By George Kennedy On November 25, 2015, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion in the criminal case of Gray v. Zook. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the order of the district court, which denied Defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Defendant’s Crimes and Death Sentence Defendant Ricky Jovan Gray confessed to murdering Bryan […]
By Amanda Whorton On December 4, 2015, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case Berry v. LexisNexis Risk and Information Analytics Group. The court affirmed the district court’s approval of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 23(b)(2) settlement and found that the release of the statutory damages claims as part of […]
By Taylor Anderson On February 29, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion regarding the criminal case United States v. Cowley. Shane Cowley (“Appellant”) appealed the district court’s denial of his motion seeking post-conviction DNA testing pursuant to the Innocence Protection Act (“IPA”). The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of Appellant’s motion, holding that […]
By Cate Berenato On December 14, 2015, in the published case United States v. Williams, the Fourth Circuit overturned the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina’s decision not to suppress evidence police obtained from a search of a car. The Fourth Circuit stated that the Government did not prove that […]
By Whitney Pakalka On February 25, 2016, in the civil case of Pornomo v. United States, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion affirming the district court’s dismissal of a wrongful death action filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) against the United States. The plaintiff, Jonatan Pornomo, alleged that the Federal Motor Carrier […]
By Elizabeth DeFrance On February 25, 2016 the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a publish opinion in the civil case, U.S. ex rel. Beauchamp v. Academi Training Center, LLC.. Plaintiffs Lyle Beauchamps and Warren Shepard (“Relators”) filed a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against Academi Training Center, LLC. (“Adademi”) and XE […]
By Sarah Walton On January 8, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the case of Route 231, LLC v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the tax court’s holding that Route 231 should have classified a portion of its capital contributions as gross income. The IRS Concludes that Route 231 […]
By: Mikhail Petrov On February 19, 2016, in a published civil case of W.C. & A.N. Miller Dev. Co. v. Continental Casualty Co., the Fourth Circuit amended its decision from December 30, 2015, and affirmed the decision of the district court to deny W.C. & A.N. Miller Development Company (“Miller”) insurance coverage from its insurer, […]
By Taylor Ey Anonymous Tip to Police, Pretextual Traffic Stop, and Subsequent Frisk Today, the Fourth Circuit issued its published in the criminal case of United States v. Robinson, deciding 2-1, the Court reversed and vacated the decision of District Court of the Northern District of West Virginia, holding that Defendant Robinson’s motion to suppress evidence […]
By Kayleigh Butterfield On February 23, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued its published opinion in the civil case Stop R.E.I.D. v. Federal Election Commission. In this case four conservative political committees (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”). The Fourth Circuit affirmed in part […]
By Daniel Stratton On February 19, 2016, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the criminal case United States v. Berry, vacating a sex offender’s thirty-three month sentence for failing to register on the grounds that it was procedurally unreasonable. The Fourth Circuit found that the defendant, Brian Berry, had been incorrectly categorized as a […]
By Anthony Biraglia In the civil case of Oxygene v. Lynch, the Fourth Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part a petition for review of orders denying Wilerms Oxygene’s (“Oxygene”) application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT’) and a subsequent motion to reopen his removal proceedings. In a published opinion […]