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

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court entering summary judgment against the political discrimination claims brought by Plaintiffs, former Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (AACA) employees, against Defendants, the AACA and its former executive director, holding that the district court did not err.Plaintiffs were laid off pursuant to an agency-wide, facially-neutral layoff plan based on seniority. Plaintiffs brought this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging violations of their rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, along with violations of Puerto Rico law. The district court adopted Puerto Rico court decisions concluding that it was the Board of Directors, and not the Executive Director, that was responsible for the layoff plan, and then granted summary judgment for Defendants. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court correctly concluded that Plaintiffs were barred from arguing in this litigation that the executive director was responsible for the layoff plan. View "Diaz-Baez v. Alicea-Vasallo" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained during the execution of a no-knock search warrant at the apartment where he and his girlfriend lived, holding that the district court did not err.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred by failing to suppress evidence obtained from the search of his backpack because his backpack was not properly subject to search and erred in failing to find that there was insufficient justification for the no-knock provision of the warrant. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) there was nothing improper about the search; and (2) the district court did not commit plain error by not ruling that the no-knock provision was unsupported. View "United States v. Congo" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized during a protective search of a car, holding that the actual-fear analysis set forth in United States v. Lott, 870 F.2d 778 (1st Cir. 1989), is no longer controlling.In Lott, the First Circuit held that officers cannot do a frisk for weapons where the officers were not actually concerned for their safety. The district judge in this case granted Defendant's motion to suppress after finding that while officers had an objectively reasonable basis to search the car, they had no subjective concerns for their safety. The First Circuit reversed the judge's evidence suppression and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that Lott is abrogated to the extent that it is inconsistent with the opinion in this case. View "United States v. Guerrero" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's federal claims seeking to hold private parties liable as state actors under 42 U.S.C. 1983, holding that the district court did not err in granting Defendants' Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.In this case arising from eviction proceedings, Plaintiff brought this suit against Management Administration Services Corporation and its administrator, alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments related to a search of her apartment, violations of due process related to rent-adjustment negotiations and eviction proceedings, and pendant claims for emotional distress. In response to Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff argued that Defendants were performing a function traditionally and exclusively reserved to the state. The district court dismissed the complaint. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the complaint failed to allege sufficient facts to ground a plausible conclusion that the function Defendants performed was, by tradition, an exclusive prerogative of the state. View "Cruz-Arce v. Management Administration Services Corp." on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court rejecting the claims of Plaintiffs John Doe and Ben Bloggs that their high school discipline was unconstitutional, holding that the district court properly entered judgment in favor of Hopkinton Public Schools on all counts.Following an investigation, Hopkinton High School determined that eight students on the school hockey team, including Plaintiffs, had bullied their fellow hockey team member, and suspended each hockey player for a number of days. In this appeal from the dismissal of their complaint, Plaintiffs argued that the discipline violated their First Amendment rights, the "emotional harm" prong of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, 370 is unconstitutional, and that the punishment violated their student speech rights under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, 82. The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, holding (1) the school did not violate Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights; (2) Plaintiffs' challenges to the "emotional harm" prong of the Massachusetts statute and school policy were moot; and (3) the school did not violate Plaintiffs' rights under the Massachusetts student speech statute. View "Doe v. Hopkinton Public Schools" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to overturn his 2010 New Hampshire conviction for aggravated felonious sexual assault, holding that the district court properly rejected Petitioner's Sixth Amendment claim.In his habeas petition, Petitioner asserted that his Sixth Amendment right to autonomy to determine the objectives of his defense when his counsel took certain actions to present a defense at trial, despite Petitioner's instructions not to do so. The district court denied the petition. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Petitioner was not denied autonomy to direct the objectives of his defense when his trial counsel presented an active defense contrary to Petitioner's express wishes. View "Kellogg-Roe v. Gerry" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion to suppress evidence recovered during a traffic stop, holding that the district court did not err when it denied the motion to suppress.Appellant entered a conditional guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, reserving the right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress both statements he made at the scene of his traffic stop and the physical evidence obtained during the stop. In denying the motion to suppress, the district court concluded that the law enforcement officer had reasonable suspicion to stop Defendant's car. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the officer had a reasonable basis to believe Appellant had committed a traffic infraction and thus to perform a traffic stop. View "United States v. Miles" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendants' joint motion to dismiss the charges against them on retrial, holding that the district court did not err.Defendants - Raymond Garraway and Cordwell Bennett - were convicted for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Defendants moved for a mistrial. The district court granted the motion on the basis of the prosecution's improper arguments made at closing. When the prosecution began to retry them, Defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss for violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause. The district court denied the motion, finding that the prosecution did not intend to provoke a mistrial. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the record amply supported the district court's decision. View "United States v. Garraway" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of possession of child pornography, holding that none of Defendant's claims on appeal had merit.Defendant, an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, came under investigation for downloading child pornography on his home computer. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in (1) refusing to suppress incriminating statements Defendant made when interviewed at his workplace by federal agents and (2) denying a post-trial motion seeking a Franks hearing to review an error in an affidavit used to secure the search warrant leading to the discovery of the incriminating evidence on Defendant's home computer. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not commit reversible error in finding that Defendant's interview was not custodial; and (2) did not err in denying Defendant's delayed request for a Franks hearing. View "United States v. O'Neal" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court rejecting Defendant's request for a Franks hearing before Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant a Franks hearing.Defendant was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to search warrants and sought a Franks hearing on the basis of two alleged material omissions from the warrant affidavit. The district court denied both Defendant's Franks motion and his motion to suppress. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in ruling that Defendant had failed to make the threshold showing necessary to obtain a Franks hearing. View "United States v. Leonard" on Justia Law