United States v. Papantoniadis — Forced Labor Under § 1589 May Be Proven Through a Workplace-Wide Climate of Fear (Including Threatened Deportation) and Contextual Evidence Beyond the Named Victim...
Mongue v. The Wheatleigh Corporation: Rule 23(e) Allows Approval of a “Global” Settlement Negotiated by Counsel Representing Both a Class and Individual Plaintiffs Absent a Realized Conflict...
Upward Variances for Firearms “Firepower” Beyond the Guidelines and No Plea Breach When Government Defends the Sentence on Appeal I. Introduction In United States v. Maldonado-Velazquez (1st Cir....
Government-Issued License Plates as “Goods” Under the Lanham Act and the Survival of Personal-Capacity Trademark Claims Against Puerto Rico Officials 1. Introduction Clemente Properties, Inc. v....
U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 Upward Variances: Large Ammunition Quantities and Multiple (High-Capacity) Magazines as “Heartland” Aggravators, with Sentencing Rationale Inferable from the Record I. Introduction...
Large Ammunition Quantity and Multiple (High-Capacity) Magazines Can Independently Justify an Upward Variance When the Guidelines Do Not Account for That Quantity 1. Introduction In United States v....
Expert-Testimony Gatekeeping for Negligence/IIED Claims Challenging Mandated Child-Abuse Reporting; Evidence of Actual Service Denial Required for Section 504 Case: J.S.H. v. Newton Court: United...
Time-Limited, Health-Furthering Medical Exemptions Do Not Defeat General Applicability of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates (and Reply-Brief Individualized-Exemption Theories Are Waived) Case: Brox v. Woods...
Reliance-Interest Review and the Limits of Post Hoc Declarations in APA Stay Motions: 340B Rebate Pilot Enjoined Pending Appeal Introduction This First Circuit order arises from a high-stakes...
§3146 Failure-to-Appear Counts, When Grouped, Do Not Create “Double Counting” That Bars a §3C1.1 Obstruction Enhancement Case: United States v. Mello (1st Cir. Jan. 7, 2026) | Court: United States...
Digital-Evidence Drug-Quantity Extrapolation and No Double Counting Between § 3146 Failure-to-Appear and § 3C1.1 Obstruction Case: United States v. Mello (1st Cir. Jan. 7, 2026) | Court: United...
Pending Discovery Does Not Block Summary Judgment Absent Rule 56(d), and § 1983 Malicious Prosecution After a Warrant Requires a Franks-Style Falsehood or Omission 1. Introduction In Besosa-Noceda v....
Radfar v. Covino: Off-Duty Protective-Order Litigation Is Not “Color of Law,” a Stray Ethnic Slur Alone Won’t Prove Discriminatory Purpose, and Malicious Prosecution Requires an Initiated Criminal...
NIH Cannot Impose an Across-the-Board Indirect-Cost Cap by “Guidance” Where an Appropriations Rider and HHS Regulations Preserve Negotiated Rates 1. Introduction In Association of American...
NIH May Not Impose an Across-the-Board Indirect-Cost Cap by “Guidance” Under the Appropriations Rider and HHS Deviation Regulations Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Rikelman,...
NIH Indirect-Cost Caps Are Unlawful: Appropriations Riders and HHS Deviation Rules Bar Across-the-Board Rates, and APA Jurisdiction Lies for Challenges to Agency-Wide Guidance 1. Introduction In...
Citizen Flagpoles, Government Speech, and Viewpoint Discrimination: The First Circuit’s Application of Shurtleff in Scaer v. City of Nashua Introduction In Scaer v. City of Nashua, No. 25‑1356 (1st...
Ramos-Hernandez v. Bondi: Limits on Economic-Status and Family-Based Particular Social Groups in Extortion-Based Asylum Claims I. Introduction A. The Case in Context In Ramos-Hernandez v. Bondi, No....
Life-With-Parole Modifications for Juvenile Offenders as “New Judgments” Under AEDPA: Commentary on Donovan v. Massachusetts Parole Board I. Introduction The First Circuit’s decision in Donovan v....
Contextual Extortion: United States v. Díaz-Colón and the Scope of Threats under 18 U.S.C. § 875(d) and the Hobbs Act I. Introduction The First Circuit’s decision in United States v. Díaz-Colón, No....