Puerto Rico Case Commentaries

Qualified Immunity for Split-Second Deadly Force Requires Near-Analogous Precedent When a Fleeing Felony-Warrant Suspect Retrieves and Holds an Unidentified Object

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Qualified Immunity for Split-Second Deadly Force Requires Near-Analogous Precedent When a Fleeing Felony-Warrant Suspect Retrieves and Holds an Unidentified Object Introduction In Searles v. City of...

Post-Abitron Rule in the Fourth Circuit: Targeted U.S. Web Marketing and U.S. Customer Sales Constitute Domestic “Infringing Use in Commerce”

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Post-Abitron Rule in the Fourth Circuit: Targeted U.S. Web Marketing and U.S. Customer Sales Constitute Domestic “Infringing Use in Commerce” I. Introduction In Dmarcian, Inc. v. DMARC Advisor BV...

Clarifying LWOP Aggravator Instructions in Unbifurcated Murder Trials: No Fundamental Error When Jury Is Told to Reach the Aggravator Only After Finding Deliberate First-Degree Murder

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Clarifying LWOP Aggravator Instructions in Unbifurcated Murder Trials: No Fundamental Error When Jury Is Told to Reach the Aggravator Only After Finding Deliberate First-Degree Murder I. Introduction...

Plain-Error Limits on Relief When a § 5K1.1 Motion Is Granted but the Sentence Remains Within the Original Guideline Range

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Plain-Error Limits on Relief When a § 5K1.1 Motion Is Granted but the Sentence Remains Within the Original Guideline Range Introduction In United States v. Sealed (5th Cir. July 10, 2026) (per...

United States v. Barber — Fifth Circuit Commentary

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Broad “In Connection With” Application of U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(c)(1)(A) and Mid-Range Bodily-Injury Enhancement for Multi-Gunshot Victims I. Introduction Case: United States v. Barber, No. 25-30430 (5th...

Rule 17(b)(3) Capacity and Louisiana Affidavit-Dissolution: A Dissolved Foreign LLC Cannot Sue in Texas, and Sealing Requires an On-the-Record Balancing Test

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Rule 17(b)(3) Capacity and Louisiana Affidavit-Dissolution: A Dissolved Foreign LLC Cannot Sue in Texas, and Sealing Requires an On-the-Record Balancing Test I. Introduction Case: The Juneau Group,...

State “Expungements” Count Under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(j) Unless Grounded in Innocence or Legal Error: Fifth Circuit Clarifies the “Underlying Rationale” Test

Date: Jul 13, 2026

State “Expungements” Count Under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(j) Unless Grounded in Innocence or Legal Error: Fifth Circuit Clarifies the “Underlying Rationale” Test Case: United States v. Payne (5th Cir. July...

Strickland Prejudice and Guidelines Miscalculations: No Relief When the Sentencing Court Varied Independently and Says So

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Strickland Prejudice and Guidelines Miscalculations: No Relief When the Sentencing Court Varied Independently and Says So Case: United States v. Schubert (5th Cir. July 10, 2026) (per curiam,...

Qualified Immunity in Transport-Custody Medical Emergencies: No Clearly Established 2019 Duty to Immediately Secure Aid Upon Observed Unconsciousness

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Qualified Immunity in Transport-Custody Medical Emergencies: No Clearly Established 2019 Duty to Immediately Secure Aid Upon Observed Unconsciousness I. Introduction Thorpe v. Weaver (5th Cir. July...

Unrelated Prior Representation of a Victim Bank Does Not Require § 455(a) Recusal on Plain-Error Review; Bruton Is Not Triggered by a Co-Defendant Guilty Plea That Only Implicates by Inference

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Unrelated Prior Representation of a Victim Bank Does Not Require § 455(a) Recusal on Plain-Error Review; Bruton Is Not Triggered by a Co-Defendant Guilty Plea That Only Implicates by Inference 1....

Fourth Circuit: § 1326(d) Exhaustion Requires Timely, Lozada-Compliant Presentation of Ineffective-Assistance Claims to the BIA

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Fourth Circuit: § 1326(d) Exhaustion Requires Timely, Lozada-Compliant Presentation of Ineffective-Assistance Claims to the BIA Case: United States v. Melvin Mauricio Valencia Gil (4th Cir. July 9,...

Municipal Discretion Defeats Due-Process Property Interests in Optional Board Seats

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Municipal Discretion Defeats Due-Process Property Interests in Optional Board Seats Case: Kenneth Deal v. City of Monroe (4th Cir. July 8, 2026) | Holding: An appointee to a discretionary municipal...

ALJ May Qualitatively Weigh Conflicting Arterial Blood-Gas Studies Using Exercise Duration Without Additional Expert Proof

Date: Jul 13, 2026

ALJ May Qualitatively Weigh Conflicting Arterial Blood-Gas Studies Using Exercise Duration Without Additional Expert Proof 1. Introduction Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC v. DOWCP (4th Cir. July 10,...

Retaliation by Accelerated Removal: Fact Dispute Created When Employer’s Notice Ties Timing to Protected Complaints

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Retaliation by Accelerated Removal: Fact Dispute Created When Employer’s Notice Ties Timing to Protected Complaints 1. Introduction In Mark Lee v. West Virginia University Medical Corporation, Dr....

Divisibility of West Virginia’s Controlled Substances Act: “Manufacture” (Including Cultivation) Qualifies as a Guidelines Controlled Substance Offense Despite Campbell

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Divisibility of West Virginia’s Controlled Substances Act: “Manufacture” (Including Cultivation) Qualifies as a Guidelines Controlled Substance Offense Despite Campbell I. Introduction In United...

Spoliation Sanctions May Presume EEOC Right-to-Sue Notice Receipt Date and Dispose of Time-Barred Title VII Claims

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Spoliation Sanctions May Presume EEOC Right-to-Sue Notice Receipt Date and Dispose of Time-Barred Title VII Claims Case: Jerry Painadath v. Good Shepherd Penn Partners (3d Cir. July 10, 2026)...

UPRD Bond Validation: Referendum-First Authority, Curable Indenture Ambiguities, and Qualitative “Special Benefit” Proof Under City of Boca Raton

Date: Jul 13, 2026

UPRD Bond Validation: Referendum-First Authority, Curable Indenture Ambiguities, and Qualitative “Special Benefit” Proof Under City of Boca Raton I. Introduction In Dean K. Matt v. State of Florida,...

Florida Workers’ Compensation: Workplace Assault Injuries Are Compensable Upon Proof of Work-Relatedness (Including Increased-Risk Exposure) Without Proving Assailant Motive

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Florida Workers’ Compensation: Workplace Assault Injuries Are Compensable Upon Proof of Work-Relatedness (Including Increased-Risk Exposure) Without Proving Assailant Motive I. Introduction In...

State v. Gardner: Kansas Reaffirms Deferential “Substantial Basis” Review and Rejects Divide-and-Conquer Attacks on Search-Warrant Affidavits

Date: Jul 13, 2026

State v. Gardner: Kansas Reaffirms Deferential “Substantial Basis” Review and Rejects Divide-and-Conquer Attacks on Search-Warrant Affidavits Court: Supreme Court of Kansas Date: July 10, 2026 Case:...

Substantial-Evidence Review: No Reversal for Omitted Sleep-Study Discussion When the Record Is Otherwise Addressed and the Omitted Evidence Is Not Materially Different

Date: Jul 13, 2026

Substantial-Evidence Review: No Reversal for Omitted Sleep-Study Discussion When the Record Is Otherwise Addressed and the Omitted Evidence Is Not Materially Different Introduction In Nicole Trost v....