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

Rodriguez is a citizen of Mexico. He obtained an Iowa identification card using the name Ramon Rodriguez (the name of his brother, also a Mexican citizen) and presented: a Missouri identification card, a social security card, a falsified U.S. birth certificate, and an employee identification card. Although the original Iowa application did not require him to disclose his citizenship, the completed application that he signed indicated that he was a U.S. citizen. He used that card and the same falsified U.S. birth certificate to apply for a U.S. passport. The passport application that he signed stated that he was a “citizen or non-citizen national of the United States.” Rodriguez was convicted of making a false claim to U.S. citizenship, 18 U.S.C. 911, and aggravated identity theft, 18 U.S.C. 1028A(a)(1). The Eighth Circuit affirmed, rejecting challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. View "United States v. Rodriguez-Ayala" on Justia Law

Musolf was a J.C. Penney loss prevention specialist. Store manager Child had concerns Musolf did not display respect for her team. Child conducted sessions with Musolf to improve teamwork. In 2010, Musolf alleged sexual harassment by her co-worker, Pekarna. Child met with Pekarna. Pekarna never touched Musolf again. Musolf acknowledges that Child repeatedly stated that the situation was resolved. In March 2010, Musolf received a certificate commending her outstanding performance. In May, she earned a merit raise. By August, Child had received complaints about Musolf from several employees, including Pekarna. Child met with Musolf three times. Musolf admits she refused to fully answer questions. Child believed Musolf had downloaded documents in violation of her confidentiality agreement and had involved another employee in an attempt to sneak into Child's office. Child recommended terminating Musolf. Musolf communicated to the district manager that she believed Pekarna had not been properly disciplined. J.C. Penney terminated Musolf for failure to cooperate in the investigation, taking confidential information, and attempting to involve another in a plan to sneak into the manager's office and take documents. The district court rejected her claims of sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII and of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. View "Musolf v. J.C. Penney Co., Inc." on Justia Law

In 2011 a series of suspicious fires in Babbitt, Minnesota and the Superior National Forest were started with complex combustible flares or with simple pocket lighters. An investigation eventually identified Scharber, the Chief of the Babbitt Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD). When a resort owner, having seen Scharber trespassing on his property, found a gasoline tank, he notified law enforcement. In an interview, Scharber admitted setting nine fires on federal and state forest land, and an attempted arson at the resort. He later entered a plea of guilty to one count of setting federal forest land afire, 18 U.S.C. 1855 and one count of maliciously attempting to commit arson of a building affecting interstate and foreign commerce, 18 U.S.C. 844(i), acknowledging a "mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years." During sentencing Scharber unsuccessfully claimed that he was not subject to the five year mandatory minimum under section 844(i) because the government had failed to prove that he had acted with malice in attempting to commit arson at the resort. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, noting that Scharber admitted that he maliciously attempted to commit arson at the resort. View "United States v. Scharber" on Justia Law

Officers interviewed Mohr about his contact with a minor. Based on his statements and other evidence, Mohr was indicted for sexual exploitation of a child, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a), 2260A, and attempt to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activities, 18 U.S.C. 2422(b), 2260A. Mohr moved to suppress statements he made in the interview, claiming that officers continued to question him after he asked his probation officer, "Should I get a lawyer at this time? . . . I think I should get one," and another officer responded, "You don't need a lawyer, we're just going to talk." Asked for permission to record the interview; Mohr responded, "I want my lawyer. . . . [I]f you want this recorded, I want a lawyer." The district court found the first request equivocal and his second request conditional and sentenced Mohr to 540 months' imprisonment, with the federal imprisonment to "run consecutively to any undischarged term of imprisonment." Mohr was a registered sex offender in Illinois, and, before sentencing, was civilly committed as a sexually violent person in Illinois for an indeterminate period. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, noting that the sentencing language does not apply to Mohr's civil commitment. View "United States v. Mohr" on Justia Law

In 2006, Noel accepted a new position at SBC that involved frequent travel, which aggravated his diabetes. Two years later, Noel was hospitalized after collapsing at an airport, and the next year, SBC gave him a temporary assignment that did not involve travel. After Noel performed poorly in both his new position and the temporary assignment, SBC put him on a performance-improvement plan. Two weeks later, Noel was hospitalized again, after suffering a breakdown. He never returned to SBC. After six months of disability leave, Noel resigned. The district court rejected his claims that SBC violated the Missouri Human Rights Act by constructively discharging him because of his diabetes, a disability. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. SBC expected Noel only to continue his job as it had been; his work was made intolerable not by SBC but by his own worsening health. View "Noel v. AT&T Corp." on Justia Law

Brown pled guilty to distributing about six grams of crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). The district court calculated a guideline range of 151 to 188 months based on Brown's offense level of 29 and criminal history category VI. The government requested a sentence of 151 months based on Brown's prior criminal convictions for selling crack cocaine. Brown argued for a downward departure based on his mental health needs and troubled childhood. He claimed that his status as a career offender was overstated because his untreated "schizoaffective disorder" caused his criminal conduct. The district court varied downward, sentencing Brown to 120 months. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, rejecting Brown’s arguments that the district court failed to consider his mental health issues sufficiently and explain his sentence adequately and that his sentence was substantively unreasonable. View "United States v. Brown" on Justia Law

McIvor claims that she used TransUnion's online system to dispute a $242 debt alleged against her by Credit Control. She reported, "Creditor agreed to remove this account from my file. This account is settled." TransUnion reported McIvor's dispute to Credit Control as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681. McIvor alleged that Credit Control then "provided updated credit information regarding the Debt to [TransUnion] on April 20, 2013 without stating that [she] had disputed it," and TransUnion "in turn verified the Debt to [McIvor] on April 21, 2013." McIvor attached exhibits to the complaint showing screenshots of the investigation request, her updated credit file, and the resolution summary TransUnion provided. She alleged violation of 15 U.S.C. 1692e(8) by “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.” The Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal. McIvor neither plausibly alleged that the communication at issue was "false, deceptive, or misleading" nor that it was "in connection with the collection of any debt." View "McIvor v. Credit Control Servs, Inc." on Justia Law

Johnson pleaded guilty to possession and attempted possession of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5)(B) and (b)(2) and was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release. The court revoked Johnson’s supervised release after he committed 21 violations of his release conditions, including failure to comply with sex-offender treatment, unauthorized possession of a computer, possession of pornography, and use of illegal drugs. The court sentenced him to a second, 11-month term of imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release. The district court revoked Johnson’s second term of supervised release after he committed another 14 violations, including associating with someone involved in criminal activity, failing to answer his parole officer truthfully, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing pornography, and using photographic equipment to produce pornography. The court sentenced Johnson to 11 months’ imprisonment followed by a third, eight-year term of supervised release and required that Johnson be subject to electronic monitoring via a global-positioning satellite system (GPS) monitoring and pay the costs of monitoring. The Eighth Circuit rejected a challenge to the monitoring condition. View "United States v. Johnson" on Justia Law

An Iowa jury convicted Paulson of sexually abusing his five-year-old daughter, M. Paulson’s defense argued that there was no direct, credible evidence. A clinical psychologist testified that the method of questioning M. was coercive. M’s pediatrician and others, including M’s teacher, testified that they observed no physical or emotional signs of sexual abuse. The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed. Paulson sought post-conviction relief, arguing 18 grounds of ineffective assistance by trial and appellate counsel. Following remand for an evidentiary hearing, the Iowa trial court found that the attorneys’ performance was not deficient and did not result in prejudice, considering failure to object to the testimony of Paulson’s ex-wife that could imply he was sexually violent. The Iowa Court of Appeals agreed, stating that Paulson could not demonstrate that exclusion of that testimony would have resulted in a different outcome. The federal district court denied Paulson’s habeas corpus petition. On remand the court determined that the Iowa decision was contrary to clearly established federal law, considered de novo whether trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective, and determined, in light of the significant evidence against him, that Paulson had failed to show prejudice. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. View "Paulson v. Newton Corr. Facility" on Justia Law

Sanders assisted another inmate by writing a letter to officials outside the Arkansas Department of Correction, asserting that Officer Page accepted a pair of ostrich-skin shoes made by the inmate. Sanders claimed that Page gave him favorable treatment to convince Sanders to dismiss the complaint. Sanders withdrew the complaint, but filed ADC grievances alleging Page improperly coerced him to withdraw his complaint and discussed with another inmate the "grave fabrication" that Sanders possessed a cell phone. Days later, officers, including Page, searched the barracks for contraband. They uncovered a cell phone in another inmate’s bunk. Sanders claimed that another officer warned Sanders that Page was going to file a disciplinary charge unless he withdrew his grievances. Days later, Page charged Sanders with use of a cell phone. A hearing officer found Sanders guilty. Sanders lost privileges and spent 30 days in isolation. The decision was upheld on ADC review. After a trial on his retaliatory-discipline claims (42 U.S.C. 1983), the jury awarded Sanders $1. The Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded with instructions to dismiss. Sanders received adequate notice, did not identify any witnesses or evidence he was not allowed to present, and received a copy of the decision. View "Sanders v. Page" on Justia Law