2006 Ypsilanti drive-by shooting, two teenagers, inside a mobile home, were killed. Four people, including Tackett, were charged. Tacket was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of…
Date: April 15, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-2420, 19-2377
Justia Opinion Summary: Electors voted to establish a commission of citizens to adopt district boundaries for the Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representatives and U.S. Congress, every 10 years. Article IV, section 6 of the amended…
Date: April 15, 2020
Docket Number: 20-3075
Justia Opinion Summary: The counties filed suit in the Northern District of Ohio against manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. More than 2,700 other opioid cases have been transferred there by the Judicial Panel on…
Date: April 14, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1831
Justia Opinion Summary: Hoffman owns the historic Tremaine Building in Cleveland, Ohio. Over a decade ago, Hoffman donated an easement in the façade of the building and certain airspace restrictions associated with the building to the American…
Date: April 14, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3545
Date: April 14, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3606
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Allen pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. The court determined that Allen was a career offender under U.S.S.G. 4B1.1 and sentenced him to 210 months’ imprisonment. In 2019, Allen…
Date: April 13, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-2033, 19-2168
Justia Opinion Summary: Under its collective bargaining agreement (CBA), Ford withholds union membership dues if an employee joins the union and signs a dues checkoff authorization. Resignation of membership does not extinguish the dues…
Date: April 9, 2020
Docket Numbers: 18-6270, 19-5410
Justia Opinion Summary: A “collective action” under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 216(b), alleged that Pilot, a nationwide chain of travel centers, alleged overtime violations. Pilot asserted that the claims are covered by an…
Date: April 8, 2020
Docket Number: 18-1821
Justia Opinion Summary: Grand Rapids police received tips from an organization that receives anonymous information from the public, describing vehicles May-Shaw was using to transport drugs and a specific bag where he kept drugs, money, and a…
Date: April 7, 2020
Docket Number: 18-1413
Justia Opinion Summary: Reiner’s convictions arose from a 2011 Macomb County home invasion. Eisenhardt, age 69, was stabbed in the neck; jewelry was taken from her house, including a ring from Eisenhardt’s finger. Eisenhardt survived but…
Date: April 3, 2020
Docket Numbers: 18-1976, 18-1471, 18-1975
Justia Opinion Summary: Beginning in 1965, Honeywell and the labor union negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). Honeywell agreed to pay “the full [healthcare benefit] premium or subscription charge applicable to the…
Date: April 2, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3771
Justia Opinion Summary: Twumasi-Ankrah is an Uber driver. Uber requested a background check on Twumasi-Ankrah from, Checkr, a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f). Checkr learned from the Ohio…
Date: April 1, 2020
Docket Number: 18-6066
Justia Opinion Summary: State Trooper King saw Lott’s vehicle slow down on I-75 as it came into view; Lott was driving with “arms locked out.” King interpreted that as a sign of nervousness. King followed Lott for three-fourths of a mile in the…
Date: April 1, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3019
Justia Opinion Summary: A fifth-grade student, C.T., lit a match during the bus ride home from an Ohio elementary school. The students sat in assigned seats, with the youngest students at the front of the bus. School administrators moved C.T.…
Date: April 1, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5607
Justia Opinion Summary: Detective Shockley, investigating whether methamphetamine was being sold at Alexander's mother's house, learned that Alexander’s driver’s license was suspended. Shockley saw Alexander drive away, stopped him and saw a…
Date: March 31, 2020
Docket Number: 18-2316
Justia Opinion Summary: Wallace participated in Oakwood’s employee welfare benefit plan, which provided long-term disability (LTD) benefits, subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001. Effective…
Date: March 31, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1515
Justia Opinion Summary: Torres was a long-time employee at Vitale’s Italian Restaurants located throughout Western Michigan. Although Torres and other Vitale’s employees often worked more than 40 hours per week, they allege that they were not…
Date: March 31, 2020
Docket Number: 19-2083
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2017, a jury found Austin guilty of drug and gun crimes. The district court sentenced him to 255 months of imprisonment plus five years of supervised release. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. While Austin’s appeal was…
Date: March 31, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3716
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s father is a Pakistani citizen, previously a legal permanent resident, who was removed from the United States. Plaintiff sought a declaration that his father’s removal was unconstitutional as applied to…
Date: March 30, 2020
Docket Numbers: 18-3239, 18-3238
Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs are shareholders in mutual funds. JPMIM is paid a fee for managing the Funds’ securities portfolio and researching potential investments. The plaintiffs sued under the Investment Company Act (ICA), 15…
Date: March 30, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5208
Justia Opinion Summary: A family of two parents and five children alleged that social workers employed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services violated their Fourth Amendment rights by subjecting the children to warrantless…
Date: March 27, 2020
Docket Number: 18-6177
Justia Opinion Summary: David and his parents, Don and Martha, were named as defendants in an unfair competition lawsuit brought by MarketGraphics, a company with which Don had previously been associated. Before MarketGraphics could proceed to…
Date: March 27, 2020
Docket Number: 19-1337
Justia Opinion Summary: Recover Agents went to the home of Jiries and Yasmeen Abu-Joudeh to repossess their car. An altercation ensued. According to Yasmeen, an agent pushed her. The agents say that Jiries asked Yasmeen to get a gun and hit her…
Date: March 27, 2020
Docket Number: 19-3278
Justia Opinion Summary: Craig was involved in a high-speed shootout in the streets of Akron, Ohio and was apprehended wearing a shoulder holster and with gunshot residue on his hands. His DNA was identified on a firearm discovered in the…
Date: March 27, 2020
Docket Numbers: 19-3494, 19-3501, 19-3503, 19-3504, 19-3505, 19-3506, 19-3507, 19-3508, 19-3510, 19-3511, 19-3512, 19-3513
Justia Opinion Summary: Since 2010, the Northern District of Ohio has been the home of multidistrict litigation involving a DePuy medical device used in hip-replacement surgeries that, at its peak, contained more than 8,500 cases. In 2013, the…
Date: March 27, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5457
Date: March 27, 2020
Docket Number: 20-1098
Justia Opinion Summary: Michigan filed suit, alleging that AmeriGas, Michigan's largest provider of residential propane, violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA). Section 10 of the MCPA, Mich. Comp. Laws 445.910, titled “class…
Date: March 26, 2020
Docket Number: 18-2267
Justia Opinion Summary: Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute oxycodone and was sentenced to 118 months of prison plus six years of supervised release. Although required to serve his supervised release in Kentucky, Marshall moved…
Date: March 26, 2020
Docket Number: 19-5539
Justia Opinion Summary: Armes pled guilty to five counts of producing, two counts of distributing, and one count of possessing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a), 2252A(a)(2), 2252A(a)(5)(B). The images showed him molesting two members of…
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