United States v. Rivera: Tenth Circuit Endorses “Blind” Grooming-Expert Testimony and Clarifies Rule 702/703 Reliance on Third-Party Technical Data I. Introduction In United States v. Rivera (10th...
“No Longer than Necessary” – The Tenth Circuit Draws a Bright Line on Detention Length Incident to Third-Party Arrests Introduction In United States v. Tyler, the United States Court of Appeals for...
Herman v. Sig Sauer: The Tenth Circuit Re-Affirms a Strict Factual-Basis Requirement for Expert Causation Testimony under Rule 702/Daubert in Firearms Design-Defect Litigation Introduction Herman v....
Reaffirming the Plaintiff’s Burden on the Clearly-Established Law Prong in Qualified Immunity A Comprehensive Commentary on Bailey v. Beale, No. 23-7083 (10th Cir. 2025) 1. Introduction Bailey v....
“Material Amendments Reset the Clock” – The Tenth Circuit’s Clarification that a Materially-Amended Judgment, not the Initial Judgment, Triggers Utah’s Eight-Year Enforcement Period, and that...
Bell v. Leavenworth: Post-Egbert Foreclosure of Bivens First-Amendment Claims and the Futility of FTCA Amendments Without Physical Injury Introduction Orlando Bell, a federal prisoner once housed at...
Tenth Circuit Reinforces the “Rediscovered-Memory” Sham-Affidavit Doctrine: A Detailed Commentary on Gabaldon v. New Mexico State Police (10th Cir. 2025) 1. Introduction Case name: Craig Gabaldon v....
P.W. v. Commissioner, SSA: Tenth Circuit Clarifies Use of Pre-2017 Medical-Opinion Rules and Re-Affirms the “Substantial Evidence” Deference in Social Security Appeals 1. Introduction P.W. v....
California § 245(a)(2) Assault Not a “Crime of Violence”: A Comprehensive Commentary on United States v. Sjodin (10th Cir. 2025) Introduction In United States v. Sjodin, No. 23-4069 (10th Cir. 2025),...
Asset Dissipation as Irreparable Harm: Chavez-DeRemer v. Ascent Construction and the Tenth Circuit’s Endorsement of Injunctive Removal of ERISA Fiduciaries Following Willful Discovery Misconduct 1....
Intermediate Scrutiny over Turner Deference: Griffith v. El Paso County (10th Cir. 2025) Introduction Griffith v. El Paso County, Colorado, presents a pivotal clash between prison-administration...
“No Shortcut to the PRC” – The Tenth Circuit’s Firm Stand on Mandatory Administrative Exhaustion for PAEA § 404a Claims 1. Introduction Rapid Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Express One, operated...
United States v. Cortez: Affirming Broad Judicial Discretion to Impose Upward Variances in Illegal-Re-entry Cases Based on Uncontested PSR Facts and Violent Criminal Histories Introduction United...
“Superior-Interest Rule” in Criminal Forfeiture: Tenth Circuit Affirms Priority of State-Law Ownership over Federal Relation-Back Commentary on United States v. Peck, 89 F.4th ___ (10th Cir. 2025) I....
No Waiver by Over-Broad Motion: Tenth Circuit Clarifies That a State Official Does Not Waive Eleventh-Amendment Immunity Merely by Filing a Comprehensive Rule 12 Motion Introduction In Williams v....
Partial Courtroom Closures in a Pandemic: Barrett v. Wyoming Department of Corrections Clarifies the Sixth-Amendment Standard Introduction Barrett v. Wyoming Department of Corrections, No. 24-8062...
United States v. Nickols – Harmless Error and Misstatements about First Step Act Earned-Time Credits at Sentencing I. Introduction United States v. Nickols, No. 24-5056 (10th Cir. June 9, 2025),...
“The Peck Rule” – A Tenth Circuit Blueprint for Ancillary Proceedings: State-Law Superior Interests Defeat Federal Forfeiture Even Where “Tainted” Funds Enhanced the Property 1. Introduction United...
Priority of State-Law Ownership over Federal Forfeiture: A Commentary on United States v. Peck (10th Cir. 2025) 1. Introduction In United States v. Peck, the United States Court of Appeals for the...
Certificate of Appealability Required for Habeas Challenges to Interstate Custody Transfers under 18 U.S.C. § 3623 Introduction In Hanson v. Quick, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth...