U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

The Eighth Circuit vacated the district court's preliminary injunction and remanded, holding that the Three Affiliated Tribes District Court has jurisdiction over the dispute arising from the side‑letter agreements between WPX Energy and tribal members, that WPX Energy is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its…

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's 180‑month sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act, finding that the defendant's three prior residential burglaries were committed on separate occasions and thus satisfy the ACCA's three‑offense requirement.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's conviction of Francis Lee Dubray for burglary and assault, as well as the 70‑month sentence. The court rejected Dubray's challenges to evidentiary exclusions, a proposed jury instruction, the admission of photographs, the denial of a judgment of acquittal, and the…

The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's denial of the motion to suppress, holding that the traffic stop of Medina-Martinez was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment because the officer had probable cause based on a suspected windshield obstruction and a minor traffic violation.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of qualified immunity for the former mayor and interim director of public safety, holding that the plaintiff plausibly alleged an adverse employment action and a violation of clearly established equal protection law.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment granting State Farm’s appraisal award of $52,482.81. The court held that under Minnesota law the appraisal award is binding and not subject to further review because it was not ambiguous.

Petitioner Chanthavong, a Nigerian citizen, appealed the district court’s dismissal of her habeas petition challenging mandatory immigration detention following an aggravated‑felony conviction.

The Eighth Circuit reversed the district court, holding that XTO Energy is not covered because it failed to satisfy the notice condition of the time‑element exception and the insurer’s denial based on the pollution exclusion was proper.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed West's conviction and two sentencing enhancements, holding that his facial Second Amendment challenge to §§ 922(g)(1) and (g)(9) is foreclosed, that the obstruction-of-justice enhancement applies to his attempt to recruit his girlfriend to lie, and that the firearm‑in‑connection‑with‑drugs…

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's sentencing decision, holding that the obstruction of justice enhancement was proper, the sentence was not an abuse of discretion, and the Speedy Trial Act was not violated; it also granted the defendant's motion to withdraw counsel.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the Iowa Farm Sanctuary’s §1983 claims. The court held that the sanctuary lacked standing for injunctive relief, that its procedural due‑process claim fails because an adequate post‑deprivation remedy exists, and that its substantive‑due‑process and Fourth…

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of Pennsylvania Insurance, holding that the Airline Deregulation Act preempted the insurer's negligence, unjust enrichment, and civil theft claims, that no conversion occurred, that FedEx's $100 liability limitation was enforceable, that a valid…

The Eighth Circuit held that the Department of Labor’s administrative order violating BNSF Railway’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial was invalid, vacated the order and remanded for further proceedings.

The Eighth Circuit dismissed Paulina Sebastian‑Perez’s petition for review, holding that the court lacks jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. §1252(a)(1) to review the immigration judge’s decision denying a reasonable‑fear finding because that decision is not a final order of removal.

The Eighth Circuit dismissed B.P.'s petition for review because the court lacks jurisdiction to review a Convention Against Torture (CAT) order that is not a final order of removal, and even assuming jurisdiction the petition was untimely under the 30‑day filing deadline.

The court affirmed Young's 72-month sentence after concluding that the district court properly applied the attempted-first-degree-murder cross-reference in calculating his advisory guideline range.

The court affirmed Hall’s convictions for attempted child-pornography production, attempted receipt of child pornography, and attempted enticement, concluding that the evidence established substantial steps toward each offense.

The court affirmed Donald Pollard's sentence after finding that the district court properly considered the statutory sentencing factors and did not abuse its discretion in weighing them.

The court affirmed Smith’s convictions and upheld the denial of suppression because the corrected affidavit established probable cause and the challenged evidence would have been inevitably discovered through an independent investigation.

The court held that the Board lawfully granted Metra terminal trackage rights because Metra satisfied the public-interest requirement and the rights extended over a reasonable distance of Union Pacific's lines.

The court held that it had jurisdiction to review the denial of qualified immunity on the Fourth Amendment claim, but not the First Amendment claim because the district court had not addressed qualified immunity for that claim.

The court affirmed a preliminary injunction enforcing a five-year, nationwide noncompete contained in an asset purchase agreement. It held that the restriction reasonably protected the goodwill sold with the trucking business, that the evidence supported the injunction under the applicable equitable factors, and that…

The Eighth Circuit affirmed William Parrott's conviction for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and his 300-month sentence, rejecting the thirteen trial and sentencing errors he alleged.

Rick Kelley, having pleaded guilty to two drug conspiracy offenses and money laundering, challenged on appeal the district court's drug quantity determination and its denial of a mitigating role adjustment.

The court affirmed Chany's 60-month firearm-possession sentence without deciding whether the district court correctly calculated his criminal-history score. Any scoring error was harmless because the district court expressly stated that it would impose the same sentence under either criminal-history category and…

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Steven Sera and the Sera Family Trust's due process claims against Arkansas corrections officials who twice denied Sera's parole plan based on false statements that his proposed residence was near a daycare.

The court affirmed dismissal of Romantix’s federal claims, holding that the proposed store’s nonexpressive retail activities did not implicate the First Amendment, the permitting process was not a prior restraint, adequate procedural process was provided, and the ordinance was not unconstitutionally vague.

The court affirmed Burton’s conviction and sentence, holding that the district court properly excluded pharmacological expert testimony because it was offered primarily to support an impermissible voluntary-intoxication theory and did not adequately establish relevance to Burton’s alternative-planting defense.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed Darius Carter's convictions for making and conspiring to make false statements in a straw purchase of firearms and his 180-month sentence. The panel held the evidence sufficient on both counts, that the district court abused its discretion in admitting testimony that the girlfriend's death…

Bruce Strickland pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of fifty grams or more of methamphetamine under a plea agreement, but at allocution he denied involvement with the seized drugs; after the district court said it could not in good conscience sentence him and retracted its approval of the plea…

The Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Jonesboro police officer Corey Obregon in the estate's § 1983 action arising from the fatal shooting of Jayden Prunty during a 2022 street encounter.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the dismissal of the Holland family's § 1983 and state-law claims arising from Officer Martin Simmerman's fatal shooting of George Holland after an armed standoff.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Venetia Torres's motion to suppress evidence and her motion to dismiss the felon-in-possession count. It held that her facial and as-applied Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C.

The court affirmed Perez’s 216-month sentence and rejected his constitutional challenge to the federal felon-in-possession statute. It held that controlling circuit precedent foreclosed the challenge, that the district court adequately supported its finding that the offense involved importing methamphetamine, and that…

The court affirmed Dudley's convictions for felony child neglect and child endangerment because the evidence permitted a rational jury to find that he willfully deprived the children of necessary health care and recklessly exposed them to substantial harm.

The court affirmed Hester’s firearm-offense sentence, concluding that the district court committed no significant procedural error and imposed a substantively reasonable sentence.

The court held that the district court had subject-matter jurisdiction because Guida alleged an Article III injury, causation, and redressability, even though she had not alleged that she was the decedent's personal representative under Nebraska law.

The court affirmed Boyd’s 36-month revocation sentence. It held that Boyd could not obtain relief under plain-error review because the revocation was mandatory under § 3583(g), and any consideration of the excluded sentencing factor was not an obvious error in that context.

The court affirmed Powell’s 150-month sentence, holding that the district court properly applied the six-level guideline increase for assaulting an officer. The evidence supported finding that Powell pointed a loaded firearm at the officer and pulled the trigger, resulting in a misfire, which constituted assault by…

The court affirmed the convictions and sentences of Joshua Nesbitt and Shawn Burkhalter arising from a series of robberies, murders, drug offenses, and witness-tampering offenses.