Justia U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Marc was arrested and taken to the Madison County Detention Center (MCDC). Marc’s wife, Dawn, told the police that her husband had lung cancer and needed immediate medical attention. Marc’s medical records also stated that he had a blood clot in his leg. Dawn alleges that medical staff removed his pain medication patch, placed him on “inappropriate” psychoactive medications, and failed to provide him with his prescriptions. The medical contractor, Correct Care, refused to honor Marc’s scheduled chemotherapy appointments. Marc was transferred to Kentucky State Reformatory (KSR). He arrived with an elevated heart rate, difficulty breathing, and swelling in his leg. Staff withheld his prescribed medication, breathing treatments, and chemotherapy. Marc died less than a month after his arrest. His family was informed two days later. The autopsy revealed fluid accumulated in his lungs. Medical staff would have discovered this fluid if they had administered his prescribed breathing treatments.Dawn’s 42 U.S.C. 1983 Eighth Amendment complaint alleged supervisory liability against Erwin, Acting Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Corrections, claiming that Erwin “accepted” Marc’s transfer into KSR and “would have been made aware of [Marc’s] medical conditions” and had promulgated and maintained some of KSR’s allegedly unconstitutional policies. Dawn alleged that Erwin was “specifically aware that Correct Care” had a pattern of failing to provide inmates with adequate health care. The Sixth Circuit ordered the dismissal of the claims against Erwin. Dawn's complaint did not allege any “active unconstitutional behavior” by Erwin nor explain how his behavior proximately caused Marc’s injuries; Erwin is entitled to qualified immunity. View "Crawford v. Tilley" on Justia Law

Nicolescu, Miclaus, and coconspirators posted fake eBay car auctions. Operating from Romania, they concealed their IP addresses, and employed US-based “money mules,” to collect payments from unsuspecting buyers, taking in $3.5-$4.5 million. In 2014, a virus created by Nicolescu was embedded in the eBay auctions and in spam emails to collect more than 70,000 account credentials, including 25,000 stolen credit-card numbers. Their network of virus-infected computers “mined” for cryptocurrency, reaping $10,000–$40,000 per month, 2014-2016. The FBI and Romanian police executed a search warrant on members’ residences and retrieved electronic devices. Nicolescu and Miclaus were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 12 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit service marks, five counts of aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.The district court added 18 levels to their Guidelines calculation (U.S.S.G. 2B1.1(b)(1)(J)) for causing a loss of $3.5-$9.5 million, two levels (2B1.1(b)(4)) for being in the business of receiving and selling stolen property, two levels (2B1.1(b)(11)(B)(i)) for trafficking unauthorized access devices, four levels (2B1.1(b)(19)(A)(ii)) for being convicted under 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(5)(A), and four levels (3B1.1(a)) for being an organizer or leader. They were sentenced to 216 and 240 months’ imprisonment.The Sixth Circuit affirmed the convictions, rejecting challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence and to jury instructions, but vacated the sentences. The court upheld the loss calculation and leadership enhancement. The court erred in applying the stolen property enhancement and in applying a 2B1.1(b)(19)(A)(ii) enhancement because the men were convicted of conspiracy, not a substantive section 1030(a)(5)(A) offense. View "United States v. Miclaus" on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of violating 18 U.S.C. 922(g) for unlawfully possessing a firearm—one for being a convicted felon, the other for being a domestic violence misdemeanant. In this case, defendant's convictions stemmed from shooting his ex-girlfriend after an argument.The Sixth Circuit remanded with instructions to vacate defendant's sentence on one of the section 922(g) counts and to merge the two counts of conviction into one. The court concluded that this statute does not permit a court to, as the district court did here, impose multiple punishments on a defendant who commits one act of possession yet is both a felon and a domestic-violence misdemeanant. Furthermore, the district court plainly erred in doing so. The court otherwise affirmed the district court's judgment in all other respects, concluding that defendant's sentence was procedurally reasonable where the district court did not clearly err in applying the USSG 2A2.1(a)(2) cross-reference for attempted second-degree murder in calculating defendant's offense level. View "United States v. Grant" on Justia Law

Devereux suffered a major stroke during or around the period of his custody by Knox County for misdemeanor first-time DUI. Corrections officers were in and out of the holding cell where he sat motionless for several hours but did not provide medical attention until it was too late to mitigate the stroke’s effects. Devereux brought federal civil rights claims and negligence claims under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (TGTLA), which waives sovereign immunity for certain claims, but not those arising from “civil rights.”The district court dismissed all of Devereux’s claims against the officers and his civil rights claims against Knox County. It declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the TGTLA claims and dismissed them without prejudice, allowing Devereux to refile in state court. Knox County argued that the court should have retained jurisdiction and determined that the TGTLA’s “civil rights exception” necessarily barred Devereux’s negligence claims. The Sixth Circuit vacated in part. The best approach is to give Tennessee courts a fresh opportunity to consider whether the TGTLA claims ivolve civil rights. The court vacated “to prevent any issue of collateral estoppel in state court based on this aspect of the district court’s reasoning. The court declined to certify the issue to the Tennesse Supreme Court. View "Devereux v. Knox County" on Justia Law

Brawner was detained at the Scott County jail. On her written questionnaire, Brawner answered that she needed to continue her prescription medications, listing three controlled substances: suboxone, clonazepam, and gabapentin. She denied having a serious medical condition that required attention and denied having epileptic seizures. The officer noted that Brawner did not appear capable of understanding all the questions. There is conflicting evidence about whether Brawner’s intake form ever made it to the jail nurse. Days later, Brawner suffered multiple seizures and was taken to a hospital. A treating physician diagnosed her with epilepsy and prescribed Phenobarbital. The hospital was not told that Brawner had not been permitted to take her prescribed medications. At the jail doctor’s instruction, jail nurse Massengale discontinued Brawner’s Phenobarbital and instead administered Dilantin. Over the next several days, Brawner suffered multiple seizures before finally being taken to a hospital.Brawner sued, claiming she suffered permanent, debilitating injuries. The Sixth Circuit reinstated two of her claims. A reasonable jury could find that Brawner had an objectively serious medical need, and that Massengale was either subjectively aware of the risk to Brawner from suddenly discontinuing her medications, in keeping with County policy against distributing controlled substances at the jail and failed to respond reasonably to that risk, or that Massengale recklessly failed to act reasonably to mitigate that risk, by following a policy that allowed the jail to wait 14 days before conducting a medical examination. View "Brawner v. Scott County" on Justia Law

Convicted of murder, Phillips has been incarcerated in Kentucky prisons since 1999. In 2014, Phillips and his cellmate got into a fight. Phillips later thought he had sprained his ankle. The pain and discoloration went away in a few weeks. Weeks later, Phillips noticed a growing lump on his calf. Dr. Tangilag measured the “mass” and ordered an ultrasound then scheduled a CT scan to rule out cancer. Phillips underwent the scan at a local hospital. Doctors concluded that a “plantaris rupture” was “related to an old injury/trauma” and assured Phillips that it was “not cancer or any bone lesion.” Phillips saw an outside orthopedic surgeon who agreed and concluded that Phillips did not need surgery. Dr. Tangilag met with Phillips a final time in August 2015. Phillips noted that he still experienced pain when walking. According to Phillips, the lump did not go away, and he continued to suffer pain.In 2016, Phillips sued, alleging that his doctors violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishments” by refusing to surgically remove the lump. Medical staff ordered another ultrasound, which found nothing remarkable. Phillips was given pain medication and referred to physical therapy. The district court granted summary judgment to all defendants. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Surgery is not the standard of care for a rupture, and a hematoma typically goes away on its own. Phillips lacks expert evidence suggesting that his doctors were grossly incompetent. View "Phillips v. Tangilag" on Justia Law

The Woods brothers were members of a Detroit-based group, HNIC. The government claims that HNIC was a street gang “engaged in drug dealing, intimidation, and violence” and that the brothers participated in multiple drive-by shootings in an attempt to murder a rival gang member. Antoine Woods was indicted under the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Act (VICAR) for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. 924(c); and obstruction of justice. Austin Woods was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. A fellow HNIC member testified against them.The Sixth Circuit vacated Antoine’s conviction for attempted murder in aid of racketeering as violating the Double Jeopardy Clause but affirmed the brothers’ convictions on all other counts. The court rejected arguments that their 18 U.S.C. 924(c) convictions were predicated on a conspiracy charge. The indictment and jury instructions clearly stated that VICAR attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon were the predicate offenses for the section 924(c) charges. The court also rejected challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence and to evidentiary rulings. View "United States v. Woods" on Justia Law

The federal government successfully prosecuted multiple members of the “Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club” for their role in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) enterprise, 18 U.S.C. 1962(c)(d) that trafficked large quantities of methamphetamine and engaged in numerous other illegal acts (violent crimes, illicit gambling, thefts, and obstruction of justice). The district court imposed sentences that ranged from 28 years to life in prison.In consolidated appeals, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences. The district court correctly instructed the jury to convict each defendant if it found that he joined an agreement that encompassed a future violation of the substantive RICO offense. The court also upheld the application of a two-level sentencing enhancement for maintaining drug premises under U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(b)(12) via sections 1B1.3(a)(1)(B)’s relevant-conduct provision. Nothing in section 2D.1(b)(12) “otherwise specifie[s]” that it cannot be applied based on jointly undertaken criminal activity under section 1B1.3(a)(1)(B); the district court correctly concluded that the premises enhancement could be applied to a defendant even though he did not personally maintain premises for purposes of drug manufacturing or distribution. View "United States v. Castano" on Justia Law

The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of habeas relief to petitioner on his claims that counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing phase and that he was denied a fair trial because of jury tampering. The court concluded that the Kentucky Supreme Court's ruling that petitioner suffered no prejudice from counsel's ineffective assistance at the penalty phase by neither investigating nor presenting mitigating evidence was not contrary to Supreme Court precedent, and was not so obviously wrong as to be beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement. The court also concluded that petitioner failed to provide credible testimony of jury tampering. Finally, the court concluded that petitioner defaulted on his juror bias claim. View "Hodge v. Jordan" on Justia Law

Osborn, an Army veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, left a threatening voicemail for Georgia Congressman Henry Johnson. Osborn pleaded guilty under 18 U.S.C. 115(a)(1)(B), (b)(4), and (c)(4). At sentencing, the district court refused to apply a four-level reduction under U.S.S.G. 2A6.1(b)(6) because it concluded that his offense did not “evidenc[e] little or no deliberation.” In doing so, the court relied on prior threats Osborn made against other government officials that are not “relevant conduct” under U.S.S.G. 1B1.3.The Sixth Circuit affirmed. While the relevant conduct provision prohibited the district court from altering the base offense level using certain uncharged conduct, it did not alter its traditional fact-finding role; the court did not clearly err in concluding that Osborn’s offense evidenced more than “little or no deliberation.” View "United States v. Osborn" on Justia Law