8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Digest: Sept. 20, 2023

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Administrative

Drug Distribution

Voluntariness of Plea; Appeal Waiver

Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for drug distribution, challenging the voluntariness of his plea and the sentence imposed by the district court.

Where defendant had withdrawn his motion to withdraw his plea, he could not challenge the voluntariness of the plea on appeal, and the appeal waiver in his plea agreement barred his challenge to his sentence.

Appeal is dismissed.

U.S. v. Elliott (MLW No. 80531/Case No. 23-1648 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Pitlyk, J.     

Social Security Disability

Sufficiency of Evidence; Residual Functional Capacity

Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his complaint challenging the denial of Social Security disability benefits.

Where the ALJ properly considered plaintiff’s subjective complaints and where there was substantial evidence to support the determination that plaintiff possessed residual functional capacity, the district court correctly upheld the denial of benefits.

Judgment is affirmed.

Nicoski v. Kijakazi (MLW No. 80510/Case No. 23-1808 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, Foster, J.

Civil Rights

§1983

Failure to Protect; Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

Plaintiff, a former inmate, appealed the dismissal of his §1983 complaint alleging failure to protect.

Where the district court correctly concluded that preservice dismissal was proper and plaintiff had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, the court affirmed judgment but modified dismissal to be without prejudice.

Judgment is affirmed and modified.

Thornton v. Boysen (MLW No. 80512/Case No. 23-1608 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota, Schreier, J.

Title IX

Sex Discrimination; Qualified Immunity

Plaintiff appealed the grant of summary judgment dismissal of his complaint. Defendants expelled plaintiff from a university graduate program after investigating two accusations of sexual misconduct made by different complainants. Plaintiff sued defendants, claiming sex discrimination in violation of Title IX and procedural due process violations under §1983. The district court granted defendants qualified immunity on the procedural due process claims and summary judgment on the remaining claims.

Where plaintiff merely disagreed with the adjudicator’s factual findings and credibility determinations, that did not demonstrate that defendants’ decision was against the weight of the evidence, and there was no evidence of direct sex bias where discussions about consent were sex-neutral and in line with university policies.

Judgment is affirmed.

Doe v. University of Iowa (MLW No. 80507/Case No. 21-3340 – 16 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Kelly, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa, Ebinger, J.

Criminal Law

Firearms Offense

Above Guidelines Sentence; Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence

Defendant appealed the above-Guidelines range sentence imposed following his guilty plea to a firearm offense, challenging the substantive reasonableness of the sentence.

Where the district court properly considered the statutory sentencing factors, there was no abuse of discretion in imposing an above-Guidelines sentence.

Judgment is affirmed as modified.

U.S. v. Robi (MLW No. 80532/Case No. 23-1825 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa, Locher, J.

Firearms Offense

Robbery; Crime of Violence

Defendant appealed the sentence imposed following his conviction for a firearm offense, arguing that the district court incorrectly concluded that his prior Missouri conviction for robbery was a crime of violence.

Where the Sentencing Guidelines explicitly stated that an attempted crime of violence qualified as a crime of violence, the district court correctly determined that defendant’s prior conviction was a crime of violence.

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Anderson (MLW No. 80530/Case No. 23-1330 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, White, J.      

Firearms Offense

Within-Guidelines Sentence; Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence

Defendant challenged the substantive reasonableness of his within-Guidelines sentence imposed following his guilty plea to a firearms offense. Defendant also alleged on appeal that he possessed the weapon in connection with defending his son from attack, in addition to asserting claims of prosecutorial misconduct and vindictive/selective prosecution.

Where a within-Guidelines sentence was presumptively reasonable, the court affirmed the sentence where defendant presented no argument that would overcome the presumption.

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Brandon (MLW No. 80508/Case No. 22-3353 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa, Williams, J.

Possession with Intent to Distribute

Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence; Sentencing Discretion

Defendant challenged the substantive reasonableness of the sentence imposed following his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute.

Where there was no evidence that the district court abused its sentencing discretion, the court affirmed.

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Kuhn (MLW No. 80511/Case No. 23-1580 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas, Brooks, J.

Stipulation for Judgment

Judgment by Consent; Motion to Modify

Defendant appealed the denial of his motions to modify a 2003 stipulation for judgment by consent and associated judgment, and the denial of his motion for reconsideration.

Where defendant failed to establish a significant change in circumstances, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to modify.

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Wells (MLW No. 80509/Case No. 23-1039 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Sachs, J.

Employer-Employee

§1983

Right to Continued Employment; Procedural Due Process

Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of her complaint against defendants. Plaintiff was hired as a law enforcement officer and signed a contract stating that she would reimburse the city for her training if she left employment within the first three years. One year into her employment, plaintiff was asked to resign after she included false or inaccurate information in reports. Plaintiff filed suit claiming that defendants violated her procedural and substantive due process rights by disciplining and constructively discharging her.

Where plaintiff’s contract did not convert her employment from at-will to contractual, she did not have a property interest in her continued employment and therefore could not assert due process claims.

Judgment is affirmed.

LaCoe v. City of Sisseton (MLW No. 80529/Case No. 22-3552 – 9 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Loken, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota, Kornmann, J.                

Discrimination

Summary Judgment; Basis for Reversal

Plaintiff appealed the grant of summary judgment to defendants in his employment discrimination action.

Where the court found no basis for reversal, it affirmed the summary judgment.

Judgment is affirmed.

Ehrenfeld v. Tran (MLW No. 80533/Case No. 23-2136 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Wimes, J.