KAVANAUGH , Circuit Judge : Common sense sometimes matters in resolving legal disputes. This case is a good example. AT & T Connecticut banned employees who interact with customers or work in public — including employees who enter customers' homes — from wearing union shirts that said "Inmate" on the front and "Prisoner of AT$T" on the back. Seems reasonable. No company, at least one that is interested in keeping its customers, presumably wants its employees walking into people's homes...
WILLIAMS , Senior Circuit Judge : After discovery closed in this litigation, the Virginia Supreme Court issued an opinion addressing a key aspect of the law at issue. The development confronted the plaintiff with a strategic choice: Acknowledge that the opinion changed the law and seek the district court's leave to respond appropriately with new evidence Or deny that any change had occurred and proceed on the existing record He selected the second alternative, and the district court...
WILKINS , Circuit Judge : Henok Araya owned and operated a rental property in the District of Columbia, which he leased to tenants. After several years, the bank foreclosed on his mortgage and sold the property to the highest bidder. Araya sued in D.C. Superior Court challenging the foreclosure proceedings that ultimately resulted in the sale of his property. After defendants removed to federal court and moved for judgment on the pleadings, the District Court rejected Araya's challenges....
WILLIAMS , Senior Circuit Judge : Following a jury trial, Thomas Washington was convicted of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute cannabis, and various firearms offenses. On appeal, Washington argues that the district court erred in denying his pretrial motion to suppress evidence because the government's search-warrant affidavit did not establish probable cause to search his residence. We agree with the district court...
TATEL , Circuit Judge : Relying on the "terrorism exception" to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, the family of Reverend Dong Shik Kim sued the North Korean government alleging that it abducted him, confined him to a kwan-li-so — a political penal-labor colony — tortured him, and, ultimately, killed him. When North Korea failed to appear, the Kims asked the district court for a default judgment pursuant to the provision of the Act that authorizes a court to enter judgment if the...
TATEL , Circuit Judge : In this case, 101 environmental groups, invoking section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which allows "any person" to petition the Environmental Protection Agency for a rulemaking proceeding to regulate "chemical substances" that "present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment," filed a petition with EPA asking it to regulate spent lead bullets and shot. EPA rejected the petition as "not ... cognizable" under section 21 on the...
SRINIVASAN , Circuit Judge : Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency promulgates National Ambient Air Quality Standards for air pollutants. The Act calls for EPA periodically to reconsider those standards. In 2008, EPA revised and strengthened the standards for ozone. This case concerns two challenges to EPA's regulations implementing the more stringent 2008 ozone standards. First, EPA allowed affected regions more time to attain the new ozone standards — roughly a one-...
EDWARDS , Senior Circuit Judge : The Neutrality Act ("Act"), 18 U.S.C. 962, was initially passed in 1794. It "has been generally recognized as the first instance of municipal legislation in support of the obligations of neutrality, and a remarkable advance in the development of International Law." The Three Friends, 166 U.S. 1 , 52, 17 S.Ct. 495, 41 L.Ed. 897 (1897). The Act makes it unlawful to furnish, fit out, or arm a vessel within the United States with the intent of having the...
Opinion for the Court filed by Chief Judge GARLAND. GARLAND , Chief Judge : A bus driver, one Mr. Bumpass, hits the brakes as he approaches a stop sign. The plaintiff, a passenger on the bus, falls backward and breaks her leg. The question on appeal is whether, in light of the evidence presented at trial, a reasonable jury could find the bus company liable for the plaintiff's injury. Applying the common law of the District of Columbia, we affirm the district court's conclusion that a...
KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON , Circuit Judge : In 2006, Kevin Hairston applied for a promotion within the Government Printing Office (GPO). His application was ultimately rejected and Hairston believes his rejection was based on racial discrimination. He also believes that he was the victim of unlawful retaliation in 2009 when the GPO sent a group of employees, sans Hairston, to a training program in Georgia. Based on these events, Hairston sued the GPO under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...
Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge EDWARDS. EDWARDS , Senior Circuit Judge : The Surface Transportation Board ("STB" or "Board") has exclusive jurisdiction over interstate rail transportation, including the power to review and modify railroad rates to ensure that they are reasonable. 49 U.S.C. 10501, 10701, 10707. However, the Board can only examine the reasonableness of a rail carrier's rate if it determines that the railroad has "market dominance" over the...
SENTELLE , Senior Circuit Judge : In 2005, Amador County, California brought suit against the Department of Interior challenging the Secretary's approval of a gaming compact between the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians (the "Tribe") and the State of California. After nearly six-and-a-half years of litigation, the Tribe sought to intervene for the limited purpose of moving to dismiss the amended complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19. The district court denied the motion...
PILLARD, Circuit Judge: These consolidated cases present the question whether a regulatory accommodation for religious nonprofit organizations that permits them to opt out of the contraceptive coverage requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13(a)(4), itself imposes an unjustified substantial burden on Plaintiffs' religious exercise in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA"), 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq. Plaintiffs'...
ROGERS, Circuit Judge: The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-114, 110 Stat. 785 (1996) (codified at 22 U.S.C. 6021 et seq. ), aimed "to assist the Cuban people in regaining their freedom and prosperity, as well as in joining the community of democratic countries that are flourishing in the Western Hemisphere." Id. 3, 22 U.S.C. 6022(1). The Act authorized the President "to furnish assistance and provide other support for individuals and...
TATEL, Circuit Judge: Exemption 8 of the Freedom of Information Act protects from disclosure records "related to examination ... reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions." Congress has now clarified that the Securities and Exchange Commission is such an agency and — central to the issue before us — that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a private organization that oversees...
KAVANAUGH , Circuit Judge : The United States Forest Service is an agency within the Department of Agriculture. The Forest Service manages the Nation's forests. In doing so, the Forest Service balances use of forest resources against conservation of the forests. In January 2001, the Forest Service adopted the Roadless Rule. That rule prohibited road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting on millions of acres of national forest lands, including vast swaths of national...
KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judge: Mathew Enterprise has raised a Recess Appointments Clause challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's order in this case. Based on the Supreme Court's recent decision in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 2550 , 189 L.Ed.2d 538 (2014), we reject Mathew Enterprise's claim. The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency. By statute, the Board consists of five members. See 29 U.S.C. 153(a). The Board...
SILBERMAN, Senior Circuit Judge: Petitioners Verizon and AT & T appeal the FCC's denial of their petition to forbear from applying the requirement that incumbent price cap carriers maintain a Uniform System of Accounts. The Commission insists that the statutory preconditions for section 10 forbearance are not met, nor was its refusal arbitrary and capricious. We agree that the FCC's interpretation and application of section 10 are permissible and deny the petition for review. I. Congress has...
ROGERS, Circuit Judge: Responding to international efforts to harmonize the requirements for identification and labeling of hazardous chemicals, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") revised its Hazard Communication Standard in 2012. See Hazard Communication, 77 Fed.Reg. 17,574 (Mar. 26, 2012) ("Final Rule"). That standard requires employers across industries to develop a program for classifying the dangers of workplace chemicals and conveying those dangers to their...
WILKINS, Circuit Judge: Following a jury trial, Paul David Hite was convicted under 18 U.S.C. 2422(b) of attempting to persuade a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Hite's conviction was based on Internet and telephone conversations that he had with an undercover detective who claimed to be an adult male with access to a twelve-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy. The District Court sentenced Hite to twenty-two years of imprisonment and a fine of $500,000. Hite now appeals his...
