CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
DONALD LEE JAMES,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
JAMES CORRIGAN, Warden, Chippewa Correctional
Facility,
Respondent-Appellee. |
No. 22-1507 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit.
No. 2:18-cv-10972—David M. Lawson, District Judge.
Argued: October 18, 2023
Decided and Filed: October 26, 2023
Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; COLE and THAPAR, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Donald James seeks a writ of habeas corpus. When the
Michigan Court of Appeals upheld his conviction, it stated that a weapon tied James to the crime
scene. No evidence supported this finding. But when it comes to habeas, even serious errors
aren’t enough to warrant relief by themselves. Petitioners need to show a violation of the
Constitution or federal law. Here, James needs to prove the state had insufficient evidence to
convict him. He hasn’t, so we affirm. |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
RYOHEI AKIMA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
CAITLYN M. PECA, individually and in her official
capacity as a Public Safety Officer,
Defendant-Appellant. |
No. 22-2058 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit.
No. 2:21-cv-10080—David M. Lawson, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: October 26, 2023
Before: MOORE, GIBBONS, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. In early 2020, Ryohei Akima was arrested for
operating a vehicle while intoxicated based on his performance on a three-part field sobriety
exam and a preliminary breathalyzer test. Arresting Officer Caitlyn Peca determined that he
failed the assessments across the board, but that proved to be incorrect. The Officer had both
administered the field sobriety tests improperly and misread the breathalyzer by a factor of ten.
Although Akima blew a blood alcohol content of 0.02, well below the legal limit of 0.08, Peca
read the result as 0.22 and arrested him, causing Akima, a Japanese citizen, to lose his work visa
and to be deported. When a blood test confirmed the Officer’s error, Akima sued, alleging
constitutional violations and common law torts. Officer Peca moved to dismiss, and later for
summary judgment, based on qualified immunity. The district court permitted Akima’s
constitutional claims to proceed, concluding that a reasonable jury could determine the Officer
lacked probable cause and was not entitled to qualified immunity. We AFFIRM. |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
RAJON JAMISON,
Defendant-Appellant. |
No. 22-1840 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Flint.
No. 4:19-cr-20798-1—Laurie J. Michelson, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: October 26, 2023
Before: KETHLEDGE, THAPAR, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Rajon Jamison challenges the enhanced sentence he received
under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), after pleading guilty to a
federal firearm offense. We must decide whether a violation of Michigan’s felony-firearm
statute is a “violent felony” under the ACCA when a juvenile is convicted of that offense for
possessing a firearm while committing second-degree murder. For the reasons below, we hold
that it is. Thus, we affirm. |
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TEXT |
LUANNA GROTE, Administrator of the Estate of
Bradley Grote,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
KENTON COUNTY, KENTUCKY; KENTON COUNTY
FISCAL COURT; KENTON COUNTY DETENTION CENTER;
TERRY CARL, Jailer; SARAH BELL; BRIAN JENNINGS,
ALEXANDER BROWN, and AARON BRANSTUTTER,
Corrections Deputies; JASON RUSSELL, Sergeant;
UNKNOWN ADDITIONAL DEPUTIES; CAITLIN BRAND;
SOUTHERN HEALTH PARTNERS; UNKNOWN EMPLOYEE,
Defendants-Appellees. |
No. 23-5133 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Covington.
No. 2:20-cv-00101—William O. Bertelsman, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: October 26, 2023
Before: MOORE, GIBBONS, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges.
_________________________
OPINION
_________________________
KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. Bradley Grote died of acute
methamphetamine intoxication three days after his arrest and detention at the Kenton County
Detention Center in Covington, Kentucky. Although Grote was visibly in distress when put in a
booking cell at the jail, the jail’s medical provider failed to render any treatment at all or seek
further medical attention from a doctor on call or emergency medical services. Grote’s case
exposes myriad failures by county and jail officials, including a lack of basic knowledge
concerning overdoses and how to respond to them. Under the facts of this case, we hold that a
jury could find that the medical provider was deliberately indifferent to Grote’s need for medical
attention, but not that the jail deputies acted unconstitutionally. |
|