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Bar owners in Louisiana continue to struggle, join class-action lawsuit against the state
www.brproud.com/news/bar-owners-in-louisiana-continue-to-struggle-join-class-action-lawsuit-against-the-state/
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Thomas v. Davis Docket: 17-20661 Opinion Date: July 30, 2020 Judge: Edith Hollan Jones Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit granted a certificate of appealability on petitioner's claim that his trial counsel failed to subject the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing in violation of United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 104 S. Ct. 2039 (1984). Even when reviewed de novo, the court held that counsel's statements during summation and sentencing did not amount to a complete failure to mount a defense and thus Cronic does not apply. In this case, counsel did not entirely fail to subject the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing. Rather, counsel actively advocated on petitioner's behalf throughout the trial and he moved to suppress evidence; he cross-examined the state's witnesses on their identification of petitioner as the culprit, ultimately impeaching several of them and prompting the arguably most critical witness to admit she lied to the police; cross-examined the detectives involved in the underlying investigation on their search and arrest of petitioner, as well as the subsequent handling of evidence; and counsel did not abandon petitioner by conceding the only factual issues in dispute. Read Opinion Louisiana Bar Foundation awards $8.7 million for civil legal aid
www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2020/07/30/louisiana-bar-foundation-awards-8-7-m-civil-legal-aid-grants/5548683002/ Medical marijuana program expands, among new Louisiana laws
www.myarklamiss.com/news/state-news/medical-marijuana-program-expands-among-new-louisiana-laws/ Unemployment jumps across Louisiana again, driven by spike in hospitality sector as bars shuttered
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/business/article_131e93cc-cd0f-11ea-b3ef-9f9d41b3fbdf.html Louisiana Supreme Court grants 'diploma privilege' to let recent grads practice without bar exam
www.nola.com/news/courts/article_411d4088-cb94-11ea-88cd-c74f58da6f9f.html ACLU launches wide-ranging 'summer of litigation' against Louisiana police www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_latest/article_8652abb4-cbb4-11ea-9f26-3be34e8a9155.html US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Canales v. Davis Docket: 18-70009 Opinion Date: July 21, 2020 Judge: Catharina Haynes Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of the petition for habeas corpus relief based on petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The court agreed with the district court that there is no reasonable probability that a juror would have found that the mitigating evidence, both old and new, outweighed the aggravating evidence. Therefore, the mitigating evidence is not so compelling that it would tip the balance and establish a "substantial" likelihood of a different result. Accordingly, the district court correctly held that petitioner has not proven prejudice to prevail on his Wiggins claim. Read Opinion Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jeff Hughes sues The Advocate over stories about misconduct
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_c2fec6a0-cade-11ea-a704-8b7ca5de4d04.html US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions State Farm Lloyds v. Richards Docket: 18-10721 Opinion Date: July 20, 2020 Judge: Per Curiam Areas of Law: Insurance Law, Personal Injury State Farm filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no duty to defend or indemnify the insureds in the underlying action. In the underlying action, Jayden Meals' mom filed a personal injury suit against his paternal grandparents, the insureds, after Jayden, who was 10 years old, died in an ATV accident. The district court found that the extrinsic evidence satisfied both the motor-vehicle exclusion and the insured exclusion. The Fifth Circuit certified a question of Texas law to the Texas Supreme Court, which answered that the policy-language exception to the eight-corners rule is not a permissible exception under Texas law. Therefore, the district court erred by applying the policy-language exception in this case. The court held that the eight-corners rule applies here; the underlying third-amended complaint contains allegations within its four corners that potentially constitute a claim within the four corners of the policy; and thus the court reversed the district court's holding that State Farm does not have a duty to defend the insureds. The court stated that State Farm has a duty to defend, so the exception to non-justiciability does not apply. Because the underlying suit remains pending, the court reversed the district court's holding that State Farm has no duty to indemnify. Read Opinion After bar exam canceled, Louisiana law grads will appeal for 'diploma privilege;' here's what that means
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_4cce5692-c84c-11ea-9ccd-ff7ae641b941.html US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions United States v. Suarez Docket: 19-40783 Opinion Date: July 17, 2020 Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson Areas of Law: Criminal Law, White Collar Crime Defendant was convicted of four counts of structuring financial transactions for the purpose of evading reporting requirements, a violation of 31 U.S.C. 5324(a)(3) and (d). The Fifth Circuit held that the Count 4 indictment fails to state an offense but, given the evidence introduced at trial, the defect is harmless. The court also held that the $52,042 forfeiture judgment is not excessive under the Eighth Amendment. In this case, defendant's offenses were intentional efforts to evade a reporting requirement, related to other criminal activity, conducted over a 27-month period, and the $52,042 forfeiture is a fraction of the statutory maximum and less than double the Guidelines maximum. Read Opinion “Need to Know” protest seeking transparency from TPSD leaders to take place on Saturday
www.houmatimes.com/news/need-to-know-protest-seeking-transparency-from-tpsd-leaders-to-take-place-on-saturday/ McRaney v. The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Inc. Docket: 19-60293 Opinion Date: July 16, 2020 Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of an action against NAMB for intentional interference with business relationships, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court cited the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine and found that it would need to resolve ecclesiastical questions in order to resolve plaintiff's claims. The court held that, at this time, it is not certain that resolution of plaintiff's claims will require the district court to interfere with matters of church government, matters of faith, or matters of doctrine. Accordingly, the court remanded for further proceedings. Read Opinion LPSD announces changes to start of 2020-2021 school year
www.houmatimes.com/news/lpsd-announced-changes-to-start-of-2020-2021-school-year/ AG Landry releases opinion stating statewide mask mandate, bar restrictions are unconstitutional; Edwards responds
www.houmatimes.com/news/ag-landry-releases-opinion-stating-statewide-mask-mandate-bar-restrictions-are-unconstitutional-edwards-responds/ US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions United States v. Luyten Docket: 19-40603 Opinion Date: July 15, 2020 Judge: Kurt D. Engelhardt Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens within the United States by means of an aircraft. The court held that the district court did not err by applying a sentencing enhancement under USSG 2L1.1(b)(6) for recklessly creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. In this case, the aliens were transported on a small aircraft in excess of the seating capacity flown by defendant who had not held a valid pilot certificate for eleven years. Therefore, the totality of these specific facts and reasonable inferences supports the conclusion that the manner in which defendant transported these aliens involved inherently dangerous practices that produced substantial risks of death or serious bodily injury. Read Opinion Superintendent releases statement on Postponing start of Terrebonne Parish Schools
www.houmatimes.com/news/superintendent-releases-statement-on-postponing-start-of-terrebonne-parish-schools/ US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions United States v. Brandon Docket: 19-50227 Opinion Date: July 14, 2020 Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson Areas of Law: Criminal Law After defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, the Supreme Court decided Rehaif v. United States, which established for the first time that the government must prove that the person charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm "knew he had the relevant status when he possessed" the firearm. The Fifth Circuit affirmed and held that the district court's error in accepting defendant's guilty plea did not affect his substantial rights. In this case, defendant's state court documents, and especially his behavior at the time of his arrest, established that defendant had knowledge of his status as a convicted felon when he possessed the firearm. Therefore, the court concluded that there is no reasonable probability that defendant would have refused to enter the plea absent the district court's error. Read Opinion Locals protest Bar Restrictions in front of Terrebonne Parish Courthouse
www.houmatimes.com/news/locals-protest-bar-restrictions-in-front-of-terrebonne-parish-courthouse/ US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Acadian Diagnostic Laboratories, LLC v. Quality Toxicology, LLC Docket: 19-30320 Opinion Date: July 13, 2020 Judge: Andrew S. Oldham Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Contracts After Acadian entered into two contracts with QT to perform lab testing, Acadian filed suit alleging that QT breached both agreements. The jury ultimately awarded Acadian damages for QT's breach of both agreements and both parties appealed. In regard to QT's contentions, the court held that the district court properly granted summary judgment on QT's liability for breaching the agreements and the district court did not err by excluding evidence about Acadian's business dealings. The court also held that Acadian's request for the entry of judgment of a higher damages figure is meritless. The court explained that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide several ways for a federal litigant to seek a different damages figure than that which the jury awards, and Acadian chose exactly none of them. Therefore, by failing to file any motions in the district court, Acadian forfeited its ability to seek appellate review of the jury verdict. Read Opinion Louisiana veteran serving life for $30 marijuana sale will get a new hearing
www.nola.com/news/courts/article_e5ce57aa-c461-11ea-9e8b-c358af21140c.html Gov. Edwards Orders Statewide Mask Mandate, Closes Bars gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2591 Louisiana governor announces mask mandate thehill.com/homenews/news/506922-louisiana-governor-announces-mask-mandate-amid-covid-19-surge US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions United States v. Toure Docket: 19-10505 Opinion Date: July 10, 2020 Judge: Jennifer Walker Elrod Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendants' conviction for forced labor, conspiracy to harbor an alien for financial gain, and harboring an alien. The court held that defendants have failed to identify any authority holding that under current law—the standard they must meet on plain-error review—the forced-labor statute's definition of "serious harm" is unconstitutionally vague or overbroad; the evidence was sufficient to support the forced-labor conviction; the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to give defendants' requested jury instruction; and the district court did not err by imposing a restitution award of $288,620.24. Read Opinion |
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