By Hailey Cleek & Raquel Macgregor On November 6th, the Fourth Circuit granted a hearing en banc to review President Trump’s third Executive Order iteration on immigration. The new Presidential Proclamation (“Proclamation”), like its predecessors, restricts immigration from several Muslim-majority countries. The case was appealed to the Fourth Circuit after the District Court of Maryland […]

Schilling v. Schmidt Baking Company, Inc. In this civil case, plaintiffs appealed the district court’s dismissal of their claims for overtime wages under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Maryland Wage and Hour Law, and the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law.  Under the FLSA, professional motor carriers, like Schmidt Baking Company, are generally […]

Weekly Roundup: 11/6-11/10 By: Tim Day & Jonathan Hilliard Plotnick v. Computer Sciences Corp.              In this civil case, the plaintiffs, former executives of Computer Sciences Corporation (“CSC”), filed suit against CSC, alleging they were denied benefits under their Deferred Compensation Plan for Key Executives after an amendment to the […]

  By: Ashley Collette and Evan Reid On October 12, 2017, the Fourth Circuit issued a published opinion in the civil case Siena Corporation v. Mayor and City Council of Rockville, Maryland. In its colorfully-worded decision, the court affirmed the dismissal of the “garden-variety zoning dispute recast in constitutional terms.” Facts and Procedural History  In […]

By: Adam McCoy & Shawn Namet U.S. v. Palin In this criminal case, the defendants argued the government did not sufficiently prove the materiality requirement of health care fraud to convict for submitting to the insurance company medically unnecessary and more expensive tests to increase profits.  Materiality requires showing the misrepresentation effected the insurance company’s […]

WE, THE CITIZENS OF MARYLAND, TRUSTING IN GOD, THE SUPREME RULER OF THE UNIVERSE, PLEDGE FAITH IN OUR BROTHERS WHO GAVE THEIR ALL IN THE WORLD WAR TO MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY. THEIR MORTAL BODIES HAVE TURNED TO DUST. BUT THEIR SPIRIT LIVES TO GUIDE US THROUGH LIFE IN THE WAY OF GODLINESS, […]

By Chase Stevens Overview On October 17, 2017, the Fourth Circuit published its decision in Borzilleri v. Mosby. This case dealt with the issue of First Amendment rights for prosecutors engaging in political activity as private citizens. Since around 2006, Plaintiff (Borzilleri) had been an Assistant State Attorney, which required her to make plea deals […]

Weekly Roundup: 10/23-10/27 By: Hanna Monson and Sarah Spangenburg United States v. Julian Zuk In this criminal case, the Government appealed the district court’s sentencing of defendant Julian Zuk as being “substantively unreasonable” after he had pled guilty to possessing child pornography as part of a plea agreement. The Fourth Circuit vacated the sentence and […]

Overview M.L. was born in 2003 with Down Syndrome and lives with his family in an Orthodox Jewish community in Maryland.[1]  M.L’s faith governs almost every aspect of his life, including how he dresses, eats, and works.[2]  In 2009, M.L. enrolled in a private special education program that was tailored to his religious needs.[3]  In […]

American Humanist Association v. Maryland-National Capital Park In this First Amendment case, the Fourth Circuit reversed the District Court’s ruling that a 40-foot tall Latin cross, established as a monument to fallen soldiers of World War I, did not violate the Establishment Clause. The entire panel found the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the monument’s […]

Weekly Roundup 10/9-10/13 By: Evan Reid & Ashley Collette United States v. Salmons In this criminal case, the defendant appealed the district court’s decision, which found his prior crime of aggravated robbery was a predicate crime under the force clause of U.S.S.G.§ 4B1.2, thus requiring a longer minimum sentence. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment […]

Weekly Roundup: 9/25-9/29 By: Chase Stevens & Robert Tucci Brown v. Commissioner Social Security Administration           In this administrative law case, the claimant appealed the district court’s decision affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of the claimant’s request for disability insurance benefits. The Fourth Circuit vacated the judgment of the […]