DIFTCL: Federal Narrative Summaries

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The eighth-circuit denied Jose Antonio Molina-Malaga’s petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision denying him cancellation of removal. The court applied the substantial evidence standard of review, holding that Molina-Malaga failed t...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The sixth-circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the Gmeiners’ complaint against state official Keri Kent. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to state a valid claim under the First Amendment’s Petition Clause and were barred from pursuing their state-law claim by sovereign immunity. R...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The eighth-circuit dismissed the appeal filed by Lekemia D’Andre Caster, enforcing a valid appeal waiver contained within his written plea agreement. The court held that Caster knowingly and voluntarily entered into the plea agreement and waived his right to appeal the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty p...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s sentencing decision, holding that the court did not commit plain error by declining to expressly order whether the defendant’s federal sentence would run concurrent or consecutive with an anticipated state sentence. The court applied the plain-error standard of...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal regarding the denial of a motion to correct trial transcripts for lack of jurisdiction because the district court’s order was issued after the notice of appeal had already been filed, rendering it unreviewable without a separate notice of appeal. The court affirmed the convict...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of Darren Tramaine Jackson for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions, ruling that direct evidence of a knowing agreement is not required for Coun...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender’s motion to withdraw and dismissed the appeal after reviewing the Anders brief filed by counsel and the relevant record portions. The court concurred with counsel’s assessment that the appeal presented no nonfrivolous issues for appellate review, applying...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The fifth-circuit affirmed the 210-month sentence imposed on Terrence Taylor, Sr., for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and dismissed his challenge regarding the substantive reasonableness of that sentence. The court applied a clear error standard to review the district court’s drug q...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 Docket: 1:23-cv-24008-FAM The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) on Marion Parnell, Jr.’s retaliation claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)....

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit granted the appointed attorney’s motion to withdraw and dismissed the criminal appeal. The court applied the standard set forth in *Anders v. California* and *United States v. Flores*, which requires counsel to file a brief demonstrating that the appeal is wholly frivolous after a thorough review...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s sentence of 140 months for drug conspiracy and 60 consecutive months for firearm possession, rejecting the appellant’s claims that the court erred in granting a § 5K1.1 substantial assistance motion while imposing a within-guidelines sentence and that the court...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s imposition of a 180-month sentence on Tristan Barber for felon in possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a machinegun, rejecting his challenges to two sentencing enhancements. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in applying the cross-...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The fifth-circuit granted the appointed attorney’s motion to withdraw and dismissed the appeal after reviewing a brief filed in accordance with *Anders v. California* and *United States v. Flores*. The court concurred with counsel’s assessment that the record reflected no nonfrivolous issues for appellate rev...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender’s motion to withdraw and dismissed the appeal after reviewing counsel’s Anders brief and the record. The court concurred with counsel’s assessment that the case presents no nonfrivolous issues for appellate review, applying the standard established i...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Jason Michael Schubert’s motion to vacate his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, ruling that he failed to establish prejudice required for a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding an erroneous Sentencing Guidelines calculation. The court ap...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment of conviction and sentence imposed on Dontrail Markise Gilmore for distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The court applied clear error review to the district court’s factual findings and de novo review to its l...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s imposition of a 60-month sentence following the revocation of Reshon Lamont Scott’s supervised release. The court applied the plain error standard of review because Scott failed to object to the district court’s consideration of retributive factors under 1...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The fourth-circuit dismissed in part and denied in part a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Clarence Hicks, Jr., seeking an order directing the district court to rule on his motion to compel and lifting a grant of indefinite leave to reply to defendants. The court held that the portion of the petition regarding t...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s orders regarding Paul Schultz’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and dismissed two specific appeals for lack of jurisdiction. The court held that there was no reversible error in the district court’s affirmance of the bankruptcy court’s summary ju...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit denied the petition for review filed by Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC regarding an order from the Benefits Review Board affirming an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) award of black lung benefits to miner Ronnie L. Wolford under the Black Lung Benefits Act, 30 U.S.C. §§ 901–945. The court applied...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit affirmed Mark Leslie Lively’s convictions for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The court reviewed the record and found no reversible error regarding the district court’s denial of...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit granted Elena Garcia-Chilel’s petition for review, vacated the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order, and remanded the case for further proceedings. The court held that the immigration agency erred in two specific respects. First, regarding a defective Notice to Appear that lacked a date and...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The fourth-circuit affirmed the district court’s order dismissing Shirley Boatwright’s claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to her failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The court applied the standard that an FTCA plaintiff must exhaust all available...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of The Boeing Company in an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) retaliation claim brought by Lance Lowell Lewis. The court applied the burden-shifting framework established in *McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green*, requiring L...

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-10 The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the defendant on Dr. Lee’s age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHRA), his retaliation claims regarding his removal as Chair of Neurosurgery, his constructive discharge claim, and hi...