11th Circuit Case Commentaries

ADA/Rehabilitation Act Jail-Damages Require Sheriff’s Actual Knowledge (No Vicarious Liability); Post-Release Injunctive Claims Moot Absent Likely Reincarceration

Date: Jan 30, 2026

ADA/Rehabilitation Act Jail-Damages Require Sheriff’s Actual Knowledge (No Vicarious Liability); Post-Release Injunctive Claims Moot Absent Likely Reincarceration Introduction In Kevin Lewis v....

Municipal § 1983 Liability Requires a Pleaded Policy/Custom; Recusal Cannot Rest on Adverse Rulings and Unbriefed Claims Are Abandoned on Appeal (11th Cir.)

Date: Jan 29, 2026

Municipal § 1983 Liability Requires a Pleaded Policy/Custom; Recusal Cannot Rest on Adverse Rulings and Unbriefed Claims Are Abandoned on Appeal (11th Cir.) 1. Introduction In Carolyn Wright v. City...

Post-Rahimi Reaffirmation in the Eleventh Circuit: § 922(g)(1) Felon-in-Possession Challenges Remain Foreclosed by Rozier and Dubois III

Date: Jan 29, 2026

Post-Rahimi Reaffirmation in the Eleventh Circuit: § 922(g)(1) Felon-in-Possession Challenges Remain Foreclosed by Rozier and Dubois III I. Introduction In United States v. Ro'Daryus Mitchell (11th...

General Objections and Rule 56.1 Noncompliance Waive Appellate Review of Summary-Judgment Dispositions in the Eleventh Circuit

Date: Jan 29, 2026

General Objections and Rule 56.1 Noncompliance Waive Appellate Review of Summary-Judgment Dispositions in the Eleventh Circuit Introduction In Carolyn Wright v. Georgia Student Finance Commission...

Plain-Error Reversal When a Prosecutor Urges Conviction Using an Unadmitted Exhibit in Closing Argument

Date: Jan 29, 2026

Plain-Error Reversal When a Prosecutor Urges Conviction Using an Unadmitted Exhibit in Closing Argument Case: United States v. Hassan Jones (11th Cir. Jan. 22, 2026) Key holding: It is plain,...

FTCA Equitable Tolling Requires Plaintiff Diligence: Agency May Rely on SF-95 Address and Need Not Infer Counsel’s Move from Email Signatures

Date: Jan 29, 2026

FTCA Equitable Tolling Requires Plaintiff Diligence: Agency May Rely on SF-95 Address and Need Not Infer Counsel’s Move from Email Signatures I. Introduction In Cassius Standifer Peak v. United...

Harmless Frazier Error Where Independent Video Evidence Overwhelmingly Proves Supervised-Release Violations

Date: Jan 29, 2026

Harmless Frazier Error Where Independent Video Evidence Overwhelmingly Proves Supervised-Release Violations Introduction In United States v. Emmannuel Rodole Francois (11th Cir. Jan. 27, 2026)...

FEGLI Accidental-Death Claims: Contractual Arbitrary-and-Capricious Review Applies, and “Contributed To By” Illness Exclusions Are Enforceable

Date: Jan 29, 2026

FEGLI Accidental-Death Claims: Contractual Arbitrary-and-Capricious Review Applies, and “Contributed To By” Illness Exclusions Are Enforceable Introduction In Brittany Finney v. Metropolitan Life...

PIA-Based “Legal Impossibility” Requires Supporting Facts; Intended Loss (Post-Amendment 827) Includes Impossible or Unlikely Harm in Trade-Secret Conspiracies

Date: Jan 29, 2026

PIA-Based “Legal Impossibility” Requires Supporting Facts; Intended Loss (Post-Amendment 827) Includes Impossible or Unlikely Harm in Trade-Secret Conspiracies Case: United States v. Juan Martinez...

“New” Post-Sentencing Cooperation Evidence Does Not Compel Rule 35(b) Relief When the Plea Agreement Vests Sole Discretion in the Government (Absent Unconstitutional Motive)

Date: Jan 24, 2026

“New” Post-Sentencing Cooperation Evidence Does Not Compel Rule 35(b) Relief When the Plea Agreement Vests Sole Discretion in the Government (Absent Unconstitutional Motive) Introduction United...

AEDPA Deference to State Chapman Harmlessness for Apprendi/Blakely Guideline-Departure Errors

Date: Jan 24, 2026

AEDPA Deference to State Chapman Harmlessness for Apprendi/Blakely Guideline-Departure Errors I. Introduction Dwayne E. Sheppard v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections is a federal habeas...

Loss over $10,000 for INA Fraud Aggravated Felonies May Be Proven Through the Criminal Record (Including a Signed Factual Proffer), Not Just Restitution

Date: Jan 24, 2026

Loss over $10,000 for INA Fraud Aggravated Felonies May Be Proven Through the Criminal Record (Including a Signed Factual Proffer), Not Just Restitution Case: Odain Marsh v. U.S. Attorney General...

Pleading-Stage Retaliation Causation Must Follow Twombly/Iqbal—Not Summary-Judgment Temporal-Proximity Rules; Hostile-Environment Summary Judgment Requires Full “Totality” Review Including Post-Notice Conduct

Date: Jan 24, 2026

Pleading-Stage Retaliation Causation Must Follow Twombly/Iqbal—Not Summary-Judgment Temporal-Proximity Rules; Hostile-Environment Summary Judgment Requires Full “Totality” Review Including...

Issue Preservation Rule in Asylum Appeals: Challenging PSG Law Does Not Preserve “Unable or Unwilling to Protect” Element

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Issue Preservation Rule in Asylum Appeals: Challenging PSG Law Does Not Preserve “Unable or Unwilling to Protect” Element Case: Senia Matute-Rivera v. U.S. Attorney General Court: U.S. Court of...

Standing in SB 202 Preenforcement Challenges: “General Enforcement Authority” Is Insufficient at Summary Judgment

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Standing in SB 202 Preenforcement Challenges: “General Enforcement Authority” Is Insufficient at Summary Judgment I. Introduction In Coalition for Good Governance v. Secretary of State for the State...

Privilege Log Deficiencies Waive § 1782 Privilege Claims Absent Document-by-Document Support

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Privilege Log Deficiencies Waive § 1782 Privilege Claims Absent Document-by-Document Support Introduction The Renco Group Inc. and its subsidiary The Doe Run Resources Corporation (collectively,...

Memory-Reliability Experts Are Not Categorically Barred: Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Rule 702/403 Limits Beyond Eyewitness-ID Testimony

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Memory-Reliability Experts Are Not Categorically Barred: Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Rule 702/403 Limits Beyond Eyewitness-ID Testimony 1. Introduction In United States v. Stefan Eberhard Zappey (11th...

Younger Abstention Bars Federal “Evidence-Production” Relief that Indirectly Undermines Ongoing State Appeals; Judicial Immunity Shields State Judges’ Bail Decisions

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Younger Abstention Bars Federal “Evidence-Production” Relief that Indirectly Undermines Ongoing State Appeals; Judicial Immunity Shields State Judges’ Bail Decisions Introduction In Stanley...

Recency of Removal and Alcohol-Fueled Domestic Violence Can Render § 1326 Guidelines “Insufficient” and Support an Upward Variance

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Recency of Removal and Alcohol-Fueled Domestic Violence Can Render § 1326 Guidelines “Insufficient” and Support an Upward Variance Case: United States v. Gumersindo Gonzalez-Montoya (11th Cir. Jan....

Failure to Object to a Magistrate Judge’s R&R Waives Appellate Review; Disagreement with Medical Judgment Does Not Plead Eighth Amendment Deliberate Indifference

Date: Jan 23, 2026

Failure to Object to a Magistrate Judge’s R&R Waives Appellate Review; Disagreement with Medical Judgment Does Not Plead Eighth Amendment Deliberate Indifference Introduction In James Bailey v. Luis...