Last Week in Federal Appeals (No. 59)
Last Week in Federal Appeals (No. 59)
Appellate decisions from the week of December 4, 2023
“While ancient practices and postenactment history remain “critical tool[s] of constitutional interpretation,” . . . they must be examined with some care because while history and tradition shed light on the meaning of the right to keep and bear arms – they do not create it. . . . T]he absence of a distinctly similar historical regulation in the presented record, though undoubtedly relevant, can only prove so much. Legislatures past and present have not generally legislated to their constitutional limits. Reasoning from historical silence is thus risky; it is not necessarily the case that, if no positive legislation from a particular place is in the record, it must be because the legislators there deemed such a regulation inconsistent with the right to bear arms”
~ Judges Jacobs, Lynch, and Lee, joint opinion in Antonyuk v. Chiumento
Decision Summaries
First Circuit
SEC v. Sanchez-Diaz
The First Circuit held that the SEC could not force a divorced mother to pay $170,000 in disgorgement as a result of her ex-husband’s securities law violations. The panel held that, by assuming full time care of the couple’s child, she had provided consideration for the car sufficient to protect her from the SEC’s claims.
Second Circuit
Antonyuk v. Chiumento
The Second Circuit issued a lengthy opinion vacating most of a district court order enjoining the enforcement of New York firearms restrictions.
The panel upheld requirements that an applicant for a firearms license (1) demonstrate good moral character, (2) disclose the names and contact information for cohabitants, and (3) a catch-all requirement allowing a licensing officer to request additional information. It affirmed the district court’s order enjoining enforcement of a provision requiring an applicant to disclose social media accounts.
The panel also upheld restrictions on carrying certain firearms (1) in behavioral health and substance dependence care facilities; (2) in public parks and zoos; (3) in places serving alcohiol; and (5) in theaters, conference centers, and banquet halls. But it upheld the injunction prohibiting the enforcement of a statute that barred carrying certain firearms in places of worship and took issue with New York’s law establishing a presumption that those weapons were not welcome on private property absent signage allowing them.
Goldberg v. Pace University
The Second Circuit rejected a challenge from a college studen challenging his university’s decision to move some classes online in light of the COVID-19 pandemic on breach of contract and unjust enrichment grounds.
Fifth Circuit
Argueta-Hernandez v. Garland
The Fifth Circuit vacated the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision denying an El Salvadoran man’s application for witholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The panel held that the Board misapplied case law, ignored evidence, and failed to adequately support its decisions when it rejected the immigrant’s application based on threats and targetting by MS-13.
Sixth Circuit
Peterson v. Johnson
The Sixth Circuit held that a retired professor did not have constitutionally protected property interest in his status as an emeritus professor at Ohio State University. The panel thus rejected his procedural due process claim.
D.C. Circuit
United States v. Trump
The D.C. Circuit affirmed in substantial part a district court’s order prohibiting former president Trump from making statements threatening or seeking to intimidate potential witnesses or court staff in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
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