Last Week in Federal Appeals (No. 43)
Last Week in Federal Appeals (No. 43)
Appellate decisions from the weeks of December 26-30, 2022, and January 2-6, 2023
“In sum, while some of the training attendees may have been outraged or offended by Dodge’s political expression, no evidence of actual or tangible disruption to school operations has been presented. Political speech is the quintessential example of protected speech, and it is inherently controversial. That some may not like the political message being conveyed is par for the course and cannot itself be a basis for finding disruption of a kind that outweighs the speaker’s First Amendment rights.”
Judge Danielle Forrest, Dodge v. Evergreen School District
Decision Summaries
Third Circuit
Wilson v. USI Insurance Service, LLC
The Third Circuit joined the consensus among federal appellate courts that general business insurance policies do not cover losses caused by COVID-19 shutdown orders.
Fourth Circuit
United States v. Malone
The Fourth Circuit held that a district court abused its discretion by failing to properly assess a prisoner’s ailing health, advanced age, and the relevant 18 U.S.C. Section 3553(a) factors. Had it done so, the panel explained, the prisoner likely would have been entitled to compassionate relief.
Sixth Circuit
Villa v. United States
The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s refusal to allow a prisoner to amend is habeas petition based on new evidence. While his petition was pending, the prisoner obtained a copy of his trial attorney’s case file, which he claims reveals that the government made a cooperation offer that was not communicated to him. Because the parties presented conflicting affidavits, the panel held, the district court must hold an evidentiary hearing (even though the prosecutor had briefly mentioned to the prisoner himself the possibility against a co-defendant in a burglary case).
Ninth Circuit
United States v. Knight
The Ninth Circuit held that allowing a juror to participate in trial remotely over two days of trial was not structural error. Thus, the panel held, the defendant’s knowing and voluntary waiver of the right to have the juror appear in person defeated his appeal.
Dodge v. Evergreen School District
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to a school district with respect to a teacher’s First Amendment claim. The teacher was told that he could not bring his MAGA hat to teachers-only meetings.
Chen v. Albany Unified School District
The Ninth Circuit rejected several students’ First Amendment challenge to their school’s decision to displine them for several bullying social media posts. The panel held that the students’ online speech was not automatically immune from school discipline simply because they posted while off campus.
Tenth Circuit
Sagome, Inc. v. Cincinnati Insurance Company
The Tenth Circuit also joined the consensus among federal appellate courts that general business insurance policies do not cover losses stemming from COVID-19 shutdown orders.
Eleventh Circuit
Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County
The Eleventh Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a school district’s policy of restricting bathroom usage based on biological sex (that is, forbidding transgender children from using the bathroom that align with their gender rather than biological sex) did not violate the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX. The majority held that the school district had a legitimate interest in protecting students’ privacy interests and preventing exposure of their bodies to members of the opposite biological sex.
State Decisions of Interest
The Florida Supreme Court agreed to convene a grand jury to investigate any wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines under prompting from Governor Ron DeSantis.
The Ohio Supreme Court held that damages caps in cases involivng child sexual abuse violated the State Constitution.
The Oregon Supreme Court held that an earlier U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the practice of convicting defendants using non-unanimous juries violated the Constitution was retroactive and that State prisoners convicted by non-unanimous verdicts may be entitled to a new trial.
The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the State constitution protect’s a woman’s right to seek an abortion and struck down the State’s fetal heartbeat bill, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs that the federal constitution contains no such right.
Any opinions expressed here are my own. This article is not legal advice; if you have a legal issue, you should consult an attorney.
If you liked this article or have thoughts about it, please like or comment below (or email me at breese@flannerygeorgalis.com) and consider sharing it with your friends and network.
