LATEST SUMMARIES

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, CIVIL PROCEDURE, CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW, HEALTH LAW
• Good v. Altria Group, Inc.

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
• Aristud-Gonzalez v. Mendez-Vazquez

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
• US v. Turner
• US v. Holloway

IMMIGRATION LAW
• Peguero-Cruz v. Gonzales

LATEST SUMMARIES

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, CIVIL PROCEDURE, CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW, HEALTH LAW
Good v. Altria Group, Inc., No. 06-1965
In a suit claiming that a cigarette manufacturer made fraudulent misrepresentations in violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by advertising and promoting cigarette brands as "light" and having "Lowered Tar and Nicotine," summary judgment for defendant-manufacturer is vacated and remanded where plaintiffs claims were not: 1) expressly preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, 2) implicitly preempted, either by the FCLAA or by the FTC's oversight of tar and nicotine claims in cigarette advertising, or 3) barred by the Maine Act's exemption for "transactions or actions otherwise permitted under laws administered by any regulatory board or officer." Read more...

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Aristud-Gonzalez v. Mendez-Vazquez, No. 06-2676
Denial of a motion in an original federal action for an injunction to bar the original federal plaintiff from bringing a second suit alleging political discrimination in Puerto Rico Superior Court is affirmed where there were no reasons for taking the res judicata issues away from the local court so compelling as to render the district court's decision an abuse of discretion. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
US v. Turner, No. 03-2608
Conviction and sentence for several Hobbs Act and firearms offenses based upon an attempt to rob an armored car facility are affirmed over defendant's arguments that: 1) a Hobbs Act conspiracy is not a "crime of violence" for purposes of a charge for use of a weapon during a crime of violence; 2) the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction for attempted robbery under the Hobbs Act; 3) the district court improperly instructed the jury on the elements of vicarious entrapment and the necessary impact on interstate commerce for a Hobbs Act violation; 4) the court erred in admitting taped statements regarding defendant's criminal past; 5) the court erred in admitting evidence of defendant's prior convictions; 6) the court erred in denying defendant's motion to sever his trial and to sever felon-in-possession counts from the rest of the charges; 7) the court erred in denying his motion for a new trial; 8) defendant was entitled to a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility; and 9) defendant was entitled to remand for resentencing pursuant to US v. Booker. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
US v. Holloway, No. 05-2229
Conviction for possession of ammunition by a felon is affirmed where the district court correctly denied defendant's motion to suppress since the defendant was not seized for Fourth Amendment purposes until after he fled from officers. Sentence is vacated and remanded on the government's appeal where a Massachusetts charging document that stated the defendant "assault[ed] and beat" a victim was sufficient to establish that the previous state conviction was for a violent battery and therefore a "crime of violence" for purposes of the Armed Career Criminals Act. Read more...

IMMIGRATION LAW
Peguero-Cruz v. Gonzales, No. 05-1879
Petition for review of a denial of a motion to reopen removal proceedings is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction where, although the REAL ID Act removed petitioner's right to apply for habeas corpus before he actually filed such an application and after the time to file an appeal of the BIA's decision had run out, petitioner had ample time before the effective date of the REAL ID Act to file a habeas petition, and the court now refuses to carve out an additional path to judicial review where Congress has not. Read more...