U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2001

The court held that it had jurisdiction to review the denials of qualified immunity because the parties stipulated to the plaintiff’s version of the facts and the appeal presented legal questions.

The Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal of most of Smith’s claims under the prisoner-screening statutes and affirmed summary judgment on his First Amendment retaliation claim. It concluded that Smith had not shown protected activity because his grievance-related conduct violated legitimate prison rules and objectives…

The Sixth Circuit affirmed the judgment denying Buxton disability benefits because substantial evidence supported the Commissioner’s determination that, despite severe impairments, Buxton retained the capacity to perform work in the economy.

The court affirmed the judgment upholding the denial of disability benefits. It held that the Commissioner could not raise Heston’s failure to challenge the step-two finding for the first time on appeal, and concluded that the ALJ’s omission of a discussion of the treating physician’s report was harmless, the…