interpreting-& Case Commentaries

No Recantation, No Brady: Delaware Supreme Court Holds That a Victim’s “Drop the Charges” Affidavit Is Not a Recantation and Reaffirms That DNA Is Not Required to Sustain a Rape Conviction

Date: Oct 18, 2025

No Recantation, No Brady: Delaware Supreme Court Holds That a Victim’s “Drop the Charges” Affidavit Is Not a Recantation and Reaffirms That DNA Is Not Required to Sustain a Rape Conviction...

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies: No Duty to Disclose Preexisting Internal Projections and No Material Omission When Undisclosed Forecast Falls Within a Disclosed Range

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Internal Projections That Pre-Date a Solicitation and Fall Within a Disclosed Range Are Not Material Omissions Delaware Supreme Court affirms dismissal in Van den Wildenberg v. Sign‑Zone, refining...

Third Circuit Holds FLSA § 216(b) Does Not Bar Release of Unasserted FLSA Claims in Rule 23 Opt‑Out Settlements

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Third Circuit Holds FLSA § 216(b) Does Not Bar Release of Unasserted FLSA Claims in Rule 23 Opt‑Out Settlements Case: Graham Lundeen v. 10 West Ferry Street Operations LLC d/b/a Logan Inn, No....

No Count-by-Count Cure: Fifth Circuit Requires Dismissal of the Entire Indictment When Any Count Violates the Sixth Amendment Speedy Trial Right

Date: Oct 18, 2025

No Count-by-Count Cure: Fifth Circuit Requires Dismissal of the Entire Indictment When Any Count Violates the Sixth Amendment Speedy Trial Right Introduction In Berryman v. Huffman, No. 23-60627 (5th...

Predicate-Conviction-Specific Bruen Analysis: Fifth Circuit Remands § 922(g)(1) As-Applied Challenge in United States v. Smith

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Predicate-Conviction-Specific Bruen Analysis: Fifth Circuit Remands § 922(g)(1) As-Applied Challenge in United States v. Smith Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date:...

Removal Waives Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Not General Sovereign Immunity; Equal Protection § 1983 Claims Require Specific Comparators and Impermissible Motive — Commentary on Bell v. University of the State of N.Y. (2d Cir. 2025)

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Removal Waives Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Not General Sovereign Immunity; Equal Protection § 1983 Claims Require Specific Comparators and Impermissible Motive Case: Bell v. University of the State...

“Notice + Barricades” Suffice: Second Circuit Affirms No Jones Act Negligence or Unseaworthiness for a Temporarily Open Hatch, and Rejects Case-Dispositive Spoliation Sanctions

Date: Oct 18, 2025

“Notice + Barricades” Suffice: Second Circuit Affirms No Jones Act Negligence or Unseaworthiness for a Temporarily Open Hatch, and Rejects Case-Dispositive Spoliation Sanctions Court: U.S. Court of...

Second Circuit Reaffirms Three-Year Limitations and Narrow Continuing-Violation Doctrine for Title IX Claims; Upholds Early Conversion to Summary Judgment in Pund v. St. Francis College

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Second Circuit Reaffirms Three-Year Limitations and Narrow Continuing-Violation Doctrine for Title IX Claims; Upholds Early Conversion to Summary Judgment in Pund v. St. Francis College Court: U.S....

No Habeas-by-Compassionate-Release: Second Circuit Affirms Denial Based on § 3553(a) and Individualized Circumstances in United States v. Andrews

Date: Oct 18, 2025

No Habeas-by-Compassionate-Release: Second Circuit Affirms Denial Based on § 3553(a) and Individualized Circumstances in United States v. Andrews Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...

Reliable Hearsay and Foreign Seizure Evidence Are Sufficient To Support a 450-Kilogram Drug-Quantity Finding at Sentencing

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Reliable Hearsay and Foreign Seizure Evidence Are Sufficient To Support a 450-Kilogram Drug-Quantity Finding at Sentencing Introduction In United States v. Francisco Javier Montano-Ortiz, the...

Clarifying MDLEA Statelessness: “Captain” Inquiry Plus Opportunity to Claim Nationality Suffices; EEZ Counts as “High Seas” Under the Felonies Clause

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Clarifying MDLEA Statelessness: “Captain” Inquiry Plus Opportunity to Claim Nationality Suffices; EEZ Counts as “High Seas” Under the Felonies Clause Introduction This consolidated, unpublished...

Asking “Captain” Is Enough: EEZ-as-High-Seas and Proof of Statelessness under the MDLEA in United States v. Guerrero‑Rosario

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Asking “Captain” Is Enough: EEZ-as-High-Seas and Proof of Statelessness under the MDLEA in United States v. Guerrero‑Rosario Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Non-Argument...

Particularity Requires Internal Discreteness, Not Mere Descriptive Clarity: Sixth Circuit Rejects “Gender-Plus-One” PSGs and Holds “Honduran Women” Incognizable

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Particularity Requires Internal Discreteness, Not Mere Descriptive Clarity: Sixth Circuit Rejects “Gender-Plus-One” PSGs and Holds “Honduran Women” Incognizable Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the...

Dangerous-and-Unusual Doctrine Controls: Sixth Circuit Upholds NFA Registration for Short-Barreled Shotguns and Reaffirms § 922(g)(1) for “Dangerous” Felons

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Dangerous-and-Unusual Doctrine Controls: Sixth Circuit Upholds NFA Registration for Short-Barreled Shotguns and Reaffirms § 922(g)(1) for “Dangerous” Felons Case: United States v. Dalton Samuel...

“Reason to Believe” Means a Probable-Cause “Fair Probability”: Sixth Circuit Upholds §2K2.1 Firearms-Trafficking Enhancement for Undercover Sales and Rejects Double Counting

Date: Oct 18, 2025

“Reason to Believe” Means a Probable-Cause “Fair Probability”: Sixth Circuit Upholds §2K2.1 Firearms-Trafficking Enhancement for Undercover Sales and Rejects Double Counting Introduction In United...

Ohio Aggravated Robbery by Theft (§ 2911.01(A)(1) + § 2913.02) Categorically Matches Guidelines “Extortion,” and Therefore Is a Crime of Violence

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Ohio Aggravated Robbery by Theft (§ 2911.01(A)(1) + § 2913.02) Categorically Matches Guidelines “Extortion,” and Therefore Is a Crime of Violence Introduction In United States v. Kenneth Evans, the...

Egregious Firearm Use and Combined Permanent–Life-Threatening Injury Take § 924(c) Cases Outside the Guidelines Heartland, Justifying Major Upward Variances

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Egregious Firearm Use and Combined Permanent–Life-Threatening Injury Take § 924(c) Cases Outside the Guidelines Heartland, Justifying Major Upward Variances Introduction This commentary analyzes the...

United States v. Bycroft: Tenth Circuit Requires On-the-Record, Defendant-Specific §3583(d) Findings for Lifetime Internet Bans; Generic §3553(a) Recitations Are Insufficient

Date: Oct 18, 2025

United States v. Bycroft: Tenth Circuit Requires On-the-Record, Defendant-Specific §3583(d) Findings for Lifetime Internet Bans; Generic §3553(a) Recitations Are Insufficient Introduction In United...

Scantland, Not Aimable, Governs FLSA Employee Status in the Eleventh Circuit: Scheduling Control, Nonnegotiable Day Rates, and Employer-Provided Systems Support Employee Classification

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Scantland, Not Aimable, Governs FLSA Employee Status in the Eleventh Circuit: Scheduling Control, Nonnegotiable Day Rates, and Employer-Provided Systems Support Employee Classification Case: Joel...

Opening the Door Is Not Consent: Eleventh Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity for Warrantless Entry and Subsumes Derivative Seizure/Excessive-Force Claims

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Opening the Door Is Not Consent: Eleventh Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity for Warrantless Entry and Subsumes Derivative Seizure/Excessive-Force Claims Case: Terry Dukes, Sr. v. Chase Gregory Court:...