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

The First Circuit denied Petitioners' petitions seeking judicial review of two decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) - one affirming an immigration judge's (IJ) denial of their application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), and the other denying Petitioners' motion to reopen their proceedings, holding that Petitioners were not entitled to relief.Petitioners applied for relief from removal based on China's politics, specifically persecution by Chinese officials seeking to enforce China's Family Planning Policy, which was in effect when Petitioners first entered the United States. The IJ denied Petitioners' application, concluding that they failed to meet their burden of proof. The BIA dismissed Petitioners' appeal. The First Circuit denied Petitioners' petitions for review, holding that there was substantial evidence to support the agency's decisions in this case. View "M.S.C. v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Joshua Levy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, in this case challenging the denial by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) of Levy's request for information related to a federal police misconduct investigation, holding that there was no error.Anthony Gulluni, District Attorney for Hampden County, Massachusetts, sent DOJ a letter (Touhy request) requesting all Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department (SPD) reports and documents supporting DOJ's specific and general findings in an attempt to identify SPD officers who were subject to the DOJ's findings of specific instances of misconduct and general failures within SPD's practices. DOJ denied Gullini's request in accordance with Touhy regulations. Gullini appealed. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not err in applying the arbitrary and capricious standard to its review of DOJ's denial of Gullini's Touhy request; and (2) did not err in finding that DOJ's privilege grounds were not arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law. View "Gulluni v. Levy" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the decision of the immigration judge (IJ) to deny Petitioner's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that the IJ's and BIA's decisions were supported by substantial evidence.Petitioner, a member of Ecuador's Quchua indigenous group, went before the IJ seeking to avoid removal through applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. The IJ denied all three forms of relief and ordered Petitioner's removal to Ecuador. The BIA affirmed the IJ's denial of relief on the merits. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Petitioner's application for asylum was appropriately denied, and therefore, withholding of removal was also appropriately denied. View "Caz v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) decision dismissing Sandra St. John's appeal from the judgment of the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying her statutory motion to reopen, holding that there was no abuse of discretion in the agency's denial of St. John's statutory motion to reopen.The Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against St. John based on her conviction for mayhem in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After going into ICE custody, St. John filed a motion in the Massachusetts superior court asking it to vacate her mayhem conviction and grant a new trial on ineffective assistance of trial grounds. St. John then moved for reopening of her removal proceedings on the grounds that her motion to vacate had rendered the mayhem conviction nonfinal for immigration purposes. The IJ denied the motion, and the BIA dismissed the appeal. The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review, holding that the agency did not abuse its discretion in declining to reopen the order of removal based on final criminal convictions. View "St. John v. Garland" on Justia Law

In this appeal arising out of a challenge to Rhode Island's liquor laws the First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Defendants as to all claims, holding that the district court erred in granting summary judgment as to the constitutionality of the in-state-presence requirement for retailers.Plaintiffs, Rhode Island wine consumers, brought this action alleging that, in violation of the Commerce Clause, Rhode Island consumers are denied access to alcohol deliveries from out-of-state retailers. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendants. The First Circuit vacated the lower judgment in part, holding that the district court erred in entering summary judgment as to the constitutionality of the in-state-presence requirement for retailers and remanded for a fuller consideration of the parties' respective offers of proof. The district court upheld the in-state-presence requirement for retailers. The First Circuit affirmed the judgment in part and vacated it in part and remanded the matter for further proceedings, holding that a discriminatory aspect of the State's version of the "three-tier system" could not be affirmed. View "Anvar v. Dwyer" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the Title III court confirming a plan of adjustment that permitted the discharge of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from its obligation to pay Plaintiff the entire amount of a settlement it had entered into with the Commonwealth regarding the Commonwealth's milk regulation scheme, holding that there was no error.Plaintiff and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico litigated for years their dispute over the Commonwealth's milk regulation scheme. The dispute was resolved by settlement, after which the Commonwealth entered Title III proceedings to adjust the Commonwealth's sovereign debt. Under the plan of adjustment, the Commonwealth was no longer obligated to pay Plaintiff the full amount specified in the parties' settlement. Plaintiff subsequently brought this action challenging that decision. The Title III court discharged the Commonwealth from its obligation to pay Plaintiff the full amount specified in the settlement and overruled Plaintiff's objections to the Plan. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Plaintiff's arguments on appeal failed. View "Financial Oversight & Management Bd. for P.R. v. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the order of the immigration judge (IJ) denying Petitioner's application for asylum and withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(A), 1231(b)(3)(A), as well as relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that there was no error below.Petitioner, a native and citizen of El Salvador, was charged with removability under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), and filed an application for asylum and withholding of removal. An immigration judge (IJ) found her removable and directed El Salvador as the country for removal. The BIA affirmed. The First Circuit denied Petitioner's petition for review, holding (1) sufficient evidence supported the IJ's factual findings, and the BIA committed no errors of law in its ruling; and (2) Petitioner waived her claim regarding the BIA's denial of CAT relief. View "Montoya-Lopez v. Garland" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying intervenor Eugene Volokh's motion challenging the district court's decision allowing John Doe, a former New Hampshire police officer, to proceed pseudonymously in challenging the inclusion of his name on the State of New Hampshire's Exculpatory Evidence Schedule (EES), holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion.New Hamsphire's Department of Justice maintained the EES, a list identifying law enforcement officers who had engaged in "misconduct reflecting negatively on their credibility or trustworthiness." Doe brought this action seeking damages and an injunction removing his name from the list. Doe sought to proceed as "John Doe," a pseudonym, but Volokh moved to intervene, challenging the decision to retain Doe's anonymity. The district court granted Volokh's motion to intervene but denied his motion to unseal and challenge pseudonymity. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court correctly applied the presumptive right of the public to know Doe's name and did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Doe rebutted that presumption. View "Doe v. Volokh" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico on its action against the Governor of Puerto Rico seeking to block the implementation of Act 41-2022, which tightened certain labor regulations that had been loosened about five years earlier, holding that the district court did not err in nullifying the law.The Board sued to block the enforcement of Act 41-2022, which the Governor signed into law on June 20, 2022, by filing an adversary proceeding in the court overseeing Puerto Rico's bankruptcy process under Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. The Governor moved for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The district court denied the Governor's motion and then nullified the law and any actions taken to implement it. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that there was no reason to disturb the court's order nullifying Act 41. View "Financial Oversight & Management Board for P.R. v. Hernandez-Montanez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit denied the petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) brought by Petitioners, several Peruvian nationals who were ordered removed from the United States, holding that Petitioners were not entitled to relief on their claims.Petitioners brought claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection pursuant to the regulations implementing the Convention Against Torture, contending that, if returned to Peru, they feared being seriously physically harmed or killed due to their former involvement with the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political party. An immigration judge (IJ) ordered Petitioners removed, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed. The First Circuit denied Petitioners' petition for review, holding that substantial evidence supported the agency's ruling that Petitioners had failed to make the requisite showing regarding government involvement. View "Vila-Castro v. Garland" on Justia Law