Justia U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Neysha Cruz, on behalf of her son O.F., filed a lawsuit against the New York City Department of Education (DOE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Cruz rejected the DOE's education plan for O.F., who has multiple disabilities, and sought reimbursement for his private school tuition. Cruz argued that the DOE's placement of O.F. in a twelve-student classroom violated a New York regulation requiring students with highly intensive management needs to be placed in classes of six or fewer students. The DOE acknowledged the regulation but argued that another regulation allowing a maximum of twelve students for those with severe multiple disabilities also applied, giving them discretion in class size placement.An Impartial Hearing Officer (IHO) initially found that the DOE offered O.F. a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) but that the recommended school could not implement the IEP due to scheduling issues. The IHO ordered partial reimbursement for private tuition. The State Review Officer (SRO) reversed the IHO's finding on the school's ability to implement the IEP and concluded that the DOE provided a FAPE, thus denying reimbursement.The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld the SRO's decision, agreeing that the DOE could choose between the two class size regulations. Cruz appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.The Second Circuit found that the case hinged on interpreting New York's education regulations and certified the question to the New York Court of Appeals. The court sought clarification on whether the DOE must satisfy both class size regulations or if it can choose between them when both apply to a student. The Second Circuit retained jurisdiction pending the state court's response. View "Cruz v. Banks" on Justia Law

Darrell Robinson was convicted of being a felon in possession of firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), after law enforcement officers found six firearms in his vehicle during a search. Robinson pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 50 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release. The district court also imposed a special condition of supervised release that allowed for the search of Robinson’s electronic devices upon reasonable suspicion of a violation of a condition of supervision.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York adopted the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) without modification and imposed the special search condition as recommended in the PSR. Robinson did not object to the PSR or the special condition during sentencing but later moved to correct the judgment, arguing that the electronic search condition was not orally pronounced at sentencing. The district court denied the motion, finding that it had met its obligation by referencing the PSR.The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed Robinson’s appeal, where he argued that the electronic search condition was not orally pronounced, was procedurally unreasonable, and violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The court found that the district court’s reference to the PSR was sufficient to impose the special condition, and the need for the condition was self-evident given Robinson’s extensive criminal history and dishonesty with law enforcement. The court also held that the condition, which required reasonable suspicion, did not violate Robinson’s Fourth Amendment rights due to his diminished expectation of privacy while on supervised release.The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court, upholding the special condition of supervised release allowing for the search of Robinson’s electronic devices. View "United States v. Robinson" on Justia Law

The case involves Salifou Conde, who was convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit both frauds. The fraudulent activities were related to the theft of rent assistance checks from New York City's Human Resources Administration (HRA). These checks, intended for qualifying individuals' landlords, were often returned as undeliverable and subsequently misappropriated by Conde and his co-conspirators. The fraudulent checks were deposited into various bank accounts, including Conde's, and used to pay for services such as cable and internet.In the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Conde was found guilty on all counts following a jury trial. He was sentenced to 55 months in prison and a five-year term of supervised release. The evidence against him included bank records, ATM surveillance footage, and an electronically generated record from a telecommunication company showing payments for services linked to the fraudulent bank accounts.Conde appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that the telecommunication company's record was improperly admitted as a self-authenticating business record, violating his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation. The appellate court reviewed the district court's decision for abuse of discretion and found no error. The court held that the record was admissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 803(6) and 902(11) as a business record, and its admission did not violate Conde's confrontation rights. Consequently, the appellate court affirmed the district court's judgment. View "United States v. Conde" on Justia Law

Mirsad Kandic, a legal permanent resident of the United States, relocated to Syria in 2013 to serve as a foreign fighter for ISIS. He later moved to Turkey, where he became a recruiter and emir for ISIS media, using social media to spread propaganda and assist recruits. Kandic also ran an online weapons market, smuggled money into Syria, created false passports, and provided intelligence to ISIS leadership. He recruited Jake Bilardi, an Australian teenager, who later became a suicide bomber, resulting in over 30 deaths. Kandic was arrested in Sarajevo in 2017 and extradited to the Eastern District of New York.A grand jury indicted Kandic on six counts, including conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and substantive violations of providing material support. The district court denied Kandic's motion to dismiss the conspiracy count, and a jury found him guilty on all counts. The jury also found that the conspiracy resulted in the death of Jake Bilardi and other individuals. Kandic was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment and four concurrent terms of 20 years' imprisonment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case. Kandic argued that the conspiracy count was impermissibly duplicitous, the remaining counts were multiplicitous, and the district court abused its discretion by excluding certain evidence. The Second Circuit rejected these arguments, holding that the conspiracy count was not impermissibly duplicitous because the jury was properly instructed on unanimity and the special verdict sheet ensured a unanimous verdict. The court also found that the remaining counts were not multiplicitous and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the hearsay evidence. The judgment of the district court was affirmed. View "U.S. v. Kandic" on Justia Law

Hamilton Reserve Bank, the beneficial owner of $250,490,000 in Sri Lankan government bonds, sued the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York after Sri Lanka defaulted on the bonds. Over a year later, Jesse Guzman, Ultimate Concrete LLC, and Intercoastal Finance Ltd. sought to intervene, claiming Hamilton defrauded them by using their deposited funds to purchase the bonds and then refusing to allow them to withdraw their money.The district court denied the motion to intervene, holding that it lacked jurisdiction over the intervenors' claims. The court found that the claims did not derive from a "common nucleus of operative fact" with Hamilton's breach of contract claim against Sri Lanka, as required for supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The appellate court held that the district court applied the correct "common nucleus of operative fact" standard for evaluating supplemental jurisdiction under Section 1367(a). The court concluded that the intervenors' claims, which involved a banking dispute with Hamilton, did not share substantial factual overlap with Hamilton's breach of contract claim against Sri Lanka. Therefore, the district court correctly determined it lacked jurisdiction over the intervenors' claims and denied their motion to intervene. View "Hamilton Reserve Bank v. Sri Lanka" on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Alexander Arguedas pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to charges of racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and using and carrying firearms in furtherance of a narcotics conspiracy. The district court imposed a below-Guidelines sentence of 390 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment of $300. The court also imposed mandatory, standard, and special conditions of supervised release. Arguedas appealed, and his appellate counsel moved to be relieved and for the appointment of substitute counsel, submitting a brief in accordance with Anders v. California.The government moved to dismiss the appeal based on an appeal waiver in the plea agreement or, alternatively, for summary affirmance. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the Anders brief was incomplete because it did not address Arguedas’s conditions of supervised release, which fall outside the scope of the appeal waiver. The court held that such a deficiency in an Anders brief is not necessarily fatal if it is harmless. The court concluded that there were no non-frivolous issues with respect to the mandatory, standard, and five of the seven special conditions of supervised release, making the deficiency harmless in those respects.However, the court identified potential non-frivolous issues regarding two special conditions concerning financial disclosure and new lines of credit. As a result, the court deferred decision on the motions and ordered the parties to file supplemental briefing to address these conditions. The court directed appellate counsel to determine whether Arguedas wishes to appeal these conditions and to discuss any non-frivolous issues they might raise. The government was also directed to respond to the supplemental briefing. View "United States v. Arguedas" on Justia Law

Natasha Knox, a Black woman of Jamaican descent, worked as a customer service attendant at three Clean Rite laundromats in the Bronx from December 2018 until her termination in April 2019. She alleged that her supervisors, Cecilia Ashmeade and Kenneth Ferris, made derogatory comments about her race and national origin, and that Clean Rite failed to accommodate her disability following a thumb injury. Knox also claimed she was not paid for extra shifts worked at other locations and was wrongfully terminated after reimbursing herself for taxi fare from the cash register, which she claimed was permitted.The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of Clean Rite, dismissing Knox’s claims of discriminatory and retaliatory termination, hostile work environment, refusal to accommodate her disability, and unpaid wages. The district court found that Knox had not provided sufficient evidence to support her claims. Knox’s motion to strike the defendants’ answer and request for default judgment against Ashmeade and Ferris, who had failed to appear, was denied as moot.The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case de novo and found that Knox had presented sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on all her claims. The court noted that evidence such as Knox’s testimony and sworn affidavit could lead a reasonable jury to find in her favor. The court vacated the district court’s judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings on each of Knox’s claims. The claims against Ashmeade and Ferris were reinstated for the district court to reconsider Knox’s motion to strike their answer and for default judgment. View "Knox v. CRC Management Co." on Justia Law

Isaac Poole, while on supervised release for prior drug offenses, tested positive for cocaine, and probation officers found drugs and drug paraphernalia in his home. The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York revoked his supervised release and sentenced him to eight months of imprisonment followed by ninety-six months of supervised release. As a condition of his supervised release, the court required Poole to submit to suspicionless searches by probation officers or law enforcement officers assisting them. Poole appealed this condition, arguing it was unsupported by the record and involved a greater deprivation of liberty than necessary.The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York initially handled Poole's case. After his release from prison, Poole began his supervised release in Syracuse, New York. Following a positive drug test and the discovery of drugs and paraphernalia in his home, the court modified his supervised release conditions to include suspicionless searches. Poole admitted to possessing and using illegal drugs, leading to the revocation of his supervised release and the imposition of the new conditions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion in imposing the suspicionless search condition. The court found that Poole's pattern of illegal drug activity, including while on supervised release, justified the condition. The court concluded that the condition served the purposes of deterrence, public protection, and rehabilitation, and enabled probation officers to fulfill their statutory duties. The court affirmed the judgment of the district court, upholding the suspicionless search condition as both procedurally and substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Poole" on Justia Law

Kenneth Darrah exchanged messages with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as the mother of a nine-year-old girl. During these exchanges, Darrah sent an audiovisual file of child pornography through the Kik Messenger application, expecting to receive a picture of the child in return. He pled guilty to distributing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2252A(a)(2)(A) and was sentenced by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York to 106 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release.Darrah appealed, challenging the procedural reasonableness of a five-level increase for distribution of child pornography under U.S.S.G. §2G2.2(b)(3)(B), the substantive reasonableness of his 106-month sentence, and a special condition of supervised release limiting him to one internet-capable device. The district court had calculated a total offense level of 34 and a criminal history category of I, resulting in a Guidelines range of 151 to 188 months. Despite objections, the court imposed a below-Guidelines sentence of 106 months.The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case. It found that the district court erred in applying the five-level increase because there was no evidence of an agreement to exchange anything of value, as required under the amended U.S.S.G. §2G2.2(b)(3)(B). However, this error was deemed harmless since the district court indicated it would have imposed the same sentence regardless. The court also found the 106-month sentence substantively reasonable, considering the nature of Darrah's offense and his background.The appellate court vacated the judgment regarding the special condition of supervised release, which limited Darrah to one internet-capable device, as it constituted an impermissible delegation of judicial authority to the Probation Office. The case was remanded for resentencing consistent with this opinion. View "U.S. v. Darrah" on Justia Law

A pretrial detainee, Alexandra Grimaldi, died after attempting suicide during acute heroin withdrawal while in a County jail. Her mother, Nancy Lara-Grimaldi, filed a lawsuit seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and New York State law against the County of Putnam and various County employees, alleging deliberate indifference to Grimaldi's health and safety.The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, dismissing the § 1983 claims against correction employees Karen Jackson, Steven Napolitano, and Michelle Nigro, as well as a Monell claim against the County. The court concluded that no reasonable jury could find that these defendants knew or should have known that there was an excessive risk that Grimaldi would attempt suicide. The court also declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the dismissal of the § 1983 claims against Jackson and Napolitano, finding that the record did not support a finding of deliberate indifference on their part. However, the court vacated the dismissal of the § 1983 claim against Nigro, concluding that there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that Nigro knew or should have known about Grimaldi's risk factors and failed to provide adequate supervision. The court also vacated the dismissal of the state-law claims against Nigro, Jackson, Napolitano, and the County, and remanded for further proceedings on those claims. View "Lara-Grimaldi v. County of Putnam" on Justia Law