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

Petitioner, a native of Indonesia, sought review of the BIA's decision denying her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Petitioner grew up a Christian in Indonesia, a majority Muslim-country. Petitioner contended that she would suffer religious persecution if forced to return to Indonesia. The court did not reach petitioner's argument that the statutory time bar under 8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(B), does not preclude her application because the court lacked jurisdiction to decide whether she qualifies for an exception to the statutory time bar; the court rejected petitioner's remaining arguments because substantial evidence supported the BIA's determinations that her claims for asylum and withholding of removal cannot proceed because she failed to show that the Indonesian government was unwilling or unable to protect her; and CAT relief is unavailable to petitioner because she failed to show that, upon removal, she would likely endure torture by or with the acquiescence of the Indonesian government. Accordingly, the court denied the petition. View "Mulyani v. Holder" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a native and citizen of the People's Republic of China, sought review of the BIA's order denying his second motion to reopen removal proceedings. The court concluded that Chen v. Holder is materially distinguishable from the petition here; on the merits, the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that petitioner's submissions did not establish changed country conditions in China related to the enforcement of the one-child policy; and the BIA did not err in concluding that the evidence did not support a finding that China's sterilization policies would be applied to petitioner. Further, the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that petitioner's evidence was not sufficient to discredit the findings in the 2007 Profile. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review. View "Lin v. Holder" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to twelve counts of producing child pornography and one count of transporting child pornography. The court held that the district court erred in its Guidelines calculation when it incorrectly applied an upward adjustment for a "vulnerable victim" under U.S.S.G. 3A1.1(b)(1) based upon one of the victims' age-related cognitive development and psychological vulnerability, factors that already were incorporated into an upward adjustment for the young age of defendant's victims under U.S.S.G. 2G2.1(b)(1) and 2G2.2(b)(2). The court found, however, that the error was harmless and rejected defendant's remaining claims. Accordingly, the court affirmed the sentence. View "United States v. Dowell" on Justia Law

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

The Bank commenced this adversary proceeding in Restivo's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, seeking a judgment declaring that the security interest it acquired on January 4, 2005, had priority over the IRS's tax lien filed on January 10, 2005, regardless of the fact that it did not record its security interest until after the IRS had filed notice of its tax lien. The district court granted the Bank priority. The court rejected the district court's holding that Md. Code. Ann., Real Prop. 3-201 gives the Bank retroactive priority over the IRS, concluding that 26 U.S.C. 6323(h)(1)(A)'s use of the present perfect tense precludes giving effect to the Maryland statute's relation-back provision. However, the court affirmed the judgment based on the ground that under Maryland common law, the Bank acquired an equitable security interest in the two parcels of real property on January 4, regardless of recordation, because its interest became protected against a subsequent lien arising out of an unsecured obligation on that date and that therefore its security interest had priority over the IRS's tax lien under sections 6323(a) and 6323(h)(1). View "Susquehanna Bank v. United States/Internal Revenue" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to bribing a private correctional officer and to conspiracy. Defendant's conviction stemmed from bribing correctional officers thousands of dollars to smuggle cell phones and tobacco products into the correctional facility where defendant was an inmate. The court concluded that the correctional officers defendant bribed occupied a sensitive position within the meaning of U.S.S.G. 2C1.1(b)(3). Therefore, the court affirmed the district court's application of a four-level enhancement under section 2C1.1(b)(3) after finding that the offense involved a public official in a sensitive position. View "United States v. Dodd" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for drug and possession charges. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime; the district court did not clearly err in treating defendant's alleged participation in the transaction at issue as "relevant conduct" under U.S.S.G. 1B1.3(a); the district court did not err in applying a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(b)(1)(A) for committing an offense that involved three or more firearms where enhancing a defendant's offense level based on the number of weapons involved in the offense underlying his 18 U.S.C. 924(c) conviction does not constitute impermissible double counting under the Guidelines; and the district court did not err in applying a four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(b)(5) on the ground that defendant "engaged in the trafficking of firearms." Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Pineda" on Justia Law