Source: http://yalejreg.com/nc/d-c-circuit-review-reviewed-in-which-your-host-is-lazy/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 14:20:56+00:00

Document:
Here at Notice & Comment, I try to come up with a fun* theme each week. This week, however, I’m going to play a get-out-of-fun-theme-free card. The Court decided too many cases. Alas.
Now, the criminal cases. United States v. Murray, Chief Judge Garland (joined by Judges Srinivasan and Millett) issued an interesting opinion about plea bargains. Here is how the opinion begins: “We reject the government’s contention that it did not breach its plea agreement with Murray. Nevertheless, because Murray’s counsel failed to object, we can grant Murray relief on this ground only if the government’s breach was plain — that is, clear or obvious — which it was not. That, however, does not end this matter. Because we also reject the government’s contention that Murray has no colorable claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, we remand the case to the district court for further proceedings.” If this is your field, give this opinion a deeper dive. Here is a footnote, however, that caught my attention: “At oral argument, Murray’s appellate counsel advised, for the first time, that he ‘reserve[d] the right’ to argue for vacatur of the plea agreement on remand. Recording of Oral Arg. 8:40. We leave that issue for the district court to address.” And in United States v. Eshetu, a per curiam panel (Judges Henderson and Millett, with Judge Kavanaugh out here too) issued a 4-page opinion extending Sessions v. Dimaya to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). This is the most interesting argument, it seems to me: “Dimaya nowise calls into question Kennedy’s requirement of a categorical approach. To the contrary, a plurality of the High Court concluded that section 16(b)—which, again, is textually parallel with section 924(c)(3)(B)—is ‘[b]est read’ to ‘demand a categorical approach’ ‘even if that approach [cannot] in the end satisfy constitutional standards.'” And in United States v. Manafort, Judge Wilkins (joined by Judges Tatel and Griffith) affirmed the district court’s “pretrial detention order issued after revoking release.” This case has attracted a lot of attention — for obvious reasons.
And now, the two “DOJ” defendant cases. In Sluss v. DOJ, Judge Rogers (joined by Judges Srinivasan and Wilkins) affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Sluss’s claim that the Attorney General’s “denial of his transfer application was arbitrary and capricious because [it was] based on improper factors.” Sluss sought “a transfer under a treaty between the United States and Canada to a Canadian prison” for the remainder of his jail term. Sluss claimed that in denying the transfer, the “Attorney General considered factors beyond the scope of … the Treaty.” The Court determined that it had “subject matter jurisdiction to consider Sluss’s case” but that “the scope of judicial review is narrow.” On the merits, it held that “the Attorney General properly considered factors such as Sluss’s long-term U.S. domicile, the U.S. residency of his family, his insubstantial contacts with Canada, and the absence of language, cultural, or familial hardships” in denying his application. I have never thought about this issue even once before in my life; interesting.
This case concerns FOIA requests regarding what exactly happened. “OPR categorically refused to acknowledge the existence of, let alone disclose, any potentially relevant documents outside of Bartko’s individual case. And even with respect to Wheeler’s conduct in Bartko’s case, OPR held back substantial amounts of material, asserting a sweeping breadth for its claimed exemptions.” The Court disagreed in relevant part.
And the last two. In Katopothis v. Windsor-Mount Joy Mutual Insurance, Judge Griffith (joined by Judge Sentelle, with Kavanaugh sitting it out), the Court addressed a flooded beach home and ensuing litigation. And finally, check out the summary of Archdiocese of Washington v. WMATA at Circuit Breaker (Kirkland represents one of the parties, so I’ll let this one go).
Enjoy the weekend. I’ll up my game next week.
* Fun is a relative term.

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