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

Oklahoma state prisoner appellant Antonio Milton was serving a life sentence without parole for drug-trafficking-related convictions. After exhausting his state court remedies, Milton filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging (in relevant part) his counsel on direct appeal was ineffective for failing to assert a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, specifically that Milton’s trial counsel failed to inform Milton of a favorable pretrial plea offer. The district court denied Milton’s petition, but the Tenth Circuit granted Milton a certificate of appealability to challenge the district court’s ruling on the ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim. Upon further review, the Tenth Circuit concluded that the Oklahoma state courts’ resolution of Milton’s ineffective assistance claim could not survive scrutiny under 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1), and that unresolved issues of fact prevented the Court from completing its own de novo review of the claim. Consequently, the Court reversed and remanded the case to the district court with directions to conduct an evidentiary hearing on Milton’s ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim. View "Milton v. Miller" on Justia Law

Various groups and several Colorado state legislators filed suit in federal district court to challenge the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) violated the Guarantee Clause of the federal Constitution, was in direct conflict with provisions of the Enabling Act, and impermissibly amended the Colorado Constitution. In order to avoid Eleventh Amendment sovereignty issues, the Governor of Colorado was designated as the named defendant. Governor John Hickenlooper filed his Answer to the plaintiffs' Complaint, and promptly followed with a motion to dismiss, alleging that plaintiffs lacked Article III standing and prudential standing, and that their claims were barred by the political question doctrine. That motion was denied by the district court, and the Governor appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, contending the district court erred. The Governor asked the Court to dismiss the case on the same bases that he presented at district court. The ultimate issue before the Tenth Circuit was: whether plaintiffs suffered a particularized injury not widely shared by the general populace that entitled them to have their case heard by the federal courts, and whether the question presented was purely political in nature and should not be reached by the courts. The Tenth Circuit concluded that these plaintiffs could bring their claims, and that the political question doctrine did not bar the Court's consideration. View "Kerr, et al v. Hickenlooper" on Justia Law

Petitioners-Appellants Esgar Corporation, George and Georgetta Tempel, and Delmar and Patricia Holmes appealed two United States Tax Court decisions, arguing that the Tax Court erred in valuing conservation easements they claimed as charitable deductions and in determining the holding period of state tax credits they sold. Upon careful consideration of the facts of this case and the Tax Court's decision, the Tenth Circuit found no reversible error and affirmed that court's decision. View "Esgar Corporation, et al v. Comm'r of Internal Rev." on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Gloria Porter was convicted of 105 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of identity theft. She appealed her convictions, arguing that the district court incorrectly instructed the jury with respect to aggravated identity theft and that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions for wire fraud and mail fraud. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed defendant's convictions. View "United States v. Porter" on Justia Law

Rolland Goodin worked in coal mines for 25 years, and smoked cigarettes for more than 40 years. He developed a respiratory condition and filed for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA). An Administrative Law Judge awarded Goodin benefits. His employer, Antelope Coal Company/Rio Tinto Energy America appealed, but the Department of Labor Benefits Review Board affirmed. Antelope's primary argument on appeal to the Tenth Circuit was that the ALJ wrongly limited its options to rebut a regulatory presumption that Goodin's work as a coal miner caused his respiratory condition. After review, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the award of benefits: "Antelope's arguments are more a matter of disagreement with the ALJ's assessment of the evidence as opposed to whether he considered the evidence at all. We may not reweigh the evidence but can only determine whether substantial evidence supported the decision." View "Antelope Coal Company/Rio v. Goodin" on Justia Law

Defendant Jermaine Mosley entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He appealed the district court's denial of his motion to suppress the gun that was the basis of this offense. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision. View "United States v. Mosley" on Justia Law

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Local No. 7 sued King Soopers, Inc. to enforce an arbitration award. The federal district court ruled that the award did not stem from the Union’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with King Soopers and refused to enforce it. The Tenth Circuit reversed, finding that although King Soopers could have brought a timely action to vacate the award on the ground adopted by the district court, it did not do so. It therefore could not raise that defense against the Union’s action to enforce the award. For the same reason, the Court held that King Soopers could not raise the defense that the arbitrator lacked authority to impose a remedy. View "United Food & Commercial v. King Soopers" on Justia Law

Camille Kramer sued her former employer the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Department for sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. 1983. She appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Wasatch County on all claims. Upon review, the Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment as to the 1983 claim but reversed on the Title VII claim. View "Kramer v. Wasatch Co. Sheriff's Office, et al" on Justia Law

Defendant Leslie Susan Harrison was convicted by a jury of conspiring to manufacture and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, for which she was sentenced to 360 months in prison. On appeal she challenged the sentence on five grounds. : Upon review, the Tenth Circuit vacated the sentence and remanded for further proceedings, agreeing with defendant's reasoning on her first argument: when she challenged the drug-quantity calculation in the PSR, the district court did not require the government to put on evidence supporting the calculation, stating that the PSR was based on trial testimony. This statement was inaccurate, and the error was not harmless because the trial evidence would not compel a finding of at least 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. The other issues could have been mooted on remand, and therefore the Court did not address them. View "United States v. Harrison" on Justia Law

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought a civil enforcement action against Defendant-Appellees GeoDynamics, Inc., its managing director Jeffory Shields, and several other business entities affiliated with Shields, alleging securities fraud in connection with four oil and gas exploration and drilling ventures Shields marketed to thousands of investors as Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs). The district court granted defendants' 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. The SEC appealed, contending that despite their labels as JVAs, the investment agreements were actually "investment contracts" and thus "securities" subject to federal securities regulations. Because it could not be said as a matter of law that the investments at issue were not "investment contracts," the Tenth Circuit reversed. View "SEC v. Shields, et al" on Justia Law