Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company ("Reliance") appeals from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at Alexandria, in favor of Joanne Gagliano ("Gagliano"). The district court held that Gagliano was entitled to benefits under a policy of disability insurance issued by Reliance, based on noncompliance with certain procedural requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. §...  

Plaintiff Cynthia Ziskie appeals the grant of summary judgment on her Title VII claims in favor of defendant the Secretary of Transportation, who administers the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Ziskie's former employer. She alleges that the defendant created a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against her for asserting her rights. Because in considering the evidence the district court seemed to feel itself constrained in a way that is inconsistent with circuit precedent...  

By way of this interlocutory appeal, Congressman William J. Jefferson seeks relief from the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss a pending indictment (the "Indictment"). See United States v. Jefferson, 534 F. Supp. 2d 645 (E.D. Va. 2008) (the "Opinion"). Jefferson contends — as the essential premise of his appeal — that the grand jury was improperly presented with evidence of his legislative acts and that such evidence was relevant to its decision to...  

Calvin Hardy appeals the district court's order revoking his supervised release and sentencing him to fourteen months imprisonment, contending that the district court lacked jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C.A. § 3583(i) (West 2000) because his term of supervised release expired prior to his revocation hearing. Because Hardy has been released from prison during the pendency of this appeal and is no longer on supervised release, however, we conclude that his appeal is moot and must be...  

This appeal arises from a qui tam action under the False Claims Act brought by Thornton G. Sanders against his former employer, North American Bus Industries, Inc... ... ... ("NABI"). Sanders alleges that NABI defrauded the United States by underpaying duties on bus frames that NABI imported from Hungary and by falsely certifying that the buses that NABI manufactured using those frames were eligible for federal "Buy America" subsidies. Sanders also alleges that Deloitte & Touche...  

The plaintiff in this case claims he faced discrimination on account of race and gender, and he appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of his employer. At the same time, he charges that his employer's action was actually an attempt to cover up the employer's own wrongdoing. In so doing, plaintiff has pleaded himself right out of court. Title VII was enacted to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and other legislatively enumerated grounds. It is not a...  

Carl Stephen Moseley was convicted by a North Carolina jury of the capital murder of Deborah Henley and sentenced to death. After unsuccessfully challenging his conviction and sentence on direct appeal and in state post-conviction proceedings, Moseley filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in federal district court. See 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 2006). The district court denied relief. We granted a certificate of appealability, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2253(c)(1) (West 2006), to...  

ORDER... Petitioner filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc. Respondent filed a response... The panel voted to deny panel rehearing... A member of the Court requested a poll of the Court on the petition for rehearing en banc. Chief Judge Williams, Judge Wilkinson, Judge Niemeyer, Judge Traxler, Judge Shedd, Judge Duncan, and Judge Agee voted to deny the petition for rehearing en banc. Judge Michael, Judge Motz, Judge King, and Judge Gregory voted to grant the petition for rehearing...  

In this case, we consider the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene's ("Maryland") petition for review of a final decision of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS")1 that disapproved an amendment to Maryland's State Medicaid Plan (the "SPA"). That SPA sought to eliminate deductions for uncovered medical expenses Medicaid recipients incurred before becoming eligible for benefits. Maryland's petition asserts that CMS's rejection of its SPA is... ......  

Roberta Spence appeals the judgment of the district court, which reversed the bankruptcy court's decision to discharge her federally guaranteed student loan debt to the Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC). The district court concluded that Ms. Spence has not demonstrated that repayment "would impose an undue hardship" within the meaning of the statute. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8) (2000). We affirm the judgment of the district court... I... Roberta Spence was born in July...  

The government seeks relief, by way of this interlocutory appeal, from the Memorandum Opinion and Order entered in the District of Maryland on August 4, 2006, suppressing evidence seized by federal officers from the residence and medical offices of Dr. Pradeep Srivastava pursuant to search warrants issued by a magistrate judge. See United States v. Srivastava, 444 F. Supp. 2d 385 (D. Md. 2006) (the "Suppression Ruling"). The government also appeals from the court's order of March 6,...  

Ezekiel Olufemi Ogundipe, a native and citizen of Nigeria, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") dismissing his appeal and ordering his voluntary departure from the United States, and of the BIA's order denying his motion for reconsideration. Ogundipe contends that he is eligible to adjust his status without leaving the United States because he is a "grandfathered alien" who was the beneficiary of a special immigrant visa petition filed...  

Following searches of two residences associated with Covonti Kwa Moses in Greensboro, North Carolina, police officers recovered illegal drugs and firearms. Moses pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of crack cocaine and to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 262 months' imprisonment. With the agreement of the court, Moses reserved the right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress, challenging the searches...  

The main issue in this appeal is whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may obtain an administrative warrant to carry out its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., to inspect places containing regulated chemical substances. We hold that EPA has such authority, and we therefore affirm the district court's issuance of a warrant authorizing the agency to inspect the M/V Sanctuary for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We also affirm the...  

In this action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Mary Buckley alleged a variety of race discrimination, sex discrimination, and retaliation claims stemming from her employment as a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (the "DEA").1 During a five-day trial conducted in the Eastern District of Virginia in the fall of 2006, the district court granted judgment as a matter of law to the government on Buckley's failure-to-promote retaliation claim, and the...  

We are asked to review several rulings of the district court in the trial and sentencing of Michael Lawrence Branch for the possession and distribution of cocaine base and the illegal possession of a firearm. Branch's principal claim is that the district court erred under the Fourth Amendment in failing to suppress evidence seized from his person and vehicle during a traffic stop. In particular, Branch claims that the basis for the search of his car, a positive alert by a drug-sniffing dog, was...  

Edgar Henry and Kimberly Henry, who entered conditional guilty pleas to one count related to marijuana growing, appeal the district court's denial of their motions to dismiss the indictment based on a violation of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-3174. The Henrys contend, and we agree, that a 103-day continuance ordered by the district court did not comply with the strict requirements for granting an ends-of-justice continuance set out in Zedner v. United States, 547 U.S. 489...  

Nancy Jean Siegel is currently under indictment for numerous fraud-based offenses, including mail and wire fraud, see 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 1341 & 1343 (West 2000 & Supp.2008). Siegel also faces a charge of committing murder to prevent the reporting of her crimes. See 18 U.S.C.A. § 1512(a)(1)(C) (West 2000 & Supp.2008). A week before her trial was scheduled to commence, the district court granted Siegel's motion to strike as surplusage allegations in the indictment about certain crimes...  

Dorothy Anim, a citizen of Cameroon, petitions for review of the denial of her application for asylum and other relief. As part of her case before the immigration judge (IJ), Anim submitted copies of three convocations (summonses to appear) issued to her by the Cameroon police shortly after she fled the country. The IJ denied Anim's application, relying mainly on a letter authored by a U.S. Department of State official that reported, based on an overseas investigation, that the convocations...  

Ifeanyi Iko ("Iko"), an inmate in a Maryland state correctional facility, died after being forcibly removed from his cell and transferred to another cell by a team of seven correctional officers ("Appellants," or the "officers"). Iko's estate and family... [535 F.3d 230]... ("Plaintiffs") filed this survival and wrongful death action against the officers pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The officers moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The...