The Sixth Circuit is in the national media spotlight this afternoon. The U.S. Supreme Court has just agreed to review the Sixth Circuit’s landmark (but divided) ruling from November 6 that upheld same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. See Opinion (6th Cir. Case Nos. 14-1341; 3057; 3464; 5291; 5297; 5818). The stage is … Continue Reading
In an order issued Monday (starting on page 27), the Supreme Court denied certiorari in the recent Sixth Circuit case of Kalamazoo County Road Commission v. Deleon. In so doing, the Court allowed the Sixth Circuit’s decision denying summary judgment for the defendant employer to stand. However, Justice Alito authored a strenuous dissent from the denial of certiorari, stating … Continue Reading
This is the second in a series of posts discussing Tyler v. Hillsdale, the first case since Heller to strike down a federal gun law. The first post is here. One of the four “potential limiting principles” the Court offered for its Second Amendment analysis, is that Section 922(g)(4)—which permanently bars those previously involuntarily committed … Continue Reading
In Tyler v. Hillsdale Cnty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, a case sure to draw attention nationwide, the Sixth Circuit held today that “’a prohibition on the possession of firearms by a person “who has been committed to a mental institution,’ . . . violates the Second Amendment.” The court held that the the plaintiff, who “[t]wenty-eight years … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court granted cert last Friday in the case of Bullard v. Hyde Park Savings Bank, in which the First Circuit held that an order denying confirmation of a reorganization plan is not a “final judgment” and therefore not appealable. The First Circuit’s decision agreed with five other circuits, including the Sixth Circuit, and … Continue Reading
Although not on direct appeal from the Sixth Circuit, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument today in a criminal case that will resolve a division between the Sixth and Ninth Circuits over what standard of “intent” should be applied to a criminal defendant charged under a law that makes it a crime to “transmit … Continue Reading
A Sixth Circuit panel unanimously held last week in Williams v. City of Cleveland that pretrial detainees forced to “undress in the presence of other detainees and to have their naked genitals sprayed with delousing solution” stated a viable claim under § 1983 and the Fourth Amendment. Judge Griffin wrote the opinion in which Judges Siler … Continue Reading
Pending before the Supreme Court for its conference last Friday was a request for certiorari in the recent Sixth Circuit case of Dean Foods Company v. Food Lion, LLC. In an order issued today, the Supreme Court denied certiorari and allowed the decision to stand without further comment. Dean Foods (also known as In re Southeastern … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit has been in the national media spotlight following last Thursday’s high-profile decision upholding same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. See Opinion (6th Cir. Case Nos. 14-1341; 3057; 3464; 5291; 5297; 5818). We covered the Sixth Circuit’s decision here only hours after it was decided. The Court’s decision is the first … Continue Reading
Major news coming out of the Sixth Circuit today. In a landmark (but divided) ruling, the Sixth Circuit has upheld same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. See Opinion (6th Cir. Case Nos. 14-1341; 3057; 3464; 5291; 5297; 5818). As we previously have covered, district courts in each of these four states had ruled … Continue Reading
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Henderson v. United States, a case that the Eleventh Circuit decided earlier this year. Although the case comes from Florida, its outcome will impact the Sixth Circuit as well. The issue in the case centers around whether the rule that “seized property, other than contraband, should be … Continue Reading
In a significant decision on federal securities pleading standards, the Sixth Circuit—led in this case by Judge Karen Nelson Moore—has attempted to clarify the previously and self-admittedly “muddied” waters of pleading standards in securities litigation. Last year, the Sixth Circuit diverged from the Second and Ninth as to whether § 11 of the Securities Act … Continue Reading
We posted previously on some Sixth Circuit cases that will get attention from the Supreme Court this term. In addition to those, the Supreme Court granted cert last week in another case of interest from within the Circuit – the Ohio Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision in Ohio v. Clark, which held that a preschooler’s identification … Continue Reading
Earlier this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court denied seven cert petitions from five states, including Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Indiana, seeking review of rulings from the Fourth, Seventh, and Tenth Circuits striking down bans on same-sex marriage. The High Court’s timing is uncanny because it was exactly two months ago today (August 6) that … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in ten cases today, three of them from the Ninth Circuit and two from the Fifth. It also accepted review of the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Coleman v. Tollefson (13-1333), which held that the district court properly denied pauper under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Supreme Court stayed an Ohio district court’s preliminary injunction that would have allowed early in-person (EIP) voting in Ohio to start today. A Sixth Circuit panel upheld the injunction in a lengthy opinion last week, which we covered here. Although Justice Kagan had denied the State of Ohio’ application to intervene as a … Continue Reading
During the last five days, a media spotlight has been cast on the Sixth Circuit as legal pundits and observers try to dissect last Wednesday’s oral arguments in the same-sex marriage appeals before the Court. The three-judge panel which heard the appeals included Judges Martha Craig Daughtrey of Tennessee, Jeffrey Sutton of Columbus, and Deborah … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has held in Am. Elec. Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut that the CAA preempts tort claims under federal common law and in International Paper Co. v. Ouellette that the Clean Water Act does not preempt state common law claims under the law of the state that is the source of the alleged pollution. … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit has had lots of bad press over the past few years for its long string of reversals by the Supreme Court, mostly in habeas cases. Over the past term, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in 11 cases from the Sixth Circuit and reversed in all but 2. While that sounds bad, … Continue Reading
In Fifth Third v. Dudenhoeffer, the Supreme Court unanimously eliminated the extra “presumption of prudence” granted to fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans by the Sixth Circuit (and, to varying degrees, several other circuits), holding that Fifth Third employees needed only to allege that their ESOP fiduciaries has acted imprudently to state a claim under ERISA. … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to a First Amendment challenge to Ohio’s law on false campaign speech. Petitioners Susan B. Anthony List (“SBA”) and the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (“COAST”) sought to proceed on facial and as-applied challenges to Ohio’s law based on statements they intend to make in future … Continue Reading
This week brought two decisions from the Supreme Court on cases from the Sixth Circuit. In Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, the Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit’s decision that Michigan could not bring a lawsuit against an Indian-owned casino based on tribal sovereign immunity even though the casino was not located on the … Continue Reading
In a widely anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday of this week in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (No. 12-682) (PDF), holding in a 6-2 ruling (with Justice Kagan recusing herself) that Michigan’s Proposal 2 – which amended the Michigan Constitution to prohibit the use of race-based preferences in state … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court’s decision in Litton v. NLIB establishes the starting point for determining whether a dispute arising post-expiration of the contract is subject to arbitration. Last week, in Huffman v. Hilltop Companies, LLC , the Sixth Circuit reversed the denial of arbitration in a post-expiration dispute building on the seminal analysis in Litton. The Court … Continue Reading
