Justia U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The plaintiff, a former New Mexico state senator, used leftover campaign funds to make charitable donations, including a $200 contribution to assist a high school student with attending a pre-law program. These donations were made to individuals and organizations that did not qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act (CRA) prohibits most campaign expenditures, but lists certain permitted uses, including donations to 501(c)(3) organizations. After the Secretary of State discovered the $200 donation during a random audit, she determined it violated the CRA and requested the plaintiff to reimburse his campaign fund. The plaintiff refused, arguing that enforcing the CRA in this way violated his First Amendment rights, and the matter was referred to the State Ethics Commission and Attorney General.In the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, the plaintiff sought a declaration that the restriction was facially unconstitutional, and injunctive relief. The district court initially granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the CRA for such donations, viewing the plaintiff’s claim as a facial overbreadth challenge and finding it likely to succeed. However, after further proceedings and in light of an affidavit from the Secretary of State, the district court concluded the CRA did not prohibit protected speech, granted summary judgment for the defendant, and denied a permanent injunction. The district court allowed the plaintiff’s as-applied challenge to proceed separately; the plaintiff appealed only the denial of his facial challenge.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case and held that the CRA’s prohibition on donations to non-501(c)(3) organizations and individuals facially regulates activity protected by the First Amendment. The court vacated the district court’s order and remanded for further proceedings, directing the lower court to determine the appropriate constitutional test and apply it to the CRA’s challenged prohibitions. View "Ortiz y Pino v. Oliver" on Justia Law

Two businesses operating an industrial warehouse and distribution center in Bonner Springs, Kansas, were affected by an ordinance enacted by the neighboring City of Edwardsville. This ordinance prohibited vehicles weighing over six tons from traveling on 110th Street—the street dividing the two cities—unless the trucks were entering or exiting Edwardsville. As a result, heavy trucks serving the businesses could not access 110th Street to enter or exit their properties. In response, the businesses filed suit against Edwardsville and certain city officials, alleging violations of federal and state law and seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the ordinance.The United States District Court for the District of Kansas dismissed the plaintiffs’ federal claims, including those under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Dormant Commerce Clause, and denied the request for a preliminary injunction. However, the district court declined to dismiss the remaining state-law claims, leaving them pending.While the appeal was pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Edwardsville repealed the challenged ordinance and replaced it with a new one. The new ordinance allowed southbound trucks to enter the businesses from 110th Street, though certain restrictions remained. The Tenth Circuit determined that the repeal and replacement of the ordinance rendered the appeal moot because the controversy over the original ordinance no longer existed. The court found no exception to mootness applied and declined to vacate the district court’s order or exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction over the dismissed claims. Accordingly, the Tenth Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. View "Scannell Properties #516 v. City of Edwardsville, Kansas" on Justia Law

The case centers on a juvenile, John Doe, who was charged by the government with two counts of violating the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act by possessing a handgun in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(x)(2) on two separate occasions. Section 922(x)(2) prohibits juveniles from knowingly possessing a handgun or handgun ammunition, with certain exceptions outlined in the statute. Doe challenged the charges, asserting that the statute exceeded Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause and violated the Second Amendment, though he ultimately appealed only the Commerce Clause issue.The United States District Court denied Doe’s motion to dismiss the information, finding that Congress had the power to enact § 922(x)(2) under the Commerce Clause. Doe admitted delinquency to one count, was sentenced to juvenile probation until his 21st birthday, and subsequently appealed the district court’s Commerce Clause ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the constitutionality of § 922(x)(2) de novo. The court held that Congress had a rational basis to conclude that regulating juvenile handgun possession was an essential part of a comprehensive regulatory scheme aimed at the interstate handgun market. The court determined that Congress could rationally conclude that the regulatory scheme would be substantially undercut if § 922(x)(2) were removed, and that such regulation directly and substantially affects interstate commerce. Accordingly, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling, upholding Congress’s authority to enact § 922(x)(2) under the Commerce Clause. View "United States v. Doe" on Justia Law

The case centers on a fatal shooting that occurred on March 29, 2023, involving a love triangle between Steven Beard (the defendant), Michael Ingram (the victim), and Ashton Meigs. Meigs had relationships with both men, leading to jealousy and confrontations. On the night of the incident, Meigs and Ingram went to Beard’s trailer to collect Meigs’ belongings after Beard told her to do so and claimed he would not be home. Beard parked his truck out of sight, obtained a shotgun, and shot Ingram as he entered the trailer. Surveillance footage showed Ingram with his hands raised before being shot, and Beard fired a second shot at point-blank range while Ingram lay motionless.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma presided over the trial. The government charged Beard with murder in Indian country, using and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and causing death with a firearm. The jury convicted Beard on all counts. Before sentencing, the government requested dismissal of the § 924(j) count as multiplicitous with the § 924(c) count, which the district court granted. Beard was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and a consecutive ten-year sentence for the firearm offense.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed Beard’s appeal challenging the sufficiency of evidence, admission of hearsay and prior bad acts, prosecutorial conduct, and the sentencing decision. The court held that the government presented sufficient evidence for premeditation and lack of self-defense, any hearsay error regarding tribal status was harmless, and the admission of prior bad acts and prosecutorial conduct did not amount to plain error or fundamental unfairness. The court also determined that dismissing the § 924(j) count in favor of sentencing under § 924(c) was proper under recent Supreme Court precedent. The convictions and sentence were affirmed. View "United States v. Beard" on Justia Law

A group of young activists in Oklahoma City participated in racial-justice protests in the summer of 2020. During one incident, they were involved in a confrontation with a police officer near a permitted mural painting. The activists were later charged under Oklahoma’s riot-related statutes, with allegations that they surrounded a patrol car, yelled threats and expletives, and confined the officer briefly. Several of the plaintiffs pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanor charges, while one had charges dismissed after proving non-involvement.The activists subsequently filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma against state and county officials, challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma Statutes, title 21, section 1311 (the Riot Statute). They argued the statute was unconstitutionally overbroad under the First Amendment and unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the statute. The district court denied their request, construing the statute to include intent elements based on Oklahoma case law, and found plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. Because of unsettled state law questions, the Tenth Circuit certified questions to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, which clarified that the Riot Statute requires a showing of willfulness and a common intent to use or threaten violence, but does not require proof of recklessness. Relying on this construction, the Tenth Circuit held that plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on their facial overbreadth and vagueness challenges. The court affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction. View "Terry v. Drummond" on Justia Law

The plaintiff, who operated boarding schools and programs for troubled teens, was featured in a three-part documentary series that examined the troubled-teen industry and included depictions and commentary about his role in industry organizations and specific schools. The filmmaker, herself a former student at an affiliated program, created the series based on her personal experience and broader investigative reporting. The series, produced and distributed by a major streaming service, included segments which the plaintiff claimed falsely implied his responsibility for a teen’s death, omitted the ultimate dismissal of criminal charges against him following a facility raid in Costa Rica, and accused him of abusing children and committing crimes.The United States District Court for the District of Utah dismissed the plaintiff's complaint, which included claims for defamation, defamation per se, false light invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy. The court concluded that the challenged statements were either non-actionable opinions protected by law and the First Amendment, true, or not defamatory. The court also granted the defendants’ special motion to strike under anti-SLAPP statutes, awarding attorneys’ fees and costs, and declined to decide between Utah or California law because the outcome was the same under either.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision. The Tenth Circuit held that none of the challenged documentary segments were capable of defamatory meaning under Utah law or the First Amendment. The court found the statements to be either protected opinion, not materially false, or not objectively verifiable. The court also found the anti-SLAPP fee award appropriate and rejected the plaintiff’s arguments regarding amendment and anti-SLAPP procedure, holding that any errors on those points were invited by the plaintiff’s own positions below. View "Lichfield v. Kubler" on Justia Law

A man repeatedly visited the public library in Lawrence, Kansas, where he displayed various signs and flags inside the building. Library staff informed him that these actions violated library policies aimed at maintaining a peaceful environment and, after several incidents in which he refused to comply, staff called the police and temporarily suspended his library privileges. The library’s policies prohibited disruptive behavior and forbade activities—including holding signs, protesting, or similar expressive conduct—inside the library, though expressive clothing and certain other channels for communication remained allowed.He filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas against city and library officials. He alleged violations of his rights to free speech and equal protection, deprivation of procedural due process, and retaliation for protected speech. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants on all claims. It concluded that he lacked standing for claims involving policies not applied to him, and that the challenged restrictions were content-neutral, narrowly tailored to a significant governmental interest, and left open alternative channels for expression. The court also found he was not similarly situated to others treated differently and that his due process and retaliation claims failed.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case de novo and affirmed the district court’s judgment. The Tenth Circuit held that the library’s restrictions on signs and similar expressive activities inside were content-neutral, narrowly tailored to maintain a quiet environment for reading and study, and left open ample alternative channels for communication. It further found that the plaintiff lacked standing for certain claims, was not treated differently from similarly situated patrons, and did not engage in constitutionally protected activity supporting a retaliation claim. The grant of summary judgment to the defendants was affirmed. View "Spiehs v. Morgan" on Justia Law

A journalist with over twenty-five years of experience covering the Utah Legislature previously received media credentials while working for established news organizations. After founding an independent news outlet, he applied for a media credential under a new policy that categorically excluded bloggers, independent media, and freelance journalists from receiving credentials. This exclusion prevented him from accessing restricted areas and events within the Capitol that were available only to credentialed journalists, limiting his ability to gather news directly from legislative press conferences and availabilities.The plaintiff filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah against legislative officials, alleging that the credentialing policy was unconstitutional as both facial and as-applied viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment, along with claims of retaliation, prior restraint, and vagueness. The district court dismissed all claims, including denying a preliminary injunction as moot. The court reasoned, in part, that there was no protected speech implicated by the policy and that the plaintiff’s continued reporting without a credential undercut the retaliation claim.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the district court’s dismissal de novo. The appellate court held that the district court erred in dismissing both the facial and as-applied viewpoint discrimination claims. The appellate court found that the plaintiff plausibly alleged denial of access based on his viewpoint and that the exclusion from a government-created forum for journalists implicated protected speech. The court remanded those claims for further proceedings. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the retaliation, prior restraint, and vagueness claims, finding no plausible allegation of chilling effect and determining the policy did not regulate expression sufficiently to support a prior restraint or vagueness challenge. View "Utah Political Watch v. Musselman" on Justia Law

Several non-profit organizations focused on trappers’ rights challenged a New Mexico statute that broadly prohibits the use of traps, snares, or wildlife poison to capture, injure, or kill animals on public land. The statute includes an exception allowing enrolled members of federally recognized Indian nations, tribes, or pueblos to trap for religious or ceremonial purposes under rules that have not yet been promulgated. The plaintiffs did not contest the general prohibition on trapping, but argued that the exception violates constitutional and statutory rights, specifically invoking the Equal Protection and Establishment Clauses of both the U.S. and New Mexico Constitutions, as well as the New Mexico Civil Rights Act.The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico dismissed the plaintiffs’ federal and state constitutional claims without prejudice, holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing. The court found their economic, recreational, aesthetic, and psychological injuries were not redressable because striking the exception would not lift the general ban on trapping. It also determined that their alleged stigmatic injury was not judicially cognizable and, in any event, their claims were not ripe because the rules implementing the exception had not been issued. The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state statutory claim.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish standing. First, their alleged injuries from not being allowed to trap were not redressable, as invalidating the exception would not affect the underlying prohibition. Second, their claims of psychological and stigmatic injury were not ripe for review, as the exception had not been implemented, and any harm was too abstract and generalized to support standing. The appellate court also found no error in the district court’s decision to decline supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claim. View "New Mexico Trappers Association v. Torrez" on Justia Law

In this case, the defendant was discovered inside a stranger’s apartment in Oklahoma City. After being confronted by the resident, a physical altercation ensued and the defendant fled. The resident claimed that the defendant pulled a gun and fired at him as he was chased outside. Although no firearm was recovered, police found a recently fired shell casing at the scene. Video evidence and witness testimony corroborated the sequence of events. The defendant was subsequently arrested after a foot chase, and a grand jury indicted him for possessing ammunition as a felon.The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma presided over the trial. The government sought to introduce evidence of the defendant’s prior conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm under Rule 404(b), which the defendant opposed. The district court admitted the evidence over objection, provided a limiting instruction, and the jury found the defendant guilty. The presentence report calculated a guideline range of 63 to 78 months; however, the district court imposed an above-guidelines sentence of 120 months, citing the seriousness and repetitive nature of the defendant’s conduct.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that the admission of the prior conviction was an abuse of discretion because knowledge was not at issue under the circumstances, but found the error harmless due to the strength of the evidence. The court also held that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction, the sentence was substantively reasonable, and the argument that the statute was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment was foreclosed by binding precedent. Accordingly, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence. View "United States v. Dias" on Justia Law