Each year, more than 8,000 people are convicted for unlawful possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). About 90% of those cases arose from gun possession by a felon. Firearm prosecutions are reportedly “the third most common federal offense.” Such prosecutions are even more common in some districts, including the Middle District of … Continue Reading
The “maxim that wrongdoers may not profit from their wrongs” is having a big week at the Sixth Circuit. In two cases—one about ERISA, the other about restitution—sons betrayed their mothers for financial gain. The facts in these cases are devastating, though the legal issues are fascinating nonetheless. In short, the murderer lost, but the … Continue Reading
In Department of Education v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court issued a rare August opinion to maintain two preliminary injunctions that block the Department of Education’s new rule. That rule expands Title IX to prevent sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination. State coalitions brought challenges; district courts in Louisiana and Kentucky enjoined the rule during the litigation; the … Continue Reading
A Tennessee law prevents changing one’s designation of sex on his or her birth certificate, even if that person has changed gender identity on other official documents as in life. In Gore v. Lee, the Sixth Circuit affirmed this law’s constitutionality. This decision is best understood in tandem with another gender-rights case from Tennessee: L.W. … Continue Reading
Given the continuing discussion about the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Chevron in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, we thought that a review of the decision (and its limits) is in order. The Loper Bright decision The 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice Roberts launched a full-throated attack on deference to administrative agencies: “Chevron gravely … Continue Reading
Congratulations are in order to the forty-something law clerks that swore in to the Sixth Circuit bar Wednesday. That was a prelude to the court’s en banc argument on campaign finance restrictions in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC. The Committee challenges the constitutionality of part of the Federal Election Campaign Act that places limits … Continue Reading
Today, the Sixth Circuit took the relatively rare step of granting a criminal defendant’s release from prison before deciding the merits of his case. That followed last week’s oral argument in the high-profile criminal appeal of Alexander “P.G.” Sittenfeld, the former Cincinnati City Councilperson. Sittenfeld’s counsel closed his rebuttal argument by renewing his request for … Continue Reading
Tomorrow marks the first Saturday in May, so the sporting world will turn its attention to Louisville, Kentucky for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Perhaps $200 million will be wagered on “the fastest two minutes in sports.” And while the Derby is “the most storied race of them all,” West … Continue Reading
Last week, the Ohio Supreme Court published a new and improved writing manual. The Third Edition is “a comprehensive guide . . . designed to improve the readability of opinions issued by, and briefs filed in,” Ohio’s courts. The unquestionable headline is that the new manual abandons the cumbersome triple-parallel-citation format of old in favor of citing … Continue Reading
Four years ago, the Supreme Court declined a federal habeas petitioner’s request to review the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Avery v. United States, 770 F. App’x 741. Justice Kavanaugh, the Sixth Circuit’s assigned circuit justice, attached a “statement” to the Supreme Court’s cert. denial to highlight a circuit split that Avery implicated and to note … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit opened a rift with the Fifth Circuit last Thursday in Changizi v. HHS, No. 22-3573 (6th Cir. Sep. 14, 2023). Judge Bush wrote the opinion for the Court, which Judge Boggs and Judge White joined. The decision affirmed the dismissal of a complaint alleging that the Biden Administration had violated the First … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit recently heard argument in L.W. v. Skrmetti, involving Tennessee’s law prohibiting healthcare providers from performing gender-affirming surgeries and administering hormones or puberty blockers to transgender minors. The district court facially enjoined enforcement of the law as applied to hormones and puberty blockers and applied the preliminary injunction statewide. Tennessee appealed and sought … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs Summer Associate Taylor Lonas summarizes a recent opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit holding that an insanity acquittee bears the burden of proof for showing, after violating the terms of his release, that his continued release would not “create a substantial risk” to the public. 18 … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit has announced new standards for collective action lawsuits under the FLSA in Clark v. A&L Homecare and Training Center. There are already many good summaries of this decision around the legal internet, so this recap will be short. The question is how to determine whether other potential plaintiffs are “similarly situated” so … Continue Reading
Last week the en banc court rejected a petition in United States ex rel. Martin v. Hathaway, 63 F.4th 1043, 1054 (6th Cir. 2023), a False Claims Act case in which an ophthalmologist and a hospital had an informal agreement to refer patients to each other. Chief Judge Sutton’s opinion rejected the argument that the … Continue Reading
Our colleagues at the Global Investigations & Compliance Review Blog have written about an important decision the Sixth Circuit issued last week. In its opinion, the Court limited the scope of Anti-Kickback claims under the False Claims Act. You can read more about the decision here. … Continue Reading
Co-authored by: Stephanie A. Darville & Shams H. Hirji About two weeks ago, the Sixth Circuit issued an important decision in United States v. White, No. 21-3209. Judge White wrote the unanimous opinion for the Court, which was joined by Judge Moore and Judge Bush. The Court held that an Ohio aggravated-robbery statute, R.C. § 2911.01(A)(1), … Continue Reading
This past Friday afternoon, the Sixth Circuit dealt a blow to the Department of the Air Force’s efforts to overturn a District Court’s class-wide, preliminary injunction against the Department. Specifically, the Sixth Circuit denied the Department’s emergency motion to stay the District Court’s class-wide injunction. Judge Matthew W. McFarland, of the Southern District of Ohio, … Continue Reading
Judge Thapar issued a short and sweet concurrence today that cautioned against overly relying on agency guidance that has not gone through notice and comment. The respondent in Huscoal, Inc. v. Director, __ F.4th __ (6th Cir. 2022), had filed a claim for survivor’s benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act. She argued that her … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an opinion in Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan v. DaVita Inc., which reversed the Sixth Circuit’s October 2020 decision finding that DaVita Inc. plausibly asserted a claim against an Ohio hospital’s health plan for unlawfully discriminating against patients with end-stage renal disease by offering low reimbursement rates … Continue Reading
In a previous post, we discussed corpus linguistics, an emerging tool in statutory and constitutional interpretation. It appears that the corpus linguistics bug is spreading, both in this Circuit and to other circuits as well. Two recent cases serve as a reminder that the Sixth Circuit is both a thought leader in analyzing and utilizing … Continue Reading
Corpus linguistics has been in the news lately, which gives us a chance to discuss this interesting tool of statutory interpretation and, in the process, revisit some Sixth Circuit views about it. What is corpus linguistics? We will let Circuit Judge Amul Thapar explain: [Corpus linguistics] draws on the common knowledge of the lay person … Continue Reading
A Fair Labor Standards Act case is working its way through the Sixth Circuit and could have serious ramifications for FLSA plaintiffs in the Sixth Circuit. In this post, we discuss the potential sea change that a decision in In re: A&L Home Care and Training Center, et al. could effect in the Sixth Circuit’s … Continue Reading
On February 8, the Sixth Circuit issued an unsigned order declining to enjoin (pending appeal) an HHS rule that does at least two notable things: (1) the rule eliminates the prior Administration’s requirement “that grantees create strict physical and financial separation between their Title X programs and any abortion services they may provide” and (2) … Continue Reading
