LATEST SUMMARIES

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, EVIDENCE, GOVERNMENT LAW, PUBLIC UTILITIES, WATER LAW
• California Dep't of Water Res. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, TAX LAW
• Maciel v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
• US v. Beltran-Munguia

IMMIGRATION LAW
• Reynoso-Cisneros v. Gonzales

LATEST SUMMARIES

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, EVIDENCE, GOVERNMENT LAW, PUBLIC UTILITIES, WATER LAW
California Dep't of Water Res. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n, No. 04-76131
State agency's petition for review of an FERC order allowing state utility-PG&E to include certain charges in its tariff for use of its power transmission lines is denied over various unfounded claims of error as: 1) the FERC's decision to categorize the facilities at issue as "transmission" based on an exclusive use test and to roll in their costs did not conflict with FERC precedent, and was a reasonable approach to allocate the cost of facilities whose operation benefits all grid users; and 2) the decision was supported by substantial evidence and agency petitioner was not deprived of any due process rights by the allowance of a particular witness's testimony. Read more...

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, TAX LAW
Maciel v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, No. 04-75716
A decision upholding an IRS Notice of Deficiency for certain tax years is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the tax court properly refused to give preclusive effect to a sentencing court's fraud finding in other proceedings; 2) it properly found that petitioner acted fraudulently when he failed to report income from the sale of certain investments; but 3) contrary to the ruling below, petitioner was entitled to deduct certain bona fide business expenses. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
US v. Beltran-Munguia, No. 06-30118
A prior felony conviction under Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) section 163.425 for sexual abuse in the second degree does not qualify as a "crime of violence" for purposes of sentence enhancement under U.S.S.G. section 2L1.2. Read more...

IMMIGRATION LAW
Reynoso-Cisneros v. Gonzales, No. 05-71803
A petition for review of a BIA order denying petitioner's motion to reopen exclusion proceedings is granted where: 1) petitioner filed her motion to reopen after she departed the U.S. under an exclusion order and, thus, after the completion of immigration proceedings; and 2) consequently, the BIA erred in concluding it lacked jurisdiction over the motion to reopen. Read more...