6th Circuit Case Commentaries

Police-Coerced Witness Accounts as Actionable Fabrication and Brady Material—Qualified Immunity Denied Despite Prosecutorial Use of the Statements

Date: Mar 14, 2025

Police-Coerced Witness Accounts as Actionable Fabrication and Brady Material—Qualified Immunity Denied Despite Prosecutorial Use of the Statements Case: George Clark v. Anthony Abdallah (with...

Continuing-Jurisdiction Fishing Decrees: No Unanimous Consent Required; LeBlanc Inapplicable to Negotiated Great Lakes Treaty-Fishing Regulations

Date: Mar 14, 2025

Continuing-Jurisdiction Fishing Decrees: No Unanimous Consent Required; LeBlanc Inapplicable to Negotiated Great Lakes Treaty-Fishing Regulations 1. Introduction United States v. Michigan (6th Cir....

Dicta Is Not “Law of the Case” in § 3582(c)(2) Proceedings: Prior Harmless-Error Language Cannot Undo “Unaffected” Guideline Findings Under § 1B1.10

Date: Mar 14, 2025

Dicta Is Not “Law of the Case” in § 3582(c)(2) Proceedings: Prior Harmless-Error Language Cannot Undo “Unaffected” Guideline Findings Under § 1B1.10 1. Introduction In United States v. Kevin Ike Obi...

Inherently Transitory Class Claims Survive Mootness Upon Filing a Class Complaint (No Placeholder Certification Motion Required)

Date: Mar 14, 2025

Inherently Transitory Class Claims Survive Mootness Upon Filing a Class Complaint (No Placeholder Certification Motion Required) 1. Introduction Bradley Patton v. Mike Fitzhugh (Sixth Circuit, Mar....

Extreme-Hardship Waiver Findings Are Unreviewable When Statute Requires Proof “to the Satisfaction of the Attorney General”

Date: Mar 14, 2025

Extreme-Hardship Waiver Findings Are Unreviewable When Statute Requires Proof “to the Satisfaction of the Attorney General” Case: Nuzaira Rahman v. Pamela Bondi (6th Cir. Mar. 13, 2025) | Posture:...

Defining Boundaries on HHS’s Title X Funding Conditions under the Spending Clause and the APA

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Defining Boundaries on HHS’s Title X Funding Conditions under the Spending Clause and the APA Introduction In this landmark decision rendered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth...

Clarifying the Boundaries of Accommodation Requests under the ADA: The Imperative of a Clear and Formal Approach

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Clarifying the Boundaries of Accommodation Requests under the ADA: The Imperative of a Clear and Formal Approach Introduction The present case, Daniel K. Woodie v. Motorola Solutions, Inc., addressed...

Cash-to-Drug Conversion May Track Seized-Drug Ratios and Tested Purity; Bare PSR Denials Do Not Create a Rule 32 “Dispute”

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Cash-to-Drug Conversion May Track Seized-Drug Ratios and Tested Purity; Bare PSR Denials Do Not Create a Rule 32 “Dispute” 1. Introduction In United States v. Moore, et al. (Sixth Circuit, Mar. 12,...

Rule 403 Plain-Error Review Upholds Admission of Non-Graphic Homicide Video Linking Defendant to Charged Robbery

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Rule 403 Plain-Error Review Upholds Admission of Non-Graphic Homicide Video Linking Defendant to Charged Robbery I. Introduction In United States v. Charles Edwards, Jr. (6th Cir. Mar. 12, 2025), the...

Independent-Investigation Misconduct Terminations Defeat Title VII Pretext Absent Comparable, Known Comparator Misconduct

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Independent-Investigation Misconduct Terminations Defeat Title VII Pretext Absent Comparable, Known Comparator Misconduct 1. Introduction In Tracy Walenciej v. Eastern Ohio Correction Center (6th...

MFIL “Good Cause” Allows Franchisors to Require Updated Franchise Agreements as a Condition of Transfer

Date: Mar 13, 2025

MFIL “Good Cause” Allows Franchisors to Require Updated Franchise Agreements as a Condition of Transfer Introduction In Oakland Family Restaurants v. Am. Dairy Queen Corp. (6th Cir. Mar. 12, 2025),...

Proportional Cash-to-Drug Conversion Using Tested Purity; Bare Denials Fail to Create Rule 32 Sentencing Disputes

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Proportional Cash-to-Drug Conversion Using Tested Purity; Bare Denials Fail to Create Rule 32 Sentencing Disputes Case: United States v. Moore, et al. (consolidated appeals including Ellis Lekieth...

Cash-to-Drug Conversion May Track Seized-Drug Ratios and Purity; Firearm Enhancement Burdens and Rule 32 Dispute Requirements Reaffirmed in Sixth Circuit Drug-Conspiracy Sentencing

Date: Mar 13, 2025

Cash-to-Drug Conversion May Track Seized-Drug Ratios and Purity; Firearm Enhancement Burdens and Rule 32 Dispute Requirements Reaffirmed in Sixth Circuit Drug-Conspiracy Sentencing Case: United...

Unpreserved “Inadequate Sentencing Explanation” Claims Sound in Procedural Error and Trigger Plain-Error Review

Date: Mar 12, 2025

Unpreserved “Inadequate Sentencing Explanation” Claims Sound in Procedural Error and Trigger Plain-Error Review 1. Introduction In United States v. Guadalupe Hernandez-Rios (6th Cir. Mar. 11, 2025)...

Commonsense Reading of Confidential-Informant Affidavits: Staleness, Reliability, and the Limits of Franks Challenges to the Affiant

Date: Mar 12, 2025

Commonsense Reading of Confidential-Informant Affidavits: Staleness, Reliability, and the Limits of Franks Challenges to the Affiant 1. Introduction In United States v. James Dutton (6th Cir. Mar....

Amicus Curiae Cannot Appeal Without Rule 24 Intervention: Sixth Circuit Reaffirms Party-Only Appellate Jurisdiction

Date: Mar 12, 2025

Amicus Curiae Cannot Appeal Without Rule 24 Intervention: Sixth Circuit Reaffirms Party-Only Appellate Jurisdiction 1. Introduction United States v. State of Michigan (6th Cir. Mar. 11, 2025)...

Amicus Curiae Cannot Appeal Without Rule 24 Intervention: Jurisdictional Bar to Challenging a Successor Consent Decree

Date: Mar 12, 2025

Amicus Curiae Cannot Appeal Without Rule 24 Intervention: Jurisdictional Bar to Challenging a Successor Consent Decree Case: United States v. State of Mich. (6th Cir. Mar. 11, 2025) (unpublished;...

AEDPA-Deferential Brady Materiality: Cumulative Impeachment Is Not “Material” Where Independent Evidence Places the Defendant at the Scene

Date: Mar 12, 2025

AEDPA-Deferential Brady Materiality: Cumulative Impeachment Is Not “Material” Where Independent Evidence Places the Defendant at the Scene 1. Introduction Case: Rodrigues Talbert v. Bryan Morrison,...

Pleading Standards for School ADA/Section 504 Claims: No Liability Absent Allegations of Discriminatory Motive or Plausibly Unreasonable Accommodation—and Plausible Reasonableness of the Requested Accommodation

Date: Mar 12, 2025

Pleading Standards for School ADA/Section 504 Claims: No Liability Absent Allegations of Discriminatory Motive or Plausibly Unreasonable Accommodation—and Plausible Reasonableness of the Requested...

No Nexus, No CAT Acquiescence: Loan-Shark Debt Threats Do Not Establish Protected-Group Persecution or Governmental Consent

Date: Mar 12, 2025

No Nexus, No CAT Acquiescence: Loan-Shark Debt Threats Do Not Establish Protected-Group Persecution or Governmental Consent 1. Introduction Bhavanaben Dineshkumar Patel v. Pamela Bondi (6th Cir. Mar....