Legal News

Case Summaries

Criminal Law & Procedure

[03/09] Zia Trust Co. v. Montoya
In an action for excessive force brought by family members of a man defendant-officer shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance, denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity is affirmed where the court could not say that a van fifteen feet away, which according to the plaintiffs was clearly stuck on a pile of rocks, gave defendant probable cause to believe that there was a threat of serious physical harm to himself or others that would justify his use of force.

[03/09] US v. Wise
Defendant's firearm possession sentence is affirmed where: 1) defendant's prior conviction under Utah law for failure to stop at the command of a police officer was a "crime of violence" under the Sentencing Guidelines; and 2) the district court erred in not assigning criminal history points for one of defendant's prior convictions, but that error did not invalidate defendant's sentence.

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Military

[02/18] Honeywell Int'l, Inc. v. US
In a patent infringement suit by Honeywell involving a patent related to passive night vision goggles that are compatible with a full color display when both are used in an airplane cockpit, decision of the Court of Federal Claims is reversed and remanded where: 1) the government has not proved by clear and convincing evidence that a claim of the patent-in-suit is invalid; 2) plaintiff has standing to assert a claim for just compensation under the Invention Secrecy Act; and 3) the first sale doctrine does not preclude plaintiff from recovering damages against the government for use of infringing systems in the F-16 aircraft.

[02/17] Bryant v. Military Dep't of the State of Miss.
In an action alleging retaliation against plaintiff for his reporting misconduct by the Mississippi Air National Guard, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff failed to point to specific facts showing there was a genuine issue whether the individual defendants acted under color of state law; 2) the class-based animus requirement of 42 U.S.C. section 1985(3) applied equally to causes of action under the second clause of section 1985(2); and 3) the continuing tort doctrine did not apply, and thus plaintiff's assault and battery claim was time-barred.

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Sentencing

[03/09] US v. Wise
Defendant's firearm possession sentence is affirmed where: 1) defendant's prior conviction under Utah law for failure to stop at the command of a police officer was a "crime of violence" under the Sentencing Guidelines; and 2) the district court erred in not assigning criminal history points for one of defendant's prior convictions, but that error did not invalidate defendant's sentence.

[03/08] US v. Miller
Dismissal of defendant's petition for a writ of audita querela challenging a restitution order, arising from his conviction for conducting a monetary transaction with criminally-derived funds and evading income tax, is affirmed where: 1) if it still exists, the writ of audita querela can only be applied to rectify a judgment which, though correct when rendered, has since become infirm; and 2) since all parties to this case agree that the district court's restitution order was initially correct, and because the statute does not require the order to be modified every time a subsequent payment is made on a restitution obligation, there is no infirmity in defendant's judgment for a writ of audita querela to rectify.

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