Justia U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

A German court denied Father's petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, T.I.A.S. No. 11,670, 1343 U.N.T.S. 98, and a German appellate court affirmed. Consequently, Mother did not have to return the children to North Carolina. On a one-month visit to North Carolina, Father decided to keep the children. The district court accorded comity to the German appellate court's decision and granted Mother's Hague petition. The children were ordered to return to Germany. Father appealed. The court rejected Father's arguments on appeal and concluded that the district court properly extended comity because the German court's decision neither clearly misinterpreted the Hague Convention nor failed to meet a minimum standard of reasonableness. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "Smedley v. Smedley" on Justia Law

The Forest Service manages the Chatooga River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA), 16 U.S.C. 1274 et seq. In 2012, the Forest Service revised its management plan for the Chatooga to allow floating on most of the Headwaters during the winter months, when flows are highest and conditions are best. American Whitewater argues that the revised plan does not go far enough and that the remaining limits on floating are inconsistent with the WSRA and arbitrary and capricious. Two intervening parties, ForestWatch and the Rusts, argue that the Forest Service's decision to allow floating goes too far, contending that the WSRA prohibits any floating on the Headwaters whatsoever, and that the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. The court agreed with the district court's well-reasoned opinion where the district court rejected both sets of challenges and found that the Forest Service's revised plan carefully balanced the wide-ranging interests advocated by the several parties and participants. The court affirmed the judgment. View "American Whitewater v. Thomas Tidwell" on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and appealed his 37-month sentence. Applying the categorical approach, the court concluded that defendant's prior first-degree burglary under California Penal Code 459 and 460(a) qualified for an eight-level sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2L1.2(b)(1)(C) because it was a crime of violence under the residual clause in 18 U.S.C. 16(b). Contrary to defendant's assertion otherwise, the district court's explanation of its sentence was more than sufficient to preclude a finding of error. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Avila" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his sentence for violating the conditions of his supervised release. Defendant was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment, the mandatory minimum term required by a former version of the supervised release statute, 18 U.S.C. 3583(g). The court concluded that the district court correctly applied the former version of Section 3583(g), because that version of the statute was in effect when defendant committed the underlying crimes; Alleyne v. United States does not apply in the context of supervised release revocation proceedings; and, therefore, the court affirmed the district court's sentence. View "United States v. Ward" on Justia Law