Last Week in Federal Appeals (No. 46)
Last Week in Federal Appeals (No. 46)
Appellate decisions from the week of May 15-19, 2023
Consider an accountant who lies about her personal internet use during work hours, or a manager who conceals a forbidden relationship with a subordinate, or a social worker who conceals a DUI record. . . . If there is no difference between the honest employee and dishonest employee in terms of performance or pay – that is, if the employer receives the benefit of its bargain – criminalizing the lies of a dishonest employee would create an intangible right to honest services in just the way McNally renounces. And because deceits of the sort described above are not uncommon in workplaces across the country, criminalizing them all would give federal prosecutors carte blanche to set the standards of disclosure and honesty in employment.
~ Judge Edwards, United States v. Guertin
Decision Summaries
Supreme Court of the United States
Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh
The Supreme Court unanimously held that the families of victims of a terrorist attack failed to plead a claim against Twitter for aiding and abetting ISIS under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Among other things, the Court explained that Twitter’s connection to the attack was too attenuated for aiding and abetting liability to attach.
Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi
The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a Federal Circuit ruling that several of Amgen’s patent claims related to antibodies designed to reduce cholesterol levels were invalid. The Court explained that Amgen failed to include enough information in its patent application to allow someone else to duplicate its efforts once the patent expired, a necessary trade in exchange for the monopoly rights a patent confers.
Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith
The Supreme Court held (7-2) that the Andy Warhol foundation could not claim fair-use protection as to its use of Lynn Goldsmith’s copyrighted photo of Prince. The foundation had licensed the photo, as used in a piece of artwork created by Warhol, to Conde Nast for use as a magazine cover image around the time of Prince’s death.
Justice Kagan and Chief Justice Roberts dissented.
Ohio Adjutant General’s Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority
The Supreme Court held (7-2) that “dual-status technicians” were federal employees and had federal labor rights under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Although these technicians are members of and wear the uniform of the State National Guard, they nonetheless work full time as federal civilian employees except when participating in National Guard drills.
Justices Alito and Gorsuch dissented.
Polselli v. IRS
The Supreme Court unanimously held that the IRS can summon bank information related to tax collection efforts without notifying account holders under appropriate circumstances.
Sixth Circuit
Rieves v. Town of Smyrna
The Sixth Circuit revived a CBD store owner’s Section 1983 claim alleging that a county sheriff’s office conspired to violate his Fourth Amendment rights by cooperating with a planned raid of the store based on the mistaken belief that CBD was an illegal drug. Although the local police department, rather than the sheriff’s office, conducted the challenged raid, the sheriff’s office was intimately involved in the operation (nicknamed “Operation Candy Crush”) which was “calculated to achieve an unconstitutional outcome.”
Holder v. A&L Homecare and Training Center, LLC
The Sixth Circuit—rejecting the test adopted by the Fifth Circuit and another widely-used test pioneered by a district court in New Jersey—held that a plaintiff seeking to bring a collective wage and hour case under the FLSA must show a “strong likelihood” that other employees are similarly situated before a district court may issue notice to those potential plaintiffs. The panel borrowed this test from the preliminary injunction standard, emphasizing that it is familiar to district courts.
Judge White dissented.
Eighth Circuit
Hopman v. Union Pacific Railroad
The Eighth Circuit held that an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD did not have a valid claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act based on his railroad employer’s refusal to allow him to have a service dog at work. According to the panel, the benefits and privileges of employment do not include the freed om to be free from mental or psychological pain.
United States v. Collins
The Eighth Circuit rejected an Anders brief submitted by appointed appellate counsel because it appeared to draw inferences against the defendant, noting that the panel could not decide if there were valid arguments on appeal unless counsel frames any potential arguments in their best light.
Eleventh Circuit
Ruize v. U.S. Attorney General
The Eleventh Circuit held that the Board of Immigration Appeals erred when it interpreted the Violence Against Woman’s Act’s provision allowing certain battered spouses or children to qualify for cancelation of removal. The panel explained that the statute’s “extreme cruelty” provision did not require proof of physical abuse; emotional or mental abuse could also qualify.
Judge Newsom (who also authored the majority opinion) included an interesting concurrence regarding a statutory provision that says the Attorney General’s interpretation of immigration laws is “controlling.” Judge Newsom suggests this applies only as to other Executive Branch officials, not courts.
D.C. Circuit
United States v. Guertin
Continuing a trend of recent DOJ losses in honest-services fraud prosecution, the D.C. Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision dismissing charges against a foreign service officer who failed to disclose certain potential conflicts and financial interests in seeking security clearance. The panel explained that this deprived the State Department only of honest services and not a form of property as required by the wire-fraud statute.
Any opinions expressed here are my own. This article is not legal advice; if you have a legal issue, you should consult an attorney.
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