Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Defendants, naturalized U.S. citizens living in Minnesota, are from Somalia. In 2008, the FBI learned that Ali had contacted al Shabaab, a terrorist organization in Somalia. Both women were charged with conspiring to provide material support to al Shabaab, 18 U.S.C. 2339B(a)(1); Ali with 12 counts of providing material support; and Hassan with making false statements, 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(2). The government informed defendants that it intended to offer evidence obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), 50 U.S.C. 1801. They requested disclosure and suppression of all FISA-obtained evidence. The government filed a declaration by the Attorney General that disclosure of the materials or an adversary proceeding would harm national security. After ex parte review, the court denied the defense motions. At the final status conference, Ali remained seated when court was convened. The court issued ordered all parties to stand when court was called to order. Despite counseling by “learned clerics” she continued to refuse to stand. The court cited Ali for 20 instances of contempt. After a 10-day trial the jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts. For Ali, the court calculated a guidelines range of 360 months to life in prison and imposed a sentence of 240 months’ imprisonment. For Hassan, the court calculated a guidelines range of 360 to 372 months and imposed a sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Ali" on Justia Law

Appellant guaranteed CWA obligations under an Aircraft Management Agreement (AMA) between CWA and BP. BP sued CWA and appellant for breach of contract. The district court denied appellant's motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment to BP on its claims that appellant was liable under the guaranty for CWA's breach of the AMA. Appellant appealed. The court held that the district court did not err in concluding CWA waived any conceivable right to rescind it might have had; BP's consideration for the AMA was sufficient; CWA's performance was not excused; and the district court did not err in holding appellant liable for the paint and refurbishment costs. Because genuine disputes remained as to whether the AMA and Priester agreement were substantially similar and whether BP otherwise took reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary damages, the court reversed the district court's judgment. The court expressed no opinion as to whether appellant had waived his present-value argument.