Justia U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Plaintiffs filed suit challenging the constitutionality of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq., as a violation of the separation of powers. The district court dismissed the complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief without reaching the merits of the complaint, ruling that Morgan Drexen Inc. had an adequate remedy at law in an enforcement action filed by the Bureau in the Central District of California, where Morgan Drexen could raise the constitutional challenge as a defense. The district court also ruled that the other plaintiff, an attorney who contracts with Morgan Drexen for paralegal services, lacked standing under Article III. The court affirmed, concluding that the attorney failed to proffer evidence of an injury in fact at the time she filed the complaint and that Morgan Drexen failed to show the district court abused its discretion in dismissing the complaint. View "Morgan Drexen, Inc. v. CFPB" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of two drug possession offenses and one drug conspiracy offense. The court applied the especially deferential "manifest miscarriage of justice" standard and concluded that there was sufficient evidence to convict defendant of the drug conspiracy offense. The court also concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of defendant's prior acquittal on the drug distribution counts. Therefore, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court except that, consistent with the court's ordinary practice in these circumstances, the court remanded the case so that the district court may address defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in the first instance. View "United States v. Williams" on Justia Law

Delaware and others petitioned for review of EPA's final rule governing use of certain kinds of power generators known as Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines ("backup generators" or "emergency engines"). The court held that Delaware lacks standing to challenge the exemption from emissions controls for backup generators in low-density areas under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7412; EPA acted arbitrarily and capriciously under Section 111 of the Act when it modified the National Emissions Standards and the Performance Standards to allow backup generators to operate without emissions controls for up to 100 hours per year as part of an emergency demand-response program; and, therefore, the court reversed and remanded as to those portions of the challenged rule. View "DE Dept. of Natural Res. v. EPA" on Justia Law

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) prohibited Ege, a pilot for Emirates Airlines, from flying to, from, or over the United States. Ege had experienced travel problems and had submitted an online inquiry to the DHS’s Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. He believes the TSA’s prohibition is based on his alleged inclusion on the “No-Fly List,” a subset of the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) used by the TSA to “deny boarding of individuals on commercial aircraft operated by U.S. carriers or flying to, from, or over the United States.” He sought removal from the No-Fly List or, at a minimum, a “meaningful opportunity to be heard.” The D.C. Circuit dismissed his petition for lack of standing and lack of jurisdiction. Neither the TSA nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the only two rnamed agencies, has “authority to decide whose name goes on the No-Fly List.” The Terrorist Screening Center, which is administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation), is “the sole entity with both the classified intelligence information” Ege wants and “the authority to remove” names from the No-Fly List/TSDB. View "Ege v. Dep't of Homeland Sec." on Justia Law

Citizens of Myersville, in Frederick County, Maryland, oppose the construction of a natural gas facility called a compressor station in their town as part of a larger expansion of natural gas facilities in the northeastern United States proposed by Dominion, a regional natural gas company. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, over the objections of the citizens, conditionally approved it. Dominion fulfilled the Commission’s conditions, including obtaining a Clean Air Act permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment. Dominion built the station, and it has been operating for approximately six months. The D.C. Circuit denied a petition for review, rejecting arguments that the Commission lacked substantial evidence to conclude that there was a public need for the project; that the Commission unlawfully interfered with Maryland’s rights under the Clean Air Act; that environmental review of the project, including its consideration of potential alternatives, was inadequate; and that the Commission unlawfully withheld hydraulic flow diagrams from them in violation of their due process rights. View "Myersville Citizens for a Rural Community, Inc. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n" on Justia Law

Yasser Abbas is the son of current Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. In 2012, the Foreign Policy Group published an article on its website about Yasser and his brother Tarek, asking: “Are the sons of the Palestinian president growing rich off their father’s system?” and “Have they enriched themselves at the expense of regular Palestinians – and even U.S. taxpayers?” Yasser filed suit, alleging defamation under D.C. law. The D.C. Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Act of 2010 (Anti-SLAPP Act) requires courts, upon motion by the defendant, to dismiss defamation lawsuits that target political or public advocacy, unless the plaintiff can show a likelihood of success on the merits. Applying that law, the district court dismissed. The D.C. Circuit affirmed, holding that the allegations did not suffice to make out a defamation claim under D.C. law. The questions were not factual representations. The court acknowledged that a federal court exercising diversity jurisdiction may not apply the D.C. AntiSLAPP Act’s special motion to dismiss provision, which makes it easier for defendants to obtain dismissal before trial than the more plaintiff-friendly standards in Federal Rules 12 and 56. View "Abbas v. Foreign Policy Grp., LLC" on Justia Law

In 2012, the New York Times published the Sanger article, describing a classified government initiative to “undermine the Iranian nuclear program” through “increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems.” Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, Freedom Watch sought records from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the State Department, including “information that refers or relates in any way to information” released or made available to Sanger. The CIA, NSA, and DoD cited national security; each stated that it could “neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence” of responsive records. After FOIA’s deadline expired, Freedom Watch filed suit. The district court dismissed the CIA and NSA based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies; granted DoD summary judgment based on FOIA’s national security exemption; and granted the State Department partial judgment, finding certain requests unduly speculative. Concerning information released to Sanger, the State Department obtained a 60-day extension and produced 79 documents. The court denied a motion to depose a records custodian, finding no evidence of bad faith, and granted the State Department summary judgment. Before oral argument, Freedom Watch moved to supplement the record with news articles relating to the revelation that former Secretary of State Clinton had maintained a private email account on a private server and sought to expand the search on remand. The D.C. Circuit remanded to allow the court to oversee the search of the former Secretary’s emails for records responsive to Freedom Watch’s FOIA request, but otherwise affirmed. View "Freedom Watch, Inc. v. Nat'l Sec. Agency" on Justia Law

After the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, that Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7521(a))requires regulation of greenhouse gases emitted from vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued coordinated rules governing the greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy of cars and trucks. In 2012 the D.C. Circuit upheld EPA’s car emission standards. Opponents, including purchasers of new vehicles and POP, a business that makes after-market modifications to diesel engines enabling them to run on vegetable oil, then challenged the car rules on procedural grounds; challenged EPA’s truck standards on procedural grounds; and challenged both agencies’ regulations concerning trucks as arbitrary and capricious. The D.C. Circuit declined to reach the merits. The purchasers of new vehicles, arguing that EPA neglected to comply with a nondiscretionary statutory duty to provide its emission standards to the Science Advisory Board prior to issuing them, lacked standing, having failed to identify a discrete injury that a favorable decision by the court would remedy. POP’s interest in promoting alternative fuel does not fall within the zone of interests protected by 42 U.S.C. 7521, the provision of the Clean Air Act governing emissions standards for motor vehicles. View "Delta Constr. Co. v. Envtl. Prot. Agency" on Justia Law

Standley went to a D.C. public library to complete her homework and study for upcoming college exams. She sat in an area of the library reserved for children. Officer Edmonds-Leach asked Standley to move. Finding no seats in the adult area, Standley relocated to the young-adult area, although she was too old to sit there. The officer again asked Standley to move. Aan altercation ensued. The officer arrested Standley. Standley sued Officer Leach and the District of Columbia for the unconstitutional use of excessive force and common law torts. At trial, Standley and Officer Leach disputed the specifics of their encounter. Other than an inconclusive video, the only evidence was provided by Kellar, a librarian. The court allowed the defense to call Kellar for impeachment, although Kellar had not been identified before trial in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a) and the defense had agreed not to call undisclosed witnesses. The D. C. Circuit reversed, finding that Kellar’s testimony was not confined to impeachment; that the outcome of the trial turned on the jury’s assessment of the credibility of Standley and Officer Edmonds-Leach; and that the testimony of the relatively disinterested witness likely influenced that outcome. View "Standley v. Edmonds-Leach" on Justia Law

In April 2011, Mathis-Gardner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and making false claims against the United States. The charges were related to the falsification of information regarding the performance of government contracts. She was sentenced to concurrent 18-month terms of imprisonment and concurrent three-year terms of supervised release and ordered to perform community service and to pay restitution. Mathis-Gardner served her time without incident and began her term of supervised release on December 31, 2012. On February 25, 2014, Mathis-Gardner filed a motion for early termination of her supervised release under 18 U.S.C. 3583(e). The government supported her motion. The court denied the motion in a minute order that stated, in its entirety, “It is hereby ordered that defendant’s motion is DENIED.” The D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded. While a district court is required to consider certain factors before granting or denying a motion to terminate supervised release, there is no requirement that it explain its decision to deny such a motion so long as the court’s reasoning is discernible from the record. In this case, the reviewing court could not discern the reasoning from the record. View "United States v. Mathis-Gardner" on Justia Law