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

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court entering summary judgment for the Town of Pittsfield, New Hampshire and dismissing Plaintiff's allegation that the Town's zoning ordinance, as applied by the Town's Board of Selectmen, was unconstitutionally vague and violated his First Amendment and equal protection rights, holding that the district court did not err.Plaintiff applied for and received a permit to keep a trailer on his property for storage purposes. In 2016 and 2017, the Board granted Plaintiff permit extensions. In 2018, the Board denied Plaintiff's request for a third extension and required him to remove the trailer from his property. Plaintiff subsequently brought this action, invoking 42 U.S.C. 1983 and challenging the ordinance. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Town. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court provided the requisite notice that it would reach Plaintiff's claim of content or viewpoint discrimination at summary judgment and properly entered summary judgment on this claim; (2) the Town's application of the ordinance against Defendant did not violate Defendant's equal protection rights; and (3) the ordinance, as applied by the Town, was not unconstitutionally vague. View "McCoy v. Town of Pittsfield, NH" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence that he possessed an AR-15 assault rifle and many rounds of ammunition, holding that the district court correctly found that Defendant had no objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the evidence at issue.At issue was whether Defendant showed an objectively reasonable privacy interest in the items seized from a case he had left in the home of his former domestic partner and their minor son. Law enforcement officers retrieved the case after responding to Defendant's former partner's domestic disturbance call when Defendant entered the residence, assaulted her, and left her and the child wounded. Defendant filed a motion to suppress, arguing that he had a subjective and objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in the case. The district court denied the motion. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Defendant did not have an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy. View "United States v. John" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment against Plaintiff, a police officer with the City of Somerville, and dismissing his wrongful discharge claim, holding that there was no error in the grant of summary judgment.Plaintiff was involved in an off-duty altercation with a civilian, who reported the matter. The Somerville police department conducted an internal investigation, during which Plaintiff lied about his conduct. After a hearing, the City determined that justice cause existed to terminate Plaintiff's employment. Plaintiff brought this lawsuit, alleging that his discharge was based on his race in violation of Title VII and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B. The district court entered summary judgment for the City. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court correctly dismissed both claims on summary judgment. View "Diaz v. City of Somerville" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of conspiracy to commit export violations, visa fraud, making false statements to federal agents, money laundering, and smuggling, holding that the search of Defendant's laptop and cellular phone was a constitutional search.Defendant, a Chinese national, was stopped by Customs and Border Patrol agents upon his arrival to the United States after a trip to China. Agents seized Defendant's electronic devices for a further search. Defendant was indicted based on evidence during the warrantless search of his devices. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that neither probable cause nor a warrant was required for the search in this case to be lawful. View "United States v. Qin" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress the fentanyl discovered in his waistband during a pat-frisk conducted after an anonymous tip alerted the police department of two men passed out in a vehicle, holding that there was no error.In denying Defendant's motion to suppress, the district court concluded that the investigatory stop did not violate Defendant's Fourth Amendment rights and that the officers had reasonable suspicion that Defendant could have been armed with a weapon to justify a Terry frisk. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that there was no Fourth Amendment violation because the arresting officer had reasonable suspicion for the initial encounter, for extending the stop, and to believe Defendant was armed and dangerous. View "United States v. Harrington" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence collected during the investigation that led to his arrest, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress.Defendant pled guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence discovered after agents executed a warrant to search his residence. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the warrant's affidavit established a sufficient nexus between the criminal activity and the places to be searched; (2) the district court reasonably found that no search of Defendant's person occurred; and (3) the district court did not err in denying Defendant's statements to law enforcement agents. View "United States v. Corleto" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants - several public school officials, the Town of Chelmsford, and the local school committee - and dismissing the First Amendment retaliation and state law claims brought by Plaintiff - a public school teacher and former president of her local teachers' union - holding that there was no error.In her complaint, Plaintiff alleged that Defendants violated her First Amendments rights and the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (MCRA), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, 11H by retaliating against her in reaction to her union advocacy efforts while she was president of the Chelmsford Federation of Teachers, a local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants on all claims. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the district court's summary judgment ruling or two other rulings from the pleading and discovery stages of this case. View "Salmon v. Lang" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants on the basis of qualified immunity and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint bringing various constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations and state law tort claims under the Maine Civil Rights Act (MCRA), Me. Stat. tit. 5, 4682, holding that there was no error.Plaintiff brought this action against the City of Portland and six city police officers alleging that the officers used excessive force and otherwise violated his constitutional rights when they were investigating a domestic violence incident in which he was involved and left him standing outside in his socks in freezing temperatures for several minutes. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants on the grounds of qualified immunity. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Defendant was entitled to qualified immunity under the circumstances of this case; and (2) the district court properly concluded that Plaintiff's tort claims had been waived and granted summary judgment in Defendants' favor. View "Punsky v. City of Portland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's decision granting summary judgment to Defendants, Norman Sylvester and the Town of Bourne, Massachusetts and dismissing Plaintiff's lawsuit alleging that the discipline he faced as a firefighter violated his constitutional rights, holding that the district court did not err.In his complaint, Plaintiff claimed that he refused to sit for a "promotional" photograph in violation of his religious beliefs and that he was disciplined as a result of his refusal. Plaintiff brought this complaint against Sylvester, in his role as Fire Chief of the Bourne Fire Department, under 42 U.S.C. 1983, for violation of his rights under the Free Exercise Clause, and against the Town and Sylvester under the Massachusetts Wage Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch,. 149, 148. The district court granted summary judgment to Sylvester on qualified immunity grounds on the section 1983 claim and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claim. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court correctly concluded that Sylvester did not violate Plaintiff's constitutional rights, as required by the first prong of the qualified immunity analysis; and (2) there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's decision declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claim. View "Swartz v. Sylvester" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated Defendant's convictions for nine counts of wire fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft for his participation in an alleged health insurance fraud scheme, holding that the verdict form that was submitted to the jury violated Defendant's federal constitutional right to a jury trial, and the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) the district court invaded the jury's over fact-finding by overemphasizing certain of the government's evidence in a manner that was contrary to Appellant's interests, in violation of Appellant's Sixth Amendment right; and (2) there was a reasonable possibility that the constitutional violation at issue influenced the jury in reaching its verdicts in this case, and therefore, the verdicts could not stand, and remand was required. View "United States v. Moffett" on Justia Law