4th Circuit Case Commentaries

Fourth Circuit Adopts Narrow Construction of NLRA “Managerial Employee” Exception: Commentary on Constellis, LLC v. NLRB

Date: Dec 4, 2025

Fourth Circuit Adopts Narrow Construction of NLRA “Managerial Employee” Exception: Commentary on Constellis, LLC v. NLRB I. Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s published decision in Constellis, LLC v....

Constraining the Managerial Employee Exception under the NLRA: Commentary on NLRB v. Constellis, LLC (4th Cir. 2025)

Date: Dec 4, 2025

Constraining the Managerial Employee Exception under the NLRA: Commentary on NLRB v. Constellis, LLC (4th Cir. 2025) I. Introduction In NLRB v. Constellis, LLC, decided December 1, 2025, the U.S....

Probable Cause as a Prerequisite for First Amendment Retaliatory Search Claims: Commentary on Stanley v. Bocock

Date: Dec 3, 2025

Probable Cause as a Prerequisite for First Amendment Retaliatory Search Claims: Commentary on Joseph N. Stanley v. Christopher T. Bocock I. Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s published decision in...

Inferring Chronic Origin of Terminal ABG Results Under the BLBA: Commentary on Clinchfield Coal Co. v. Mullins (4th Cir. 2025)

Date: Dec 3, 2025

Inferring Chronic Origin of Terminal ABG Results Under the BLBA: Commentary on Clinchfield Coal Co. v. Mullins (4th Cir. 2025) I. Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s published decision in Clinchfield...

No Prejudice, No Brady Claim: Anderson v. Baltimore County and Pleading Standards for Probable Cause in Passenger-Drug Arrests

Date: Dec 3, 2025

No Prejudice, No Brady Claim: Anderson v. Baltimore County and Pleading Standards for Probable Cause in Passenger-Drug Arrests I. Introduction This commentary examines the Fourth Circuit’s...

No “Super‑Tenure Review Committees”: Pleading Standards, Academic Freedom, and Comparator Requirements in Madhusudan Katti v. Arden

Date: Dec 3, 2025

No “Super‑Tenure Review Committees”: Pleading Standards, Academic Freedom, and Comparator Requirements in Madhusudan Katti v. Arden I. Introduction In Madhusudan Katti v. Arden, No. 24‑2054 (4th Cir....

Deference to Magistrates and Evidentiary Rigor in § 1983 Malicious Prosecution Claims: Commentary on Stusalitus v. Ortiz

Date: Dec 3, 2025

Deference to Magistrates and Evidentiary Rigor in § 1983 Malicious Prosecution Claims: Commentary on Leon Barcley Stusalitus v. Angelique Ortiz I. Introduction The unpublished Fourth Circuit decision...

United States v. Glass: The Fourth Circuit Reaffirms the High Bar for Omission‑Based Franks Challenges to Digital Child Pornography Warrants

Date: Dec 3, 2025

United States v. Glass: The Fourth Circuit Reaffirms the High Bar for Omission‑Based Franks Challenges to Digital Child Pornography Warrants I. Introduction In United States v. Jessie Leroy Glass,...

No Expansion of Pennsylvania’s Franchise Good Faith Covenant to Performance Obligations: Commentary on DiStefano, Inc. v. Tasty Baking Co.

Date: Dec 2, 2025

No Expansion of Pennsylvania’s Franchise Good Faith Covenant to Performance Obligations: Commentary on DiStefano, Inc. v. Tasty Baking Co. I. Introduction In DiStefano, Incorporated v. Tasty Baking...

Willful Blindness, Lis Pendens, and Lender Aiding‑and‑Abetting Liability under Maryland Law – Commentary on Al‑Sabah v. World Business Lenders, LLC (4th Cir. 2025)

Date: Dec 2, 2025

Willful Blindness, Lis Pendens, and Lender Aiding‑and‑Abetting Liability under Maryland Law Commentary on Alia Al‑Sabah v. World Business Lenders, LLC, 4th Cir. (Nov. 26, 2025) I. Introduction This...

Willful Blindness, Lis Pendens, and Lender Liability: The Fourth Circuit Clarifies Aiding‑and‑Abetting Fraud in Alia Al‑Sabah v. World Business Lenders, LLC

Date: Dec 2, 2025

Willful Blindness, Lis Pendens, and Lender Liability: The Fourth Circuit Clarifies Aiding‑and‑Abetting Fraud in Alia Al‑Sabah v. World Business Lenders, LLC I. Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s...

United States v. Spencer & Morgan: Substantial Step and Foreseeable Firearm Possession in Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery

Date: Dec 2, 2025

United States v. Spencer & Morgan: Substantial Step and Foreseeable Firearm Possession in Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery I. Introduction The consolidated appeals in United States v. Harold Edward...

Substantial Steps, Circumstantial Evidence, and Foreseeable Firearms: A Commentary on United States v. Spencer & Morgan

Date: Dec 2, 2025

Substantial Steps, Circumstantial Evidence, and Foreseeable Firearms: A Commentary on United States v. Harold Edward Spencer, III & United States v. Jon Demetrious Jacques Morgan I. Introduction The...

Strickland Prejudice, AEDPA, and Veteran Mitigation: The Fourth Circuit’s Decision in Coleman v. Dotson

Date: Nov 24, 2025

Strickland Prejudice, AEDPA, and Veteran Mitigation: The Fourth Circuit’s Decision in Coleman v. Dotson I. Introduction The Fourth Circuit’s published decision in Christopher Coleman v. Chadwick...

Circumstantial Proof of Drug Knowledge and Strict Enforcement of Rogers: Commentary on United States v. Scott (4th Cir. 2025)

Date: Nov 24, 2025

Circumstantial Proof of Drug Knowledge and Strict Enforcement of Rogers: Commentary on United States v. Scott (4th Cir. 2025) I. Introduction This commentary examines the Fourth Circuit’s unpublished...

Pleading Religious Objections and Defining Vaccination Status Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Law: Commentary on Finn v. Humane Society of the United States (4th Cir. 2025)

Date: Nov 23, 2025

Pleading Religious Objections and Defining Vaccination Status Under Federal Anti‑Discrimination Law: A Commentary on Finn v. Humane Society of the United States (4th Cir. 2025) I. Introduction The...

Swink v. Southern Health Partners: Objective Deliberate Indifference, Monell Liability for Contracted Jail Healthcare, and Expert Causation

Date: Nov 23, 2025

Swink v. Southern Health Partners: Objective Deliberate Indifference, Monell Liability for Contracted Jail Healthcare, and Expert Causation I. Introduction In Juliana Swink v. Southern Health...

When Statutory Review Schemes “Malfunction”: The Fourth Circuit’s New Functionality Overlay on Thunder Basin and CSRA Preclusion in Nat’l Ass’n of Immigration Judges v. Owen

Date: Nov 23, 2025

When Statutory Review Schemes “Malfunction”: The Fourth Circuit’s New Functionality Overlay on Thunder Basin and CSRA Preclusion in Nat’l Ass’n of Immigration Judges v. Owen I. Introduction This...

United States v. Robinson: Redressability, Mootness, and the Nonjurisdictional Character of AEDPA’s Second-or-Successive Bar

Date: Nov 23, 2025

United States v. Robinson: Redressability, Mootness, and the Nonjurisdictional Character of AEDPA’s Second-or-Successive Bar I. Introduction In United States v. Carlos Demond Robinson, No. 22‑7200...

Futility of Reporting and Ignored Evidence: The Fourth Circuit Strengthens “Unable or Unwilling” and CAT Acquiescence Standards in Ramos Marquez v. Bondi

Date: Nov 22, 2025

Futility of Reporting and Ignored Evidence: The Fourth Circuit Strengthens “Unable or Unwilling” and CAT Acquiescence Standards in Ramos Marquez v. Bondi I. Introduction In Carlos Andres Ramos...