Puerto Rico Case Commentaries

Nuanced Training Gaps in Multi-Unit Warrant Execution Do Not Support Single-Incident Monell Liability Absent a Pattern

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Nuanced Training Gaps in Multi-Unit Warrant Execution Do Not Support Single-Incident Monell Liability Absent a Pattern 1. Introduction In Felishatay Alvarado v. City of Philadelphia (3d Cir. July 17,...

Confirmed Plan Elections Are Irrevocable: Claimants Cannot Rescind an Expedited Distribution Choice Without an Impermissible Plan Modification

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Confirmed Plan Elections Are Irrevocable: Claimants Cannot Rescind an Expedited Distribution Choice Without an Impermissible Plan Modification 1. Introduction This Third Circuit decision arises from...

Countrywide “Women” PSG Requires a Record-Based Unifying Targeting Characteristic; Generalized Gender Violence Is Not Enough

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Countrywide “Women” PSG Requires a Record-Based Unifying Targeting Characteristic; Generalized Gender Violence Is Not Enough Nonprecedential disposition: The Third Circuit designated this opinion...

Ordinance-Authorized Municipal Revenue Pledges Are Consensual (Not Statutory) Liens, and Pennsylvania Gaming “Operation Fees” Are Not “Special Excise Taxes” in Chapter 9

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Ordinance-Authorized Municipal Revenue Pledges Are Consensual (Not Statutory) Liens, and Pennsylvania Gaming “Operation Fees” Are Not “Special Excise Taxes” in Chapter 9 1. Introduction In re: City...

Third Circuit En Banc: De Facto Bans on Commonly Used Semi-Automatic Rifles and >10-Round Magazines Violate the Second Amendment

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Third Circuit En Banc: De Facto Bans on Commonly Used Semi-Automatic Rifles and >10-Round Magazines Violate the Second Amendment Case: Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs I v. Attorney...

Third Circuit (en banc): Common-Use Addressed at Bruen Step Two; New Jersey’s De Facto Bans on Semi-Automatic Rifles and >10-Round Magazines Unconstitutional

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Third Circuit (en banc): Common-Use Addressed at Bruen Step Two; New Jersey’s De Facto Bans on Semi-Automatic Rifles and >10-Round Magazines Unconstitutional I. Introduction In Association of New...

Hayden v. Koons: Constructive Discovery in Copyright Accrual Does Not Require “Inquiry Notice” or Actual Knowledge of Triggering Facts

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Hayden v. Koons: Constructive Discovery in Copyright Accrual Does Not Require “Inquiry Notice” or Actual Knowledge of Triggering Facts 1. Introduction Parties and setting. Hayden v. Koons is a Second...

Casual Third-Party Expressions of Guilt May Not Require a New Trial When No Outside Facts Are Introduced and the Evidence Is Overwhelming

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Casual Third-Party Expressions of Guilt May Not Require a New Trial When No Outside Facts Are Introduced and the Evidence Is Overwhelming Introduction United States v. Malcolm Whiteside (7th Cir....

Alaska “Small Business Exemption”: “Field of Health” Is a Federal Term of Art; Status Is Measured as of Tax-Year Day One, Not Decided Then

Date: Jul 22, 2026

Alaska “Small Business Exemption”: “Field of Health” Is a Federal Term of Art; Status Is Measured as of Tax-Year Day One, Not Decided Then Case: Alyeska International, Inc., d/b/a Alaska Sleep Clinic...

Bruen Step-Two “Common Use” and the Unconstitutionality of De Facto Bans on Semi-Automatic Rifles and >10-Round Magazines

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Bruen Step-Two “Common Use” and the Unconstitutionality of De Facto Bans on Semi-Automatic Rifles and >10-Round Magazines Case: Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs I v. Attorney General...

Discredited Forensic Microscopy as “False Evidence”: HRPP Rule 40 Relief When Science Invalidates Trial Expert Testimony

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Discredited Forensic Microscopy as “False Evidence”: HRPP Rule 40 Relief When Science Invalidates Trial Expert Testimony 1. Introduction Case: Granillo v. State, SCWC-22-0000740 (Haw. July 15, 2026)....

18 U.S.C. § 1519 Reaches Intentional Bodycam/Dashcam Deactivation That Creates a Misleadingly Incomplete Official Record

Date: Jul 21, 2026

18 U.S.C. § 1519 Reaches Intentional Bodycam/Dashcam Deactivation That Creates a Misleadingly Incomplete Official Record I. Introduction In United States v. Smith (10th Cir. July 20, 2026), the Tenth...

Ward v. National Credit Systems: “Objectively and Readily Verifiable” Inaccuracy as a Prima Facie Element of Furnisher § 1681s-2(b) Claims

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Ward v. National Credit Systems: “Objectively and Readily Verifiable” Inaccuracy as a Prima Facie Element of Furnisher § 1681s-2(b) Claims Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit...

“Manifest Error” Limits Board Conclusiveness Clauses: An Indenture Determination Is Incontrovertibly Wrong When It Measures the Wrong Contractual Metric

Date: Jul 21, 2026

“Manifest Error” Limits Board Conclusiveness Clauses: An Indenture Determination Is Incontrovertibly Wrong When It Measures the Wrong Contractual Metric 1. Introduction In Tennenbaum Living Tr. v....

Medically Grounded Findings Required for Supervised-Release Medication Mandates; Electronic Search Conditions Upheld When Device Use Is Self-Evident

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Medically Grounded Findings Required for Supervised-Release Medication Mandates; Electronic Search Conditions Upheld When Device Use Is Self-Evident 1. Introduction In United States v. McCrone (2d...

Coordination-as-Control: Manager/Supervisor Enhancement for Orchestrating Laundering Tasks, and No Required § 3553(a)(6) Discussion When Imposing a Below-Guidelines Sentence

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Coordination-as-Control: Manager/Supervisor Enhancement for Orchestrating Laundering Tasks, and No Required § 3553(a)(6) Discussion When Imposing a Below-Guidelines Sentence 1. Introduction In United...

Juror Misconduct: No Categorical New-Trial Rule for Outside “Guilt” Remarks; Remmer Presumption Rebutted by Contact’s Nature, Timing, and Overwhelming Evidence

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Juror Misconduct: No Categorical New-Trial Rule for Outside “Guilt” Remarks; Remmer Presumption Rebutted by Contact’s Nature, Timing, and Overwhelming Evidence 1. Introduction Case: United States v....

Express Power-of-Attorney Authority Required to Waive ERISA Spousal Survivor Annuity Rights Under Wis. Stat. § 244.41(1)(f)

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Express Power-of-Attorney Authority Required to Waive ERISA Spousal Survivor Annuity Rights Under Wis. Stat. § 244.41(1)(f) Case: Nancy Lyon Havlik v. University of Chicago, No. 25-2821 (7th Cir....

Rule 412 Excludes Minor Victim’s Sexting with Others; Similar Grooming Admissible Under Rule 404(b) to Prove Identity in § 2251(a) Cases

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Rule 412 Excludes Minor Victim’s Sexting with Others; Similar Grooming Admissible Under Rule 404(b) to Prove Identity in § 2251(a) Cases I. Introduction In United States v. Andrew Boltz (7th Cir....

Title IX Deliberate-Indifference Safe Harbor: Readmission After Acquittal with an Effective No‑Contact Order Is Not “Clearly Unreasonable”

Date: Jul 21, 2026

Title IX Deliberate-Indifference Safe Harbor: Readmission After Acquittal with an Effective No‑Contact Order Is Not “Clearly Unreasonable” 1. Introduction Case: Isabelle Arana v. Board of Regents of...