2023 Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1 - 500 of 891
Date: December 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2957
Justia Opinion Summary: The case in question was brought before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The plaintiff, Christine Boardman, was the former president of Local 73, a regional affiliate of the Service Employees…
Date: December 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3084
Justia Opinion Summary: Erik Bertaud, who suffered serious injuries when a tree branch fell on his head, applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income from the Social Security Administration. His application was…
Date: December 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3306
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves Daryl McGhee, who was charged with several federal offenses related to possession of a firearm and cocaine. The charges arose after the police received a 911 call from McGhee's wife reporting domestic…
Date: December 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1929
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court's decision to grant summary judgment in favor of the defendants on all federal claims made by the plaintiff. The…
Date: December 20, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1757
Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Timothy Bell, who, after serving a sentence for sexual assault, remained incarcerated in an Illinois prison for over 16 years under the state’s Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. Bell sued two…
Date: December 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1972
Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the plaintiff-appellant, Chris Martin, who suffered a back injury in June 2016 and stopped working. He sought medical attention in February 2018 and was diagnosed with a spine disorder in May 2018.…
Date: December 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2665
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant-appellant, Rickey Claybron, was convicted on counts of Hobbs Act robbery and firearm-related offenses. He appealed his sentence, arguing that Hobbs Act robbery did not qualify as a predicate crime of…
Date: December 19, 2023
Docket Number: 23-2172
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed the sentencing of Senque Bingham, who had pleaded guilty to drug offenses. Bingham had requested "safety-valve" relief under 18 U.S.C. §…
Date: December 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2863
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit examined the constitutionality of Cook County, Illinois's use of cameras to record holding cell toilets in courthouses throughout the county. The…
Date: December 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3024
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the defendant, Michael Angelo Tovar, was found guilty of various drug and firearm charges and was sentenced to 101 months in prison. He appealed his sentence, raising three issues: one surrounding his…
Date: December 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3275
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard by the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit, Kimberly Barnes-Staples applied for a Real Estate Director position with the General Services Administration (GSA). However, the GSA hired…
Date: December 18, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1303
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard in the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit, the defendant, Henry Underwood, had chosen to represent himself in a trial where he was charged with being a felon in possession of a…
Date: December 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1180
Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Nicholas Vichio, a warehouse supervisor at US Foods, Inc. who was terminated after the arrival of a new vice president of operations, Charles Zadlo. Vichio, who had previously received positive…
Date: December 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2472
Justia Opinion Summary: The case concerns Carlos Williams, a former employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS), who alleged that the USPS terminated his employment for discriminatory reasons. Williams, a Black man who identifies as a…
Date: December 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2820
Date: December 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3264
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the disorderly conduct convictions of Jamison Krahenbuhl, an Air Force veteran. Krahenbuhl had been convicted following an incident at the Milo…
Date: December 13, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3230
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the defendant, Miguel Navarrete, a felon, was charged with possessing a firearm, which he could not lawfully do. Navarrete was arraigned, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced by video under the CARES Act,…
Date: December 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3308
Justia Opinion Summary: Inmate Chadrick Fulks filed a lawsuit against several prison officials at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, alleging constitutionally deficient medical care, the use of excessive force, and a sexual…
Date: December 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2383
Justia Opinion Summary: Kibambe Mwendapeke, a permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of the Congo, was convicted of complicity to robbery in the first degree under Kentucky law. Later, the Department of Homeland Security…
Date: December 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2808
Justia Opinion Summary: This is a dispute regarding a claim for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income under the Social Security Act, brought by the plaintiff-appellant, Heather Tutwiler. The United States Court of…
Date: November 30, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1962
Date: November 28, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2287
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal prisoner Sargeant filed a grievance against a prison official, Cruze, after she commented on his sexual preferences and refused to give him books that he had ordered. When Sargeant's case manager, Barfield,…
Date: November 27, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1424
Justia Opinion Summary: Fliss, Wojciak, and Barr took out a $200,000 bank loan for their jointly owned companies. Each man personally guaranteed the loan. When the borrowers defaulted, the bank obtained a state court $208,639.95 consent…
Date: November 27, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1097
Date: November 27, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1167
Date: November 22, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1609
Date: November 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2566
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) operates schools for military families. Smithson has worked as a DODEA science teacher since 2004. Smithson’s medical conditions include migraines, intracranial…
Date: November 17, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3191
Date: November 16, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1108
Justia Opinion Summary: Escorted by an officer who had followed him from the scene of a shooting, Hudson entered the Medical Center seeking emergency treatment for a gunshot wound. The officer stood outside Hudson’s hospital room. Medical staff…
Date: November 14, 2023
Docket Number: 20-3508
Justia Opinion Summary: Fitschen was diagnosed with advanced cancer and stopped working. In 2000 the Social Security Administration (SSA) found Fitschen eligible for disability benefits. Fitschen returned to work in 2001 but continued to…
Date: November 13, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1042
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wisconsin Constitution, Article I, section 26, protects the right to hunt. Since 1990, Wisconsin has had a special statute making it a crime to harass hunters in various ways; a 2016 amendment makes it a crime to…
Date: November 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2135
Justia Opinion Summary: Two men buzzed a neighboring unit and explained they were trying to contact Apartment 7’s resident. Neighbors admitted them but moments later heard gunshots. Neighbors called 9-1-1. Police saw bullet holes in Apartment…
Date: November 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2805
Justia Opinion Summary: Officers used a confidential source (CS) for two controlled methamphetamine buys from Deeren. The CS met Deeren at a gas station and went to 3243 Brouse Avenue in Dereen's car. The CS handed Deeren cash; Deeren entered…
Date: November 8, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1752
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Sweatt pleaded guilty to five counts of armed bank robbery. The district court ordered him to pay $20,038.52 under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 18 U.S.C. 3663A–3664. In the “Payment Schedule,” the…
Date: November 6, 2023
Docket Numbers: 21-3234, 21-3308
Justia Opinion Summary: Johnson, a Wisconsin company, merged with Tyco, an Irish company. The combined entity, Johnson International, is domiciled in Ireland. The merger's terms were disclosed in a joint proxy statement/prospectus filed with…
Date: November 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3010
Date: November 3, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1594
Date: November 3, 2023
Docket Numbers: 23-1793, 23-1353, 23-1825, 23-1826, 23-1827, 23-1828
Justia Opinion Summary: The Protect Illinois Communities Act, Pub. Act 102-1116 (effective January 2023) and three municipal laws regulate assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Act, which makes it…
Date: November 3, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1828
Date: November 1, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3224
Justia Opinion Summary: Pemberton sold methamphetamine to an undercover informant and pleaded guilty to distributing drugs, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). Ordinarily, distributing the quantity of drugs Pemberton admitted to distributing carries a 10-year…
Date: November 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2922
Justia Opinion Summary: Pfister and Evans dealt methamphetamine in Illinois. In 2016, they traveled to Colorado approximately 20 times to buy meth from Wright. After Evans sold several ounces to Heavener, officers searched Heavener’s home and…
Date: October 30, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3099
Justia Opinion Summary: Williams pled guilty to four counts under 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A); (b)(1)(B), based on his role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. The government portrayed Williams as a major supplier to…
Date: October 24, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1967
Justia Opinion Summary: The Shelbyville Post Office is the closest one to Ellison’s home and the largest in that area of Indiana. Ellison keeps a P.O. box at Shelbyville or her non-profit organization, which educates the public about…
Date: October 24, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-2445, 23-1900
Justia Opinion Summary: Vidal-Martinez, a non-citizen, was arrested three times for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. DHS detained him and initiated deportation. Vidal-Martinez filed a habeas petition, arguing that his detention was…
Date: October 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1202
Justia Opinion Summary: Nabozny received a letter at her Wisconsin home, offering to settle an unpaid credit-card debt. The letter summarized basic information about her debt: the creditor, the outstanding balance, the account number, and her…
Date: October 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2061
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Price pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced under the ACCA to 15 years’ imprisonment, in high-level security facilities. Price, as a gay man (before transitioning) and…
Date: October 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3070
Justia Opinion Summary: Prieto, a convicted felon, arranged several firearms transactions with a confidential source (CS). During the first transaction, which resulted in a completed sale, the CS informed Prieto that he was on parole and…
Date: October 23, 2023
Docket Numbers: 23-1530, 23-1530
Justia Opinion Summary: Pacilio and Bases were senior traders on the precious metals trading desk at Bank of America. While working together in 2010-2011, and at times separately before and after that period, they engaged in “spoofing” to…
Date: October 19, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1739
Justia Opinion Summary: Fieste was charged with threatening to assault and murder two federal judges, three former U.S. presidents, and the current President. She is currently incompetent to stand trial. Fieste's mental illness causes her to…
Date: October 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2211
Justia Opinion Summary: The DEA placed a tracking device on Tousis’s car. On June 2, agents believed that Tousis would go to Turner’s Aurora home to procure drugs. They watched Tousis enter Turner’s garage carrying a bag, and then leave…
Date: October 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2478
Justia Opinion Summary: Fuller, a VA medical technician, began treatment for mental disorders in 2016. Subsequently, a patient complained about how Fuller had treated him. Fuller received a written letter of counseling. Twice, a VA employee who…
Date: October 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2573
Justia Opinion Summary: Agbi, born and raised in Nigeria but a resident of the U.S. since 2016, acted as a middleman in a scheme to use fake online dating accounts to solicit hundreds of thousands of dollars from unwitting elderly people. Agbi…
Date: October 17, 2023
Docket Number: 23-2615
Justia Opinion Summary: Storme faced multiple charges of cyberstalking and unauthorized intrusion into a cell phone. He was ordered released on bond into the custody of his mother subject to conditions. He immediately attempted suicide. Months…
Date: October 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3219
Justia Opinion Summary: A supplier shipped substances containing detectable amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA from California to Indiana, where Medrano and others used the U.S. Post Office and a post office employee to distribute…
Date: October 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2905
Justia Opinion Summary: The Illinois Cable and Video Competition Law requires operators to obtain statewide authorization and become a “holder” and requires anyone who wants to provide cable or video service to obtain permission from state or…
Date: October 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2948
Justia Opinion Summary: Lumar caused a disturbance at a Chicago clinic. Called to the scene, police discovered that Lumar was wanted on an arrest warrant and took him into custody. About 19 hours later he committed suicide. His estate’s suit…
Date: October 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1463
Justia Opinion Summary: Venequip, a Venezuelan heavy-equipment supplier, sold and serviced products made by Illinois-based Caterpillar. Venequip’s dealership was governed by sales and service agreements with CAT Sàrl, Caterpillar’s Swiss…
Date: October 10, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1086
Justia Opinion Summary: Whitaker, an Illinois prisoner, had $573 when he filed a notice of appeal in his Section 1983 lawsuit; he subsequently spent most of his money at the prison commissary and on postage. The district court denied his…
Date: October 5, 2023
Docket Numbers: 21-3309, 22-1383
Justia Opinion Summary: NCR's customer engineers (CEs) service NCR devices in the field, working remotely. NCR instructed CEs to work only during their official shifts, prohibited off-the-clock work, and required CEs to record their time in an…
Date: October 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1775
Justia Opinion Summary: Willow purchased a house that needed repairs. Bids for the work exceeded $100,000. Renovations began in 2017 but soon halted. After several years passed, with the house remaining empty, the Village proposed its…
Date: October 4, 2023
Docket Number: 20-3273
Justia Opinion Summary: McMullen was convicted under Indiana law of possession of cocaine and marijuana. In preparation for sentencing, McMullen’s attorney, Lewis, said he “really didn’t do anything independently to develop any mitigation” and…
Date: October 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2434
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Nerio and her minor daughter sought admission to the U.S. without the required authorization. They applied for asylum and withholding of removal based on Nerio’s fear that her partner’s nephew, Walter, would…
Date: October 2, 2023
Docket Number: 23-2507
Justia Opinion Summary: Current and former policyholders filed a class action lawsuit in Illinois against Country Mutual and 46 of its current and former officers and directors. Every member of the proposed class is an Illinois citizen under…
Date: September 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3222
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Salem received a license to practice law in New York. He applied for but was denied a license to practice in Illinois, where he resides, but maintained an Illinois practice, from 2004-2019, by obtaining…
Date: September 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2050
Justia Opinion Summary: The 2019 Illinois Cannabis Regulation Act legalized the recreational use of cannabis and established a licensing system for cannabis dispensaries. Applications for the first licenses closed in 2020; by mid-2021 the…
Date: September 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2529
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell is an orthopedic trauma surgeon who invented numerous products such as bone substitutes and surgical devices. He, along with other inventors were shareholders in CelgenTek, a medical device firm. According to the…
Date: September 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2031
Justia Opinion Summary: Biggs served as interim principal of Burke Elementary School on an at-will basis. Under the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Transportation Policy, no CPS school employee may drive a student in a personal vehicle without…
Date: September 18, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1300
Date: September 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1780
Justia Opinion Summary: Conner was convicted in Indiana state court for three counts of felony drug dealing and maintaining a common nuisance. Conner qualified as a habitual offender and was sentenced to an aggregate term of 72 years in…
Date: September 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1950
Justia Opinion Summary: Since 2013, Home Chef has created and delivered meal kits. In 2014, Home Chef began using its “HC Home Mark,” covered by five federal trademark registrations. Home Chef later merged with Kroger, and now delivers meals…
Date: September 12, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3105
Date: September 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2131
Justia Opinion Summary: At his Broadway home, Barker sold a confidential informant 109.8 grams of methamphetamine; a month later, Barker sold the CI another 106.4 grams. Barker’s primary residence was on Havens. Officers obtained search…
Date: September 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1213
Justia Opinion Summary: Gnutek alleged that he was unlawfully terminated from his position as a Gaming Senior Special Agent with the Illinois Gaming Board in violation of Title VII, the First Amendment under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and the Illinois…
Date: September 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2349
Justia Opinion Summary: Tam participated in a scheme to launder funds from unlawful narcotics transactions by Mexican drug traffickers through bank accounts in China. In 2017, Tam participated in the transfer of around $1.4 million in…
Date: September 6, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2296
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2017, White participated in several Indianapolis commercial armed robberies, primarily as a lookout. He also assisted his coconspirators by selecting and staking out the targeted premises and providing supplies,…
Date: September 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1277
Justia Opinion Summary: C.B., a minor, suffers from generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and ADHD. During the 2017-2018 school year, the Brownsburg School Corporation determined that C.B. was eligible for accommodations under the…
Date: September 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1502
Justia Opinion Summary: When a Chicago jewelry store opened, Diggs and two others exited a Lexus SUV bearing Michigan license plates and entered the store with guns raised. They subdued and handcuffed the security guard and dragged a sales…
Date: September 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1973
Justia Opinion Summary: Uulu lived with his wife and children in Kyrgyzstan. He joined an opposition party. In 2013, Uulu attended a peaceful protest, during which police fired tear gas at the crowd and attacked protesters. They took Uulu to a…
Date: September 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2067
Justia Opinion Summary: Hirlston worked for several years as a Costco store's Optical Manager. Hirlston has life-long disabilities that make it hard for her to bend, walk, and stand. In 2015, Costco planned to remodel the optical department in…
Date: August 31, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1121
Justia Opinion Summary: Scanlon went on leave from his job as a Systems Administrator at McKesson. He requested accommodations to return to work; McKesson temporarily granted some, but not all, of them. Scanlon did not return to work but sought…
Date: August 31, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1425
Justia Opinion Summary: Patrick was working near the home of an on-and-off girlfriend when gang affiliates of the girlfriend’s current boyfriend–Freeman—shot at him. Patrick escaped and drove to his mother’s house. Patrick left the house to…
Date: August 31, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1639
Justia Opinion Summary: The National Police Association (NPA), a non-profit organization, describes its purpose as “educat[ing] supporters of law enforcement in how to help police departments accomplish their goals.” In 2018-2019, some police…
Date: August 31, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1817
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell was convicted of distributing heroin and fentanyl, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), and received a below-Guidelines sentence of 96 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Russell challenged one…
Date: August 30, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2945
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown’s credit-monitoring business used a “negative option feature” on its websites, offering visitors a free credit report but automatically enrolling them in a $29.94 monthly subscription when they applied for that…
Date: August 30, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2889
Justia Opinion Summary: Three sets of plaintiffs alleged price fixing in the broiler chicken market, including a class of end users–persons and entities who indirectly purchased certain types of broilers from the defendants or alleged…
Date: August 25, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-2334, 22-2333
Justia Opinion Summary: Until recently, under every McDonald’s franchise agreement, the franchise operator promised not to hire any person employed by a different franchise, or by McDonald’s itself, until six months after the last date that…
Date: August 25, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2458
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown injured his knee when he fell at his former prison. He received medical care and was placed on “special needs,” which included being assigned a lower bunk, a wheelchair, and crutches. Weeks later, Brown was…
Date: August 24, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2434
Justia Opinion Summary: Garcia provided logistical assistance while another man unloaded items from a secret compartment on an empty bus. The items were controlled substances. Based on his involvement in the affair, Garcia was convicted of…
Date: August 24, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3124
Justia Opinion Summary: Munoz, a citizen of Honduras, moved to Guatemala but never acquired lawful status there. She entered into a relationship with Mazariegos, with whom she had two daughters. Mazariegos began a relationship with another…
Date: August 23, 2023
Docket Number: 20-3202
Justia Opinion Summary: Cothron works at an Illinois White Castle restaurant where she must scan her fingerprint to access the computer system. With each scan, her fingerprint is collected and transmitted to a third-party vendor for…
Date: August 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2366
Justia Opinion Summary: FBI agents executing a search warrant at Kamkarian’s home seized computers, containing 12 videos and more than 46,000 images of child pornography. Kamkarian was released on bond and was required to participate in mental…
Date: August 23, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2424
Justia Opinion Summary: Skaggs was convicted in 2020 of producing and possessing child pornography. The indictment had included notice that the government intended to seek forfeiture of Skaggs’s property that was seized during the…
Date: August 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1124
Justia Opinion Summary: Cichocki called the police to report that her 15-year-old daughter, G.C., had been sexually assaulted by Garcia days earlier at a resort where the families were vacationing. Cichocki told Detective Posewitz that G.C.…
Date: August 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1892
Justia Opinion Summary: Midvale created an “instant quote” feature on their websites. Anyone who supplied basic identifying information could receive a quote for auto insurance. Each site would auto-fill some information, including the number…
Date: August 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2275
Justia Opinion Summary: Long was arrested for domestic battery. Police discovered a stolen firearm in his waistband and cocaine in plain view. Long pled guilty under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. His…
Date: August 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1861
Justia Opinion Summary: Hakim, a DuPage County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) SWAT officer, was accidentally shot by a colleague during a training exercise, using a Safariland “breaching” shotgun round. Breaching rounds assist in breaking down doors…
Date: August 18, 2023
Docket Numbers: 21-1482, 21-1672
Justia Opinion Summary: The FBI surveilled Jones and Schimenti, members of the same mosque, based on their pro-ISIS, violent social media posts. After several months, the FBI found no evidence of criminal activity but initiated contact between…
Date: August 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3217
Justia Opinion Summary: Hambrick, a black woman born in 1970, has worked at the Social Security Administration (SSA) for nearly 35 years. In 2016, her supervisor reassigned her. Hambrick remained a manager at the same pay scale and grade. …
Date: August 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1407
Justia Opinion Summary: In a suit filed in 2014 under the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601–19, Cook County claimed that the banks made credit too readily available to some borrowers, who defaulted, and then foreclosed on the loans in a way that…
Date: August 16, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2435
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Paris, a small, rural Kenosha County, Wisconsin community, enacted its “Sex Offender Residency Restrictions” ordinance, limiting where certain designated sex offenders could live within the town. The ordinance…
Date: August 16, 2023
Docket Number: 23-1412
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1678
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Coleman was convicted of conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), 846. Coleman was sentenced to the then-mandatory term of life imprisonment based on having at least two prior…
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2825
Justia Opinion Summary: Burns, working as a truck driver for a transportation company, made a delivery to the Bolingbrook, Illinois Sherwin-Williams store. Burns and a store employee used the company’s walkie—a hand-operated electric…
Date: August 15, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2835
Justia Opinion Summary: Indiana law allows 13 categories of voters, including “elderly” voters—those 65 or older--to vote by mail. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indiana Election Commission extended absentee-voting privileges to all…
Date: August 14, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2632
Justia Opinion Summary: Chaitoff sued under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681, alleging that Experian made a mistake when it omitted a fact from his credit report, then failed to correct its error. Chaitoff had signed an agreement…
Date: August 14, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-2846, 22-2786
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, the Forro children attended St. Augustine, a self-identified Catholic school in Hartford, Wisconsin. Wisconsin provides transportation benefits for parents who send their children to private sectarian schools,…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2288
Justia Opinion Summary: Unifund purchased Choice's defaulted consumer debt and hired the Kohn Law Firm, which sued Choice in state court on behalf of Unifund, seeking judgment in the amount of the debt plus “statutory attorney fees.” An…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1546
Justia Opinion Summary: Gunter and Grommet participated in a conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, including a controlled purchase of actual methamphetamine from Gunter by law enforcement agents. A September 17, 2019 indictment charged Gunter…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-1641, 22-1641
Justia Opinion Summary: The defendants each licensed computer code from Live Face for $328. Live Face then sued them for copyright infringement, seeking about $483,000 in damages. Live Face has roughly 200 copyright suits pending. After more…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2610
Justia Opinion Summary: Hoping to minimize her risk of suffering serious complications from future blood clots, Johnson underwent surgery to implant a retrievable intravascular filter–a medical device that is placed in the inferior vena cava to…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2802
Justia Opinion Summary: ShotSpotter devices alerted to possible gunshots on Chicago’s west side. Police officers began monitoring the area, using remote-controlled cameras, which had been positioned in high-crime locations. They saw a large…
Date: August 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1358
Justia Opinion Summary: Maranto pled guilty to distribution of child pornography. In 2014, after his release from prison, Maranto began serving his lifetime term of supervised release in Wisconsin. Maranto subsequently committed a new crime,…
Date: August 10, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1926
Justia Opinion Summary: Erlinger pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and was given an enhanced 15-year sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), based on his 1991 Illinois…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3010
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Castaneda was arrested for his role in a large-scale heroin conspiracy. Once released on bond, Castaneda fled and lived as a fugitive in Mexico for more than 20 years. He returned to the United States in 2019…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1540
Justia Opinion Summary: FSSolutions faxed Dr. Thalman several times to ask him to join its network of preferred medical providers and administer various employment screening and testing services to its clients. Thalman declined the invitation…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2012
Justia Opinion Summary: Hoops, which owned an NBA franchise sought a $10.7 million tax deduction for deferred compensation that it owed to two of its players at the close of the 2012 tax year, based on their performance during previous seasons.…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-2138, 22-1293
Justia Opinion Summary: Lee carried out a scheme to defraud the Chicago White Sox. With the help of two Sox employees, Lee obtained thousands of discounted and free game tickets and resold them online for a profit. He was eventually convicted…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2278
Justia Opinion Summary: Police responded to a 911 call from a gas station, and discovered Gamez, on probation for a robbery conviction, in possession of a Winchester rifle. Eight days earlier Gamez had removed his GPS-tracking ankle bracelet; a…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2393
Justia Opinion Summary: Gonzales had an altercation at a bar, then got into a car with Pedro (driving) and fired several shots from the car’s window toward the men, hitting one in the leg. Charged under state law with attempted first-degree…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3053
Justia Opinion Summary: Schmutzler, the owner and president of Jadair, was a pilot with decades of experience. Schmutzler applied to American National for an insurance policy on its Cessna airplane in 2019. The application listed Schmutzler as…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 19-2266
Justia Opinion Summary: Nichols, charged with sex trafficking, faced a life sentence. Two attorneys with extensive experience were appointed as defense counsel. Months later, Nichols filed a pro se motion, challenging their representation. …
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2416
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Indiana charged Crowell with 13 felony counts: four counts of Class A felony child molesting, four counts of Class B felony sexual misconduct with a minor, two counts of Level 5 felony incest, and one count each…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3021
Justia Opinion Summary: Singmuongthong describes himself as a tan-colored, Asian man of Laotian national origin. He worked as a correctional officer at Sheridan from 1998-2013, when he became a lieutenant at Sheridan. In 2016, he was promoted…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1214
Justia Opinion Summary: One week after Schmees started working for HC1.COM, the company eliminated her position and terminated her employment. Schmees sued, alleging that HC1 fraudulently induced her to join the company. HC1 moved to dismiss…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1239
Justia Opinion Summary: The Kailins called the Gurnee Police Department to report that their daughter had been the victim of possible criminal conduct. Officer Greer arrived at their house around 8 p.m. to follow up. Six seconds after Kailin…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-2280, 22-1086
Justia Opinion Summary: Wojciechowicz came to the U.S. in the 1980s. In 1999 he married a U.S. citizen, with whom he has two children. He became a lawful permanent resident in 2004. Wojciechowicz stole over $100,000 in connection with window…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2469
Justia Opinion Summary: Malhotra subleased a room in a fraternity house while attending the University of Illinois in 2021. The University prohibited students from permitting underage drinking in their residences. Because of the COVID-19…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2758
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Xiao taught mathematics for many years at Southern Illinois University. He also did academic work based in China, for which he received more than $100,000 in payments. An investigation of Xiao's grant applications…
Date: August 8, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2942
Justia Opinion Summary: The Agriculture Act of 1961 authorized the USDA to provide loans to rural water associations; 7 U.S.C. 1926(b) prohibits municipalities and others from selling water in an area that a USDA-indebted rural water…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1725
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2017, Elion pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). The Probation Office classified him as a career offender, U.S.S.G. 4B1.1(a), 4B1.2(b), yielding a…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 20-1747
Justia Opinion Summary: Whitfield was scheduled for discharge from Menard Correctional Center in January 2010, to begin a term of mandatory supervised release. On that day, prison officials handed Whitfield only the signature page of a document…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1320
Justia Opinion Summary: Prude, serving an 80-year sentence, helped a friend and fellow inmate file a successful civil rights lawsuit against their Wisconsin prison. According to Prude, his friend, grateful for the help, sent him $10,000 of his…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3270
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2011-2017, Care Specialists provided care to homebound Medicare beneficiaries. At least part of its operation was fraudulent. Care Specialists would submit Medicare claims for health services, including skilled…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Numbers: 21-3326, 21-3352, 21-3361, 22-1012, 22-1075
Justia Opinion Summary: If a borrower defaults on a loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the lender asks the SBA to purchase the outstanding balance of the defaulted loan. The SBA then decides whether to honor the…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1217
Justia Opinion Summary: Service hired Forwarders as its agent in 2010. The Agreement had a three-year term, a continuous one-year renewal option, and a mutual nonrenewal provision. A 2013 amendment stated that the Agreement would renew…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1321
Justia Opinion Summary: Simmons used another person’s Social Security number and falsified employment information to open a savings account and apply for multiple loans and credit cards at a credit union. Convicted of bank fraud, 18 U.S.C.…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1583
Justia Opinion Summary: Menasha licensed Nulogy’s software, Nulogy Solution. Years later, Deloitte reviewed Menasha’s systems in hopes of better integrating Nulogy Solution into Menasha’s other software. Deloitte and Menasha asked Nulogy to…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2740
Justia Opinion Summary: Kinney worked as the hospital's director of imaging services. Her employer approved her 2018 request for intermittent medical leave due to anxiety. Kinney began working remotely in March 2020 because of the COVID-19…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2814
Justia Opinion Summary: Freyermuth and five others were indicted for their involvement in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine. Freyermuth pleaded guilty to conspiring to both distribute over 50 grams of…
Date: August 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2859
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2020, Sherwood and Doyle lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic and applied for unemployment benefits. They never received those benefits, however, and still have not received notice of the denial of…
Date: August 4, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2489
Justia Opinion Summary: After downloading images of child pornography from an internet address associated with Donoho, officers executed a search warrant at his Wisconsin residence and recovered digital images of child pornography and evidence…
Date: August 4, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3221
Justia Opinion Summary: A grand jury returned a 34-count indictment against 12 defendants involved in selling heroin. Page was charged in just two counts, and not with conspiracy. Based on wiretap investigations and a search of Page’s…
Date: August 4, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1429
Justia Opinion Summary: Coney was convicted on multiple charges of sex-trafficking minors, based on “the compelling and memorable testimony of the six minor victims.” Coney did not deny his involvement with these girls, nor did he deny posting…
Date: August 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2183
Justia Opinion Summary: The Bail Project, a nonprofit organization, advocates for the abolition of cash bail and pays cash bail for thousands of individuals across the country to show that conditioning a pretrial defendant’s release upon the…
Date: August 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2621
Justia Opinion Summary: G.G. ran away from home at age 13 and fell into the hands of a sex trafficker who used the now-defunct Backpage.com to advertise her. G.G. sued under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, 18 U.S.C.…
Date: August 3, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2691
Justia Opinion Summary: Mac Naughton, a New Jersey attorney, represented Harmelech in a lawsuit filed by RMG until Harmelech failed to pay his legal fees. Mac Naughton later purchased from RMG the rights to the unpaid portion of a settlement…
Date: August 2, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1515
Justia Opinion Summary: The 1996 E-Rate program (Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program, Telecommunications Act 110 Stat. 56), is intended to keep telecommunications services affordable for schools and libraries in rural and…
Date: August 2, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1609
Justia Opinion Summary: Frazier-Hill was terminated from her employment as a CTA bus driver. She sued, alleging that the CTA failed to provide her a reasonable accommodation in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101…
Date: August 2, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1848
Justia Opinion Summary: Bureau Chief Korza received a complaint regarding Snowden’s handling of a claim. Korza found discrepancies in Snowden’s records. Korza and a division administrator met with Snowden and her union representative and gave…
Date: August 2, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3065
Justia Opinion Summary: Luster was buying a house on contract and had already paid the owner at least 20 percent of the price of the home. The village contacted Luster to obtain the property to create a municipal park. Luster rebuffed this…
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1466
Justia Opinion Summary: The Middle Mississippi is the 195-mile-long stretch from St. Louis, Missouri, where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi, to Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi and doubles its flow.…
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-1786, 22-2318
Justia Opinion Summary: The plaintiffs, three transgender boys, were denied access to the boys’ bathrooms at school. The boys sued the districts and the school principals, alleging sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments…
Date: August 1, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2087
Justia Opinion Summary: Wilson was traveling at O’Hare airport with $33,783 in cash. The Drug Enforcement Administration seized the money, suspecting that the proceeds were from illegal drug activity. DEA notified Wilson that it would declare…
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1231
Justia Opinion Summary: Kimmons was diagnosed with early cataracts in the center of his vision that might qualify for surgery. An optometrist recommended that Kimmons avoid driving at night. Kimmons lived in Racine and was working at Charter’s…
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1501
Justia Opinion Summary: Doe is a transgender male who was born female. He had breast-removal surgery but no other gender-altering procedure. Doe’s partner is A.B., the mother of R.M. and four other children. Starke County Detective Gray, and…
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2008
Justia Opinion Summary: Arroyo served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2006-2019, while also managing a lobbying firm. In 2018-2019, Arroyo’s firm received $32,500 in checks from Weiss’s sweepstakes-gaming company in exchange for…
Date: July 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2084
Justia Opinion Summary: After a New Year’s Eve hit-and-run left one person dead and another injured, Jones became a suspect and turned himself in. During a recorded interrogation at 1:18 a.m., an officer read Jones his Miranda rights and fully…
Date: July 27, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2088
Justia Opinion Summary: After DHS reinstated prior removal orders and initiated another removal proceeding, Mejia sought withholding of removal, 8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3), and protection under the Convention Against Torture. He claimed that if…
Date: July 27, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1694
Justia Opinion Summary: Inmate Arce got a sharp knee in the thigh while he was playing soccer at Illinois’s Pinckneyville Correctional Center in June 2017. Since then, he has suffered from severe leg pain, which the prison’s medical providers…
Date: July 27, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2575
Justia Opinion Summary: PayPal users can transfer money to businesses and people; they can donate to charities through the Giving Fund, its 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Kass created a PayPal account and accepted PayPal’s 2004 User…
Date: July 27, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3034
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal law establishes “[t]he Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November[] in every even-numbered year” as “the day for the election,” 2 U.S.C. 7. Illinois law allows mail-in ballots postmarked on or by Election Day to be…
Date: July 26, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2166
Justia Opinion Summary: Booker was convicted of first-degree murder and received a 55-year sentence of 55. After unsuccessfully appealing his conviction, he tried a petition for postconviction relief. At the latter stage, he was represented by…
Date: July 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1445
Justia Opinion Summary: An Illinois state agency oversees Metra, a railroad with passenger service over lines radiating from Chicago. For three lines, Metra owns the rolling stock, while Union Pacific supplies the track, the workforce, and…
Date: July 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1467
Justia Opinion Summary: Fehlman was the Neillsville Police Department’s interim police chief in 2019. In 2020, Mankowski was hired as the permanent chief. Fehlman returned to being a rank-and-file officer. Over the next several months, Fehlman…
Date: July 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2342
Justia Opinion Summary: Dixon Correctional Center Officer Brinkmeier informed inmate Walker that prison policy prohibited prisoners from maintaining “unsearchable” hairstyles like dreadlocks. Walker told Brinkmeier that he was a Rastafarian and…
Date: July 25, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3287
Justia Opinion Summary: After pleading guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), Hendrix was sentenced to 78 months in prison, significantly more than the U.S.S.G. range of 46-57 months. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. …
Date: July 24, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1195
Justia Opinion Summary: Evans twice sold heroin to a confidential source (50 grams, 125 grams). Officers stopped Evans 30 minutes later and found cash from the controlled purchase, methamphetamine, two handguns, and ammunition. He was charged…
Date: July 24, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1304
Justia Opinion Summary: Elanco Animal Health sent Ambassador Animal Hospital two unsolicited faxes inviting Ambassador’s veterinarians and its owner to RSVP for two free dinner programs: one titled “Canine and Feline Disease Prevention Hot…
Date: July 24, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1368
Justia Opinion Summary: Illinois’s Sexually Dangerous Persons Act authorizes the commitment and indefinite detention of individuals who are charged with a crime and found to suffer from a mental disorder "coupled with criminal propensities to…
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1192
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown was convicted of bank robbery. The court determined that he was a career offender under U.S.S.G. 4B1.1, 4B1.2, with an advisory range of 210-240 months’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed Brown's…
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1858
Justia Opinion Summary: Consolidated suits claimed that many firms in the broiler-chicken business formed a cartel. Third-party discovery in that ongoing suit turned up evidence that Rabobank, a lender to several broiler-chicken producers,…
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2404
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2020, Reardon unsuccessfully ran for Coles County State’s Attorney against the incumbent, Danley. Reardon brought a 42 U.S.C. 1983 lawsuit against public officials (including Danley), the City of Mattoon, and Coles…
Date: July 20, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3162
Justia Opinion Summary: When police responded to a shooting outside a casino, the victim was dead. They found Grady’s cell phone, which they used, along with surveillance video, to track him down and arrest him. They searched Grady’s apartment…
Date: July 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1325
Justia Opinion Summary: Cruz-Rivera was convicted of first-degree rape and first-degree assault (stabbing) in 2001, having violently attacked two women who suffered from a mild mental disability. After his 2015 release from prison, he was…
Date: July 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2527
Justia Opinion Summary: C.S. has developmental and cognitive disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. C.S., then in sixth grade attempted to use the hallway…
Date: July 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2958
Justia Opinion Summary: At around 4:36 AM, Washington’s cellmate, Simmons, awoke to the sound of Washington, a pretrial detainee, gasping for breath. Simmons tried to shake Washington; he did not respond. At 4:37, Simmons pressed the intercom…
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Number: 20-3151
Justia Opinion Summary: Mata fired shots, killing two men and injuring another. Chicago police arrested Mata that evening. The following day, after receiving his Miranda rights and saying that he understood them, Mata gave a videotaped…
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1347
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1709
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-1737, 22-1347, 22-1709
Justia Opinion Summary: Utility companies responsible for a planned electric transmission line asked the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to allow construction across the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge alongside an…
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2268
Justia Opinion Summary: Gilbert and his son Michael were charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Gilbert pleaded guilty and sought “safety-valve relief” from the mandatory minimum 10-year sentence. While Gilbert was…
Date: July 19, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3078
Justia Opinion Summary: On O’Sucha’s death, the property, in a land trust, was to be divided equally among her four children, including Lesko. In 2009, Lesko caused her mother to make her the sole beneficiary upon O’Sucha’s 2010 death and to…
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1805
Justia Opinion Summary: Ye sought to recover against GlobalTranz, a freight broker, following the death of her husband in a highway accident. Ye claimed, under Illinois law, that GlobalTranz negligently hired the motor carrier (Sunrise) that…
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2146
Justia Opinion Summary: Eight drug couriers, under indictment, identified Caraway as the supplier of the cocaine and leader of the operation. The government communicated to Caraway’s attorney that Caraway would soon be indicted. Caraway…
Date: July 18, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2867
Justia Opinion Summary: On the night of May 6, 2020, Lisby, eight months pregnant, and Lewis walked along the shoulder of State Road 37 in Indianapolis to get back to their motel. Indianapolis Officer Henderson was driving to work in his…
Date: July 17, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1149
Justia Opinion Summary: Eligibility for disability payments from the Fund turns on how many credits an ironworker has accumulated (a credit is equal to 1,000 hours of work on union jobs in a given year); those with more than five but fewer than…
Date: July 17, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1340
Justia Opinion Summary: Hunter was housed in a general-population wing of “Unit H” at Redgranite Wisconsin state prison. Patterson, Hunter’s cellmate March-December 2017, was regarded as a “lifer” and a “violent individual.” On multiple…
Date: July 17, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2210
Justia Opinion Summary: The parents work for the School District. Through the District, they contracted for a self-funded health insurance plan. The District, not an outside insurer, bears sole financial responsibility for the payment of plan…
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2393
Justia Opinion Summary: A kitchen supervisor directed Balle, an Illinois state prisoner, to carry near-boiling water across a wet, damaged floor in a plastic five-gallon bucket. His foot caught in a hole, and he fell down. The water splashed on…
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-1085, 22-1084
Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, TEFRA, 26 U.S.C. 6221–6234, a partnership’s tax liabilities were assessed on individual partners in proportion to their ownership interest. Partners reported their…
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1272
Justia Opinion Summary: Camarena defaulted on a debt, then married Ross. Ross and Camarena share a phone plan. FAMS, a debt collector, mailed Camarena a letter. Camarena never followed the letter’s instructions but learned FAMS’s employee…
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2281
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a 2013 car accident, Michelle Baptist, then 50 years old, began experiencing significant neck and shoulder pain, as well as headaches. She had one, possibly two, aneurysms. She applied for Disability Insurance…
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2420
Date: July 13, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2954
Justia Opinion Summary: Fitzgerald worked for Roncalli Catholic High School as a guidance counselor and Co-Director of Guidance for 14 years and earned years of stellar performance reviews. In 2018, the school declined to renew her one-year…
Date: July 12, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2988
Justia Opinion Summary: McKendree University, like other Illinois colleges, closed its campus and switched to remote instruction in March 2020 due to the risks of COVID-19. McKendree already ran an online degree program in addition to its…
Date: July 11, 2023
Docket Number: 20-3134
Justia Opinion Summary: Google and the University of Chicago Medical Center collaborated to develop software capable of anticipating patients’ future healthcare needs. The University delivered several years of anonymized patient medical records…
Date: July 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1156
Justia Opinion Summary: Hartleroad responded to an online post soliciting persons interested in participating in sexual conduct with minors. The author (McCarty, an FBI agent) claimed to be engaged in sexual relations with his 14-year-old…
Date: July 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1485
Justia Opinion Summary: Springfield Officer Weiss obtained a warrant to search Outland’s person and residence for heroin and drug paraphernalia. Another officer conducted a traffic stop and search, discovered drug paraphernalia, read Outland…
Date: July 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1801
Justia Opinion Summary: Sorensen's friend Berg told Sorensen to drive a Suburu and follow him. Sorensen drove the Subaru but got lost and slept in the Subaru, waking up the next day. Sorensen then picked up Charles and subsequently noticed a…
Date: July 11, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2757
Justia Opinion Summary: Marvin’s mother called the police to perform a wellness check; she thought Marvin, age 21, was suicidal. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at Marvin’s home and found his mother in the driveway with a bleeding…
Date: July 10, 2023
Docket Numbers: 21-2689, 21-1521, 21-2618
Justia Opinion Summary: An investigation of an Indianapolis drug trafficking organization led by Trice led to the indictments of Trice and many of his associates, including McClure and Payne. Officers intercepted a call between McClure and…
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 19-2504
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanders was convicted in 2006 of firearms offenses. The court imposed an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act, based on three prior convictions, including one for Illinois residential burglary. His…
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1004
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Horton was convicted of multiple drug trafficking and firearm crimes. Horton had been convicted of four prior state drug felonies. The court imposed three concurrent life sentences. Horton’s direct appeal and…
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2406
Justia Opinion Summary: While serving a 55-year sentence for murder, Love assaulted a correctional officer, resulting in state convictions for felony battery. The Indiana Department of Correction also found Love guilty of violating prison rules…
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2182
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Hogsett was convicted of crimes, including being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The court found that Hogsett was an armed career criminal, with three prior convictions for violent…
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3097
Justia Opinion Summary: Crowell sought Supplemental Social Security Insurance benefits in 2010, alleging that she was unable to work due to ADHD, social anxiety, fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, chronic pain,…
Date: July 6, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1303
Justia Opinion Summary: Crounse delivered barges to Mulzer, which cleaned the barges, loaded them with Mulzer’s crushed stone, delivered the stone, cleaned the barges again, and released the barges to Crounse. Crounse’s barges were used by…
Date: July 6, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1473
Justia Opinion Summary: Otradovec pleaded guilty to producing child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2251, an offense subject to section 3014, which directs certain “non-indigent” sex offenders to pay a $5,000 special assessment within 20 years from the…
Date: July 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1477
Justia Opinion Summary: As a Chicago gang member, States participated in drug trafficking and kidnappings. Officers went to his apartment to arrest him. States fired five shots through the door and hit an officer in the finger. A jury convicted…
Date: July 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1550
Justia Opinion Summary: Hess, a 17-year-old student, was required to participate in a ride-along with Hammond Officer Garcia. Her complaint describes a day-long sequence of inappropriate comments and questions punctuated by unwelcome physical…
Date: July 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2437
Justia Opinion Summary: Jaranowski worked as a conductor for the Railroad for 22 years. While operating a railroad switch in 2020, he seriously injured his neck. He sued the railroad under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C.…
Date: July 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2517
Date: July 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2570
Justia Opinion Summary: Frazier obtained a home mortgage loan for which Dovenmuehle served as sub-servicer. Beginning in October 2015, Frazier failed to make her monthly payments. Frazier successfully negotiated and settled her debt through a…
Date: July 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2909
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Melvin Osorio-Morales’s family member, Jeremias, was dating Argueta, who was also dating a member of the Hernandez family. The men had a shootout; Jeremias was killed. In retaliation, the Osorio family killed…
Date: June 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1808
Justia Opinion Summary: FBI agents created a profile for a fictitious individual, “Clay,” on the dating app “Grindr.” Grindr does not allow users under age 18, so the agent represented that Clay was 18. Agent Carter testified that he exchanged…
Date: June 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1820
Justia Opinion Summary: Martinez applied for supplemental security income. An ALJ reviewed the record and found that Martinez suffered from severe impairments but could nonetheless “perform the requirements of representative unskilled…
Date: June 29, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2077
Justia Opinion Summary: The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized tribe in northwestern Wisconsin. In 2013 the Tribe’s Community Health Center hired Mestek as the Director of Health Information. …
Date: June 28, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2831
Justia Opinion Summary: Hohman, age 53, applied for Social Security benefits after she stopped working. She suffers from fibromyalgia, PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and alleged that the combined effects of these conditions left her unable to…
Date: June 27, 2023
Docket Number: 21-1463
Justia Opinion Summary: Snowden, staying at a hotel, received a call asking him to visit the lobby to pay for the room. When Snowden arrived, DEA Agent Henning pushed him into a door and onto the ground. Snowden did not resist. Henning punched…
Date: June 26, 2023
Docket Number: 17-2620
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006 Ubiquity, a California-based company, contracted with North’s Illinois firm, Associates. North executed the contract in Arizona, where he lived, on behalf of Associates. Ubiquity promised to transfer 1.5% of its…
Date: June 26, 2023
Docket Number: 21-3394
Justia Opinion Summary: Deputy Deeren announced his candidacy for Sheriff of Trempealeau County in 2017. In early 2018, officials within the Sheriff’s Department discovered that Deeren had failed to disclose information about his arrest record…
Date: June 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1876
Justia Opinion Summary: Emad, an active member of Milwaukee’s Islamic community for 25 years, practices Salah by praying five times each day in a state of physical purity. Emad also participated every Friday afternoon in congregational prayer…
Date: June 26, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1970
Justia Opinion Summary: Leisgang suffers from depression, anxiety, and a personality disorder, among other conditions. He sought supplemental security income and disability insurance benefits. The ALJ concluded that Leisgang could undertake…
Date: June 23, 2023
Docket Numbers: 22-2256, 22-1844
Justia Opinion Summary: The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) centralized cases arising out of alleged defects in Cook’s inferior vena cava (IVC) filters, 28 U.S.C. 1407(a). Many plaintiffs in the MDL claim that Cook’s filters…
Date: June 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1691
Justia Opinion Summary: Agents intercepted calls via a wiretap on Jose’s phone. Despite Jose’s use of coded language, they learned that he was arranging with a supplier to bring "new product" into town on a semi-truck; a distributor would help…
Date: June 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1934
Justia Opinion Summary: Fears was charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 18 U.S.C. 1594(c), and four counts of sex trafficking, 1591(a), (b)(1). The 1591(b)(1) counts carry 15-year mandatory minimums. Fears pleaded guilty to one…
Date: June 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2436
Justia Opinion Summary: LSQ provides invoice-factoring services to other businesses, including Engstrom. Weeks before Engstrom declared bankruptcy, its CEO, Campion orchestrated a payoff agreement between LSQ and a new lender, Millennium.…
Date: June 22, 2023
Docket Number: 22-3009
Justia Opinion Summary: Ascension Medical Group sought to depose a DEA agent and a federal prosecutor in state court litigation. Their testimony would help Ascension prove that one of its doctors failed to disclose that he was under federal…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 23-8012
Justia Opinion Summary: In November 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 102-667, which added a provision to the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The new provision purported to be a “declaration of existing law”…
Date: June 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1557
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s criminal history included a 1998 guilty plea to felony mail fraud. After maintaining an otherwise clean record for 24 years, he decided he wanted a gun. But 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1) bars gun possession for…
Date: June 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-1822
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff initially brought this product liability action in state court against Edward Orton, Jr. Ceramic Foundation (“Orton”). She alleged that her late husband, Bruce Johnson, contracted mesothelioma as a result of…
Date: June 20, 2023
Docket Number: 22-2675
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was taking a testosterone replacement therapy drug (“TRT”) called Androderm when he suffered a heart attack. The resulting lawsuits against TRT-producing pharmaceutical companies were consolidated as…
Date: June 16, 2023
Docket Number: 17-1615
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that all assets held by the Soad Wattar Revocable Living Trust—including the Wattar family home—were part of the bankruptcy estate of Richard…
Date: June 16, 2023
Docket Number: 21-2811
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested on several counts of sex trafficking a minor, child pornography and cyberstalking. A jury convicted Defendant on all counts, and he was sentenced to forty years in prison. Defendant appealed on…
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