Bauer , Circuit Judge . For over forty years, the Supreme Court has recognized that the Sixth Amendment implicitly entails a right to self-representation. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 , 819, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). When Petitioner James Freeman, charged in Illinois state court with kidnapping and murder, filed a motion to proceed pro se, the judge denied his request and found that he did not possess the necessary experience and abilities to represent himself. Freeman...
Manion , Circuit Judge . Robert Fox was convicted of two Hobbs Act robberies. Because he used a firearm to commit the robberies, he was subject to 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)'s mandatory sentencing add-on and was sentenced to 435 months' imprisonment. On appeal, he principally argues that he is entitled to a new trial because the district court denied him his right to be represented by counsel of his choice. We affirm his conviction. The district court was well within its discretion to deny...
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 ORDER Anthony Zara was a former student at the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. He sued the university and its corporate parents for gender discrimination under Title IX, breach of contract, and tort violations. The district court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss on forum non conveniens grounds, and dismissed the action. We affirm. As alleged in...
Kanne , Circuit Judge . In 2014, we held that West Side Salvage, Inc. was solely liable for the injuries that three workers suffered in a grain-bin explosion. We also held that West Side was liable for $3 million in property damage to the bin, which was owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. West Side had an $11 million excess insurance policy with RSUI Indemnity Company. West Side sued RSUI, alleging that RSUI breached its duty to settle Con-Agra's property-damage claim. The district court granted...
Hamilton , Circuit Judge . Plaintiffs Elena Matushkina and her daughter Svetlana Son filed this suit against federal officials after a U.S. Consulate denied Matushkina's immigrant visa application in 2015. The well-established doctrine of consular nonreviewability makes it impossible, or nearly so, for plaintiffs to challenge the visa denial. Plaintiffs insist that their suit does not challenge the visa denial. Instead, they seek relief under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") from...
Hamilton , Circuit Judge . I write this short in-chambers opinion because it might help counsel streamline the fair processing of motions before our court concerning case management. This opinion is intended as a practical gloss on this court's Operating Procedure 1, available on the court's public website, as well as Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 27. The bottom line: If you want this court to act quickly on your case-management motion, contact opposing counsel and ask whether they...
Sykes , Circuit Judge . Miguel Adorno, an Illinois prisoner, was convicted of attempted murder using a firearm. On direct appeal he challenged certain remarks by the trial judge about the state's burden of proof. More particularly, he argued that the judge's comments — delivered impromptu during voir dire — invited the jury to convict on less than the reasonable-doubt burden of proof required by the Constitution's guarantee of due process of law. He also claimed that the judge's remarks...
Darrow , District Judge . This case presents a question closely connected with one this Court recently decided: when does a conviction for violating a protective order make a person ineligible for the cancellation of removal proceedings See Garcia-Hernandez v. Boente, 847 F.3d 869 (7th Cir. 2017). Gabriela Rodriguez was placed in removal proceedings — that is, she was scheduled to be deported — some 10 years after she entered this country from Mexico without inspection by United...
Wood , Chief Judge . The backdrop for this appeal is the world of automotive dealerships. But we are not concerned with the cars themselves. Instead, the controversy before us has to do with the management of the data those dealerships need in order to run an efficient business. In an effort to keep track of such vital business matters as accounting, payroll, inventory, sales, parts, service, finance, and insurance, the dealerships use computerized dealer-management systems. The dealers in...
Kanne , Circuit Judge . In 2013, this court held that state and local taxing authorities could not charge the Federal National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or Federal Housing Finance Agency with real estate transfer taxes, because such taxes are preempted by federal laws exempting these entities from all taxation. We must now determine whether the federal statutory exemptions apply when the transfer tax is charged to a private buyer who purchases real estate...
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 ORDER Frederick Garner was convicted of distributing cocaine and other drug offenses, see 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of those crimes, see 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A). For reasons not relevant here (explained in Garner v. United States, 808 F.3d 716 (7th Cir. 2015)), Garner has been sentenced for this conviction three times already. This appeal concerns his...
Posner , Circuit Judge . Time Warner Cable provides Internet access, television programming, and other online services to residences via cable. The plaintiff, Derek Gubala, subscribed to Time Warner's cable services in 2004 and as required provided Time Warner with his date of birth, home address, home and work telephone numbers, social security number, and credit card information. Two years later, however, he cancelled his subscription and eight years after that (2014), upon inquiring of...
Manion , Circuit Judge . Jovo Asentic, a Bosnian Serb who is now 65, was granted refugee status and brought his family to the United States from the former Yugoslavia more than fifteen years ago. He has been a permanent resident for nearly that long, but the Board of Immigration Appeals has authorized the government to remove Asentic from this country because, in applying for refugee status, he failed to disclose his participation as a combatant in the Bosnian conflict during the 1990s. The...
Williams , Circuit Judge . Eric D. Wagner was convicted of knowingly attempting to persuade or induce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2422(b). He was sentenced to 132 months' imprisonment followed by a 12-year term of supervised release based on a guidelines range that incorporated uncharged conduct under U.S.S.G. 2G1.3(d)(1). Though Wagner did not object to inclusion of uncharged conduct at sentencing, he now contends that its inclusion was an...
Sykes , Circuit Judge . This case challenges Chicago's "puppy mill" ordinance, which limits the sources from which pet stores may obtain dogs, cats, and rabbits for resale. The ordinance provides that pet retailers in the city "may offer for sale only those dogs, cats, or rabbits" obtained from an animal control or care center, pound, or kennel operated by local, state, or federal government or "a humane society or rescue organization." CHICAGO, ILL., CODE 4-384-015(b) (2016). Two...
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 ORDER Charles Rice, Sr., and Catherine Rice guaranteed a loan from Harris Bank to Barkston Properties, LLC. The loan went into default, and two forbearance agreements were reached. Under the second of these agreements only a new default supports acceleration of the principal and immediate collection. In June 2014 the Bank assigned the loan and guarantee to LSREF3 Sapphire Trust 2014 (the Trust), which...
Williams , Circuit Judge . Douglas Hicks admitted to sexually molesting his victim, a former step-son, during a recorded phone call from a police station. During the call, and before the confession, the victim repeatedly threatened to harm Hicks and to tell Hicks's other minor son about the abuse. Ultimately, Hicks was charged with sexually molesting the victim and tried by a jury. At trial, Hicks's counsel played the entire 43-minute recorded conversation to the jury. Later, during the...
Wood , Chief Judge . In January 2012, proceeding pro se, Uche P. Mordi, a Nigerian national, filed a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against local and state officials for alleged violations associated with his 2009 arrest in southern Illinois. The district court screened Mordi's civil rights complaint, as required by 28 U.S.C. 1915A. It dismissed with prejudice all claims except for those against three of the officers; the surviving claims relied on the Vienna Convention...
Wood , Chief Judge . Chad Conrad filed a class action against Boiron for deceptive marketing, but he was left with only his individual claim after the district court refused to certify his proposed class. About a year later Boiron offered Conrad $5,025, more than he could hope to win at trial. Conrad does not want to accept the money because it will moot his claim; Boiron wants to force him to take it for the same reason. The district court refused to certify Conrad's proposed class and...
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 ORDER Allen Perres sold common stock in Southern Cross Resources Group to unaccredited individual investors in exchange for commissions. Perres knew these sales were unlawful since (1) the company's securities were unregistered and no exemption from registration was available, see 15 U.S.C. 77e(a), (c), and (2) Perres himself was not registered as a broker or dealer, see id. 78 o (a). Nevertheless,...
