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

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of defendant's 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Although the government could not successfully argue that the guilty plea or appeal waiver barred defendant's claim, the court held that defendant failed to show that it was more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted him. Rather, a reasonable jury could have found that the video depicted a lascivious exhibition of the anus, genitals, or pubic area and convicted defendant of possessing child pornography. The court also held that counsel was not constitutionally deficient in failing to consult with defendant about taking an appeal, and his ineffective assistance claim failed. View "United States v. Courtade" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed suit against Navy officers and employees, alleging intentional torts under state law and constitutional violations under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). Plaintiff claimed that defendants conspired to seize, interrogate and batter his three minor children and to seize and batter him. The allegations arose from a 2015 investigation at NSA Bahrain into complaints that plaintiff abused and neglected his three minor children.The Fourth Circuit rejected plaintiff's argument that the application of Maryland law to the scope of employment analysis would lead to a different result, and held that plaintiff failed to satisfy his burden in challenging employment certification. In this case, the evidence submitted by defendants only reinforced the conclusion that defendants were acting within the scope of their employment, investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect. The court also held that the government was properly substituted for defendants and that conduct occurring on an American military base in a foreign country falls within the foreign country exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act. Finally, the court held that the district court did not err in dismissing the constitutional claims under Ziglar v. Abbasi, 137 S. Ct. 1843 (2017). Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's judgment for defendants. View "Doe v. Meron" on Justia Law

This appeal arose from a suit brought by five Virginia residents against two business entities formed under tribal law. In the underlying action, the residents claimed that they obtained payday loans on the internet from Big Picture and that those loans carried unlawfully high interest rates. The district court held that the entities failed to prove that they were entitled to tribal sovereign immunity.The Fourth Circuit held that, although the district court properly placed the burden of proof on the entities claiming tribal sovereign immunity, the district court erred in its determination that the entities are not arms of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded with instructions to dismiss the complaint View "Williams v. Big Picture Loans, LLC" on Justia Law

The Fund filed suit claiming a delinquent exit from Four-C, a former participating employer, under section 515 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of Four-C's motion to dismiss, holding that the Fund's governing agreements and Four-C's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) required participating employers to pay an exit contribution when they no longer have a duty to contribute to the Fund due to the expiration of the underlying CBA, and therefore the complaint alleged a viable claim. Accordingly, the court vacated the judgment as to the exit contribution claim and remanded for further proceedings. View "Board of Trustees v. Four-C-Aire, Inc." on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of petitioner's 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion contending that his prior convictions no longer qualified as predicate offenses under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) after the Supreme Court's decision in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015).The court held that North Carolina common law robbery qualifies as an ACCA predicate under the Supreme Court's recent decision in Stokeling v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 544 (2019), which abrogated its prior holding in United States v. Gardner, 823 F.3d 793 (4th Cir. 2016). The court also held that a conviction under North Carolina law for being an accessory before the fact of armed robbery qualifies as a violent felony because that offense incorporates the elements of armed robbery, which itself is a violent felony. View "United States v. Dinkins" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs filed class actions arising from a merger agreement between Dominion and SCANA Corporation, a former utility company in which plaintiffs were stockholders. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty in negotiating the merger agreement. After defendants removed to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), the district court remanded to state court.Defendants challenged the district court's remand orders on appeal. The Fourth Circuit granted the petitions for permission to appeal and reversed the district court's judgment, holding that the the class action lawsuits were properly removed from the state courts and should, pursuant to CAFA, be litigated in the District of South Carolina. View "Dominion Energy, Inc. v. City of Warren Police & Fire Retirement System" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court held that defendant's prior conviction for distribution of crack cocaine in South Carolina was divisible and subject to the modified categorical approach, and the state offense elements aligned with the federal definitions. Therefore, the district court did not err in ruling that the distribution of crack cocaine conviction constitutes a predicate for the armed career criminal and career offender enhancements.The court also held that defendant's prior Georgia conviction for first-degree arson was a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act and a "crime of violence" under the Guidelines. Accordingly, defendant had the requisite predicate offenses to be sentenced as an armed career criminal under the ACCA. View "United States v. Furlow" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed the district court's denial of his motion under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36 to correct a clerical error in his Pre-Sentence Report (PSR). The Fourth Circuit held that the district court erred in holding that a defendant is categorically barred from relying on Rule 36 to correct a sentence tainted by a clerical error. However, the court nevertheless affirmed the district court's judgment because defendant's three remaining convictions were sufficient to sustain his classification and sentencing as a career offender under USSG 4B1.1. View "United States v. Vanderhorst" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of appellant's motion under 28 U.S.C. 2255 to vacate his conviction on the ground that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment. In this case, appellant's attorney erroneously advised him that, if he pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, deportation was a mere possibility that he could fight in immigration court. Rather, conspiracy to distribute cocaine was an "aggravated felony" under the Immigration and Nationality Act and a noncitizen convicted of such a crime was subject to mandatory deportation. Therefore, counsel's performance was deficient. Furthermore, the court held that appellant was prejudice based on counsel's deficient performance, because the evidence demonstrated a reasonable probability that, had appellant known the true and certain extent of the consequences of his guilty plea, he would have refused it. View "United States v. Murillo" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed defendant's convictions for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The court held that the district court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress physical evidence and statements under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. In this case, the officer had probable cause to stop defendant and the traffic stop lasted a reasonable amount of time. The court also held that the failure to administer a Miranda warning constituted harmless error because there was an overwhelming amount of physical evidence that was properly seized that would still inculpate defendant in the eyes of any reasonable factfinder. View "United States v. Bernard" on Justia Law