U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

The court found no plain error in Brooks’s claim that the Government breached the plea agreement, concluding that the Government’s sentencing presentation stayed within the parties’ agreement. It dismissed his substantive-reasonableness challenge because that challenge fell within his valid appellate waiver.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Matheny’s conviction after concluding that the evidence recovered from an SD card was admissible under the private search doctrine, notwithstanding the invalid search warrant.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Wilson’s convictions, holding that the district court acted within its discretion in denying a continuance because Wilson did not show that her husband’s testimony would probably become available upon sentencing.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Watford’s revocation sentence, concluding that he did not establish plain error from the district court’s references to his serious underlying conduct and the need to punish.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Wilson’s convictions and 144-month sentence, rejecting his challenges to insurance representatives’ testimony, the exclusion of an IRS webpage, the jury instructions, and the sentence.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment except as to the ALJ’s RFC finding about Chappelle’s ability to work with regularity. Because the ALJ did not explain how the evidence about hospital stays supported the estimated annual absences, or whether Chappelle’s recovery-time testimony was considered…

The Fourth Circuit dismissed Lawal’s petition for review because it lacked jurisdiction to review the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of her motion for sua sponte reopening. The court relied on circuit precedent holding that the Board’s exercise of sua sponte discretion is not reviewable.

The Fourth Circuit denied Watford’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to require the district court to update its records to reflect the expungement of state arrest records and criminal proceedings.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s orders dismissing some of Phoenix’s § 1983 claims and granting summary judgment to the remaining defendants. It stated that its review of the record disclosed no reversible error.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Brown’s conviction and sentence, finding no plain error in the guilty-plea proceedings and concluding that his sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable.

The Fourth Circuit denied Green’s consolidated mandamus petitions seeking the district judge’s recusal because he did not establish a clear and indisputable right to that relief. As to two of the lawsuits, Green also had an adequate means to seek recusal in his pending appeals.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Beasley’s amended civil rights complaint. Because Beasley had transferred from the jail where the alleged denial of a Ramadan diet occurred and sought only injunctive relief on appeal, the court agreed that his request for that relief was moot.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order granting Smith compassionate release in part and resentencing him to 480 months. It concluded that the district court adequately considered the relevant sentencing factors and conducted an individualized review, and that Smith had not raised his…

The court denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed Lopez de Niz’s appeal from the dismissal of his § 2255 motion as untimely. It concluded that neither the district court’s limitations ruling nor its rejection of equitable tolling and actual innocence was debatable, and that Lopez de Niz had not made the…

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the revocation of Ancrum’s supervised release and the resulting sentence. It concluded that she received the procedural protections required by Rule 32.1, including counsel and adequate notice, and that the sentence was procedurally and substantively sound under the deferential standard…

The court dismissed Taylor’s appeal because he filed his notice of appeal after the 30-day civil appeal period expired and neither obtained an extension nor had the period reopened.

The Fourth Circuit dismissed Henry’s consolidated appeals for lack of jurisdiction because he filed his notices of appeal after the 30-day appeal period expired. The court treated the dates on the notices as the earliest dates Henry could have delivered them to prison officials and concluded that no timely notice or…

The Fourth Circuit dismissed Henry’s consolidated appeals from the dismissal of his § 1983 complaints because he filed his notices of appeal after the 30-day deadline and had not obtained an extension or reopening of the appeal period.

The Fourth Circuit denied Albright a certificate of appealability and dismissed his appeal from the denial of his § 2254 petition. After independently reviewing the record, the court concluded that he had not made the required showing for a certificate.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Brown’s § 1983 complaint, finding no reversible error after reviewing the record. The opinion gives no further appellate analysis and states that the district court dismissed the departments and official-capacity claims as not subject to suit and barred the individual-capacity…

The court denied Reeves a certificate of appealability and dismissed his appeal from the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition. After independently reviewing the record, it concluded that he had not made the required showing for a certificate.

The Fourth Circuit denied the petition for review of the BIA’s order denying asylum and withholding of removal. It agreed that review of the internal-relocation finding was waived and concluded that substantial evidence supported the agency’s finding that Petitioner had not established persecution on account of…

The court affirmed the dismissal without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because Graham’s informal brief did not challenge the basis for the district court’s disposition, forfeiting appellate review. The court also denied all pending motions.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Alien Tort Statute. Applying de novo review, it found no reversible error and affirmed for the reasons given by the district court, which concluded that the alleged conduct was not sufficiently connected to the October…

The Fourth Circuit held that Cox had reasonable notice of the online Terms of Use Agreement and manifested assent to it when he enrolled in CreditWorks. Because the record established formation of an agreement containing an arbitration provision, the court reversed the denial of the motion to compel arbitration and…

The Fourth Circuit denied Chronister a certificate of appealability and dismissed his appeal from the dismissal of his habeas petition as successive and unauthorized. Because the district court denied relief on procedural grounds, Chronister had to show both that the procedural ruling and a constitutional claim were…

The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Lewis’s § 1983 complaint for failure to state a claim. Claims challenging the calculation of his release date or seeking retrospective relief for denial of discretionary parole could not be brought under § 1983, and any cognizable due process claim did not plausibly state a…

The court denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed Linton’s appeal from the dismissal of his § 2254 petition as untimely. It concluded that he had not shown a debatable constitutional claim: his voir dire allegation lacked a showing of prejudice, the hearsay allegation concerned state law, and the evidence…

The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Beasley’s amended civil rights complaint. It found no reversible error in the district court’s conclusions that his transfer mooted his RLUIPA claim and that his allegations failed to state a plausible First Amendment Free Exercise claim.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment after concluding that Brown was not entitled to present a justification defense. Assuming the first two elements of that defense were satisfied, the court held that the threat had ended once authorities controlled the scene and that Brown’s refusal to surrender the firearm and…

The court affirmed Gray’s 100-month sentence, concluding that the upward variance was procedurally and substantively reasonable and adequately justified by the danger posed by his conduct.

The court held that Bixler’s 120-month sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the district court did not explain whether or why it rejected his central mitigation theory when imposing a substantial upward variance.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Humphrey’s 88-month sentence for possessing child pornography. It concluded that the sentence was procedurally reasonable and that Humphrey had not overcome the presumption that his within-Guidelines sentence was substantively reasonable.

The court enforced Smith’s knowing and intelligent appeal waiver as to his sentencing challenges, dismissed those issues, and affirmed the remaining issues. It found no plain error in the Rule 11 proceeding and concluded that Smith’s ineffective-assistance claim could not be resolved on direct appeal because…

The Fourth Circuit denied Bank a certificate of appealability and dismissed his appeal from the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion. After independently reviewing the record, the court concluded that he had not made the showing required for a certificate.

The Fourth Circuit concluded that Monroe’s guilty plea was knowing, voluntary, and supported by an independent factual basis, and that the district court did not plainly err in accepting it.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of most of Perry’s § 1983 claims and summary judgment for the remaining defendants. It found no reversible error, concluding that the district court applied proper standards when screening the complaint and that the evidence properly before it did not create a genuine dispute…

The court found that Pendergrass filed his notice of appeal after the ordinary 30-day deadline and was ineligible for an extension. Because the district court docket suggested he may have received notice of the order late enough to qualify for reopening of the appeal period, the court remanded for the district court…

The court dismissed Emrit’s appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction because he appealed after a magistrate judge recommended dismissal but before the district court entered an order. The recommendation was neither a final order nor an appealable interlocutory or collateral order.

The Fourth Circuit dismissed Emrit’s appeal because he filed his notice of appeal before the district court had entered any order, and the notice therefore did not seek review of a final or appealable interlocutory or collateral order.