Justia U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's entry of summary judgment on Count I of Plaintiff's complaint seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. 1983 but reversed the entry of summary judgment on Count IX, holding that unconstitutional conduct of police officers violated the clearly established law of the Supreme Court, as set forth in Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1, 6 (2013).Plaintiff brought this complaint against the Town of Orono, the chief of the Orono Police Department, and four police officers with whom he interacted during two encounters in 2016 - one in February and one in September - both of which resulted in his being arrested without a warrant on charges that were subsequently dropped. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants. The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) correctly granted summary judgment on Count I relating to the February incident; but (2) erred in granting summary judgment on Count IX relating to the September incident. View "French v. Merrill" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Francis Lang's petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus to vacate his Massachusetts conviction for murder in the first degree, holding that the district court did not err in denying the petition.Lang was convicted in a Massachusetts court for murder in the first degree. In this action, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254, Lang sought to vacate his conviction, arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate Lang's mental health history. The district court denied the petition. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Defendant failed to establish prejudice under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). View "Lang v. DeMoura" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court entering summary judgment for Appellees and dismissing Appellant's complaint invoking 42 U.S.C. 1983 and claiming false arrest, malicious prosecution, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, holding that there was no error.Appellant was attempting to enforce his perceived property rights when he unilaterally closed access to the portion of Cedar Street that crossed his property. A ruckus ensued, and Appellant was arrested for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct. Appellant subsequently brought this action against a number of municipal actors, including the police officers who responded to the scene. The district court entered summary judgment for Appellees. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in granting summary judgment against Appellant. View "Finamore v. Miglionico" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' convictions connected with the murder of Steven DiSarro, holding that Defendants were not entitled to relief on their allegations of error.Defendants, Francis Salemme and Paul Weadick, were convicted of the 1993 murder of DiSarro. At the time of the murder, Salemme was the boss of a criminal organization known as the New England La Cosa Nostra. Defendants murdered DiSarro to prevent him from talking with federal agents about his activities with Salemme, Weadick and Salemme's son. On appeal, Defendants challenged the trial court's admission of a significant amount of evidence concerning the prior criminal activities of Salemme and several witnesses. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in admitting the evidence. View "United States v. Weadick" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of making false statements on certain government forms, theft of government property, and failing to disclose an event that affected Defendant's right to Social Security payments, holding that Defendant's claims on appeal were without merit.Defendant suffered a work injury while working as a mechanic for the United States Postal Service (USPS) and began receiving worker's compensation and Social Security disability benefits. After Defendant had been receiving benefits for several years, the USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) began investigating the case and determined that Defendant had continued working and volunteering with his union without disclosing the activities as required. The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions, holding (1) sufficient evidence supported the convictions; (2) the district court properly granted the government's motion in limine preventing Defendant from presenting certain evidence; and (3) there was no error in the sentence imposed by the district court. View "United States v. Rivera-Ortiz" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress his federal New Hampshire prosecution on double jeopardy grounds, holding that Defendant's double jeopardy rights did not attach in earlier Maine criminal proceedings.In 2018, Defendant was indicted in the District of Maine with criminal offenses. On January 31, 2020, the United States filed a motion to dismiss the indictment without prejudice. Defendant filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal or dismissal with prejudice, arguing that, given the government's accompanying admission that it could not prove its case and his lengthy pretrial detention, due process required an acquittal or dismissal with prejudice. The district court denied the motion and dismissed the case without prejudice. Also on January 31, 2020, the United States filed a criminal complaint in the New Hampshire district court. A grand jury issued an indictment. Defendant moved to dismiss count two on double jeopardy grounds. The district court denied the motion. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that jeopardy did not attach to Defendant's Maine criminal proceedings. View "United States v. Suazo" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment in this action alleging disability discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act and retaliation under the Maine Whistleblower Protection Act and the Maine Human Rights Act, holding that summary judgment was improper.Plaintiff, a former Wal-Mart employee, brought this action against Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., alleging disability discrimination and retaliation under Maine state law. After the case was removed to federal district court the district court issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart. The First Circuit reversed, holding (1) there were genuine issues of material facts preventing summary judgment on Plaintiff's disability discrimination claim; and (2) the district court erred in concluding that none of the actions Plaintiff raised, if considered as protective activity, were causally connected to her termination. View "Benson v. Wal-Mart Stores East L.P." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' convictions of one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute one hundred grams or more of heroin and one count each of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin, holding that there was no error.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) the district court did not err in denying Defendants' pre-trial rulings denying their motions to suppress evidence that resulted from the search of their vehicle, including their statements made during the stop; (2) the district court did not impermissibly limit the questioning of Gutierrez in violation of the Confrontation Clause; (3) the prosecutor improperly made a statement during closing argument that referred to facts not in evidence, but the statement was harmless; (4) the district court properly instructed the jury in response to a question asked during deliberations; and (5) the district court did not err in applying the mandatory minimum sentence under 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B)(i). View "United States v. Cruz-Rivera" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the ruling of the district court suppressing blood alcohol content evidence from a warrantless blood draw because no exigent circumstances were present, holding that the district court misapplied the law to the facts in this case.After a car accident that killed three people, a police officer ordered a warrantless blood of Defendant's blood without Defendant's consent and without exigent circumstances. The government charged Defendant with three counts of manslaughter and other intoxicated-driving crimes. Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence from the warrantless blood draw, which the district court granted. The First Circuit reversed, holding that the government met its burden to show it was reasonable for the police officer to think exigent circumstances existed when he took the blood draw. View "United States v. Manubolu" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendants' cross-motions for summary judgment in this action challenging the denial of Plaintiff's application for a "permit to purchase" a firearm, holding that Defendant provided no basis on appeal for overturning the district court's grant of summary judgment to Defendants.William Lyver, the chief of police for Northborough, Massachusetts, denied Plaintiff a permit to purchase based on Plaintiff's criminal history - specifically, his two out-of-state firearms-related convictions. Plaintiff subsequently brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 seeking a declaratory judgment that Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, 131(d)(ii)(D) violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The district court upheld the provisions on the ground that they were substantially related to an important governmental interest. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Plaintiff provided no ground for overturning the district court's grant of summary judgment to Defendants. View "Morin v. Lyver" on Justia Law