Opinions – 2/6/12: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: February 5, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, administrative law, asylum, civil commitment, constitutional law, criminal procedure, Equal Protection, immigration law, Protective sweep of residence
Administrative Law
Civil commitment
BOTTOM LINE: The U.S. District Court did not err in finding that the government failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that defendant was “a sexually dangerous person,”; the court reasonably found one expert’s opinion to be more credible than the others offered as to whether defendant would have serious difficulty in [...]
Opinions – 1/30/12: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 29, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, Americans with Disabilities Act, Determination of pre-disability earnings, Fortier v. Principal Life. Ins. Co., Insurance, Labor & Employment, Lee-Thomas v. Prince George’s County Public Schools, opinions, Waiver of immunity from ADA claims
Insurance
Determination of pre-disability earnings
BOTTOM LINE: In calculating the amount of pre-disability pay to determine a physician’s eligibility for long-term disability benefits, the plan administrator reasonably deducted the same extraordinary and start-up costs the physician had deducted on his federal income tax as necessary business expenses.
CASE: Fortier v. Principal Life. Ins. Co., US4th No. 10-1441 (filed [...]
Ex-P.G. County schools chief Hornsby gets partial win, resentencing
BY: Barbara Grzincic
POSTED: January 25, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, Andre J. Hornsby, chief, convictions, fraud, resentencing, reversed, ruling, U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte
A federal appeals court has reversed three fraud convictions against former Prince George’s County schools chief Andre J. Hornsby and ordered a new sentencing hearing on his convictions for obstruction of justice and witness- and evidence-tampering, which remain intact.
Hornsby is serving six-year concurrent sentences on each of the counts, which stemmed from the schools’ purchase [...]
4th Circuit hears NASCAR driver’s appeal
BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 24, 2012
Tags: 4th Circuit, 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, appeal, driver, jeremy mayfield, nascar, richmond, virginia
RICHMOND, Va.— Attorneys for former racecar driver Jeremy Mayfield are asking a federal appeals panel to reinstate his lawsuit against NASCAR over his suspension for failing a random drug test at Richmond International Raceway in 2009.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond heard arguments on Tuesday over whether a [...]
4th Circuit bars ‘enemy combatant’ suit
BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 23, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, Congress, enemy combatant, Jose Padilla, richmond, united states
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals panel has denied efforts by Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who was detained for nearly four years as an “enemy combatant,” to reinstate a lawsuit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other government officials.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled unanimously Monday that Padilla’s claims [...]
Opinions – 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: 1/23/12
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 22, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, administrative law, civil procedure, constitutional law, jurisdiction, Law, opinions, Second Amendment, supplemental security income
Administrative Law
Supplemental Security Income
BOTTOM LINE: Although intelligence testing examiner testified that Social Security disability claimant was functioning in the mild level of mental retardation, there existed substantial evidence to support finding by Administrative Law Judge that claimant was not disabled within the definition of the Social Security Act, where ALJ discredited examiner’s opinion and rejected [...]
4th Circuit’s ruling on prayer will stand
BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 17, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, ACLU, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, north carolina, prayer, u.s. supreme court, winston-salem
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear an appeal of a decision banning sectarian prayer at meetings of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, ending a nearly five-year legal saga.
The justices don’t comment on decisions not to hear cases, but supporters of the ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of [...]
Opinions – 1/17/12: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: January 16, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, Admiralty Law, confrontation clause, Corporations and Partnerships, criminal procedure, F.C. Wheat Maritime Corporation v. United States, opinions, rememdies, Rivers v. Wachovia Corporation, Stop-and-frisk
Admiralty Law
Constructive loss
BOTTOM LINE: Where plaintiffs’ yacht was damaged following an allision with an army vessel, doctrine of constructive loss applied to limit plaintiffs’ awardable damages to the market cost of the yacht, because the cost of repairing the yacht exceeded the yacht’s pre-casualty fair market value and plaintiffs did not prove that their use [...]
Blackwater contractors’ suit settled, dismissed by 4th Circuit
BY: Associated Press
POSTED: January 8, 2012
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, blackwater, fallujah, hanging, lawsuit, murders, Supreme Court, troops, war
RALEIGH, N.C. — Days after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, a federal appeals court ended a lawsuit over an episode that produced one of the more disturbing images of the war: the grisly killings of four Blackwater security contractors and the hanging of a pair of their bodies from a bridge in Fallujah.
Families of [...]
Md. congressional redistricting lawsuit hinges on racial numbers
BY: Associated Press
POSTED: December 20, 2011
Tags: 4th u.s. circuit court of appeals, black vote, congressional district, congressional redistricting, Dan Friedman, election, General Assembly, judge alexander williams, judge paul niemeyer, majority-minority district, map, maryland, patricia fletcher, rep. donna edwards, Rep. Elijah Cummings, roscoe bartlett, steny hoyer, voters, voting rights act
GREENBELT — As a three-judge panel heard arguments about whether Maryland’s redistricting map dilutes the African-American vote, one of those judges said Tuesday he doesn’t believe a case has been made to require a third black-majority congressional district.
Still, the judges noted that some changes in the map might be necessary [...]
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