Age-Based Recidivism Alone Does Not Compel a Downward Variance; Courts May Decline the Statutory Minimum Where It Fails to Punish Separate Witness-Tampering Conduct Case: United States v. Kendall...
No Backpay for Reemployment-List Violations Under Tennessee Tenure Act; Superintendent’s Final Authority Supports § 1983 Monell Liability and Carey Nominal Damages Case: Sonya P. Williams v. Shelby...
No Binding Effect for “Informational Only” Plats: Sixth Circuit Clarifies Operator Discretion and “Confer” vs. “Consent” in Ohio Surface Use Agreements Case: Pamela K. Pirl; Shannon R. Pirl v. Rice...
Administrative Closures Cannot Insulate Preliminary Injunctions from Review: Sixth Circuit Adopts a Practical-Effect/Pending-Motion Test and Orders Tailoring of Tennessee’s Sex‑Offender Registry...
Sixth Circuit (Ohio law): Insurer May Settle and Recoup Under a Fronting Policy Without Proving Reasonableness or Obtaining the Insured’s Consent Case: Ironshore Indemnity, Inc. v. Evenflo Company,...
Sixth Circuit Bars Sentencing Courts from Relying on Uncorroborated Multi‑Layer Police‑Report Hearsay to Impose the §2K2.1(b)(4)(A) Stolen‑Firearm Enhancement Introduction In United States v. Curtis...
No Clairvoyance Required in Plea Advice: Sixth Circuit Clarifies Counsel’s Duties and AEDPA Deference in Plea-Bargaining Ineffectiveness Claims Introduction In an amended opinion not recommended for...
Capacity, Not Claim Facts: Sixth Circuit Holds ERISA § 502(a)(3) Cannot Block a State’s Saved Insurance Enforcement When the Regulator Proceeds Against an Insurer Case: BlueCross BlueShield of...
No Automatic Remand for Post-Williams Dangerousness Challenges under § 922(g)(1): Sixth Circuit Affirms As-Applied Disarmament Based on Uncontested Record Court: United States Court of Appeals for...
Sixth Circuit Endorses Provider-Specific Sex-Offender “Treatment-as-Monitoring,” Biannual Polygraphs, and Cost Sharing Without a Second Hearing under § 3583: United States v. Pate Introduction In...
Officer Observation and Contemporaneous Statements Can Establish Probable Cause Despite Incomplete Video: Sixth Circuit Rejects Pretext-as-Credibility Challenge in United States v. Vann Introduction...
Sixth Circuit Endorses “Possible Guilt of Others” Instruction in Joint-Possession Trials and Reaffirms Constructive-Possession Factors for Drugs and Guns Found in Shared Vehicles Introduction In...
No Single “Standard Rate” Under Hayes: Sixth Circuit Endorses Flexible Benchmarks (Including EAJA Cap and Counsel’s Stated Rate) for § 406(b) Fee Review Introduction In Debra Tucker v. Commissioner...
No Nexus Requirement Under AEDPA: Sixth Circuit En Banc Clarifies How State Courts May Weigh Mitigation in Capital Cases Introduction In Hodge v. Plappert, No. 17-6032 (6th Cir. May 7, 2025) (en...
Quid Pro Quo-by-Implication, “As Opportunities Arise,” and RICO Conspiracy: The Sixth Circuit’s Roadmap for Public-Corruption Prosecutions after United States v. Householder and United States v....
Procedural–Substantive Line Clarified: Unpreserved “Impermissible Factor” Claims Face Plain-Error Review, and Dissimilar Prior Crimes May Support Upward Variances Introduction In United States v....
Quid Pro Quo, Proven by Implication: Sixth Circuit Affirms RICO Convictions and Requires Quid Pro Quo Standards for Bribery Predicates Involving Campaign Contributions Introduction In United States...
Sixth Circuit Tightens Pleading for ERISA Recordkeeping-Fee Claims: Price Disparities and “Fungibility” Allegations Are Not Enough Case: Martha D. England v. DENSO International America Inc., No....
Legitimate Remedial Choices by State Regulators Are Not Deliberate Indifference, But Misleading Municipal Assurances About Water Safety Can State a Fourteenth Amendment Bodily-Integrity Claim...
Accardi Limits at the NLRB: Sixth Circuit Holds 29 C.F.R. § 102.19(c) Does Not Restrict the General Counsel’s Unreviewable Pre‑Hearing Discretion to Withdraw Charges Introduction In Rieth-Riley...