Justia U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Officers responded to reports of gunfire in a Chicago public housing complex. Two people stated that “gangbangers” were running guns and drugs into the building and pointed to apartment 501. No one answered when they knocked, so the officers entered the apartment with guns drawn. They found Perry and ordered him to get down against the wall, then searched the apartment, finding chunks of crack cocaine, clear Ziploc bags, and razor blades in a bedroom. Perry ran for the door, knocking an officer down. Perry claimed that he fled because the officers started punching him. Perry ran down to the third floor. Officer Keithley followed him, gun drawn, while Watts secured the apartment. Keithley testified that Perry popped out and rushed him, grabbed him, and tried to grab his gun. Keithley said he tried to punch Perry and his gun went off, striking Keithley in the arm. Perry again attempted to escape, knocking Keithley off-balance. Keithley shot at Perry while falling; one bullet struck Perry in the thigh, and another struck him in the back. Perry denied reaching for Keithley’s gun. Perry was acquitted of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and disarming a peace officer. Perry filed civil rights claims against the officers and the city. A jury rejected his claims. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting claims of evidentiary errors. View "Perry v. City of Chicago" on Justia Law

Orillo, her husband (a doctor), and another owned Chalice, a home health care provider. Chalice was an enrolled provider with Medicare and could seek reimbursement of home health care through that program. Orillo falsified forms by altering the codes and information that had been completed by the Chalice nurses to make the patient’s condition appear worse and the health care needs greater than the actuality. Those alterations caused Medicare software to generate different reimbursement rates Orillo also aided her husband in paying kickbacks to a Chicago doctor in return for referrals of Medicare patients. Orillo pled guilty to healthcare fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1347 and paying kickbacks to physicians for patient referrals under a federal health care program, 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b and 18 U.S.C. 2, and was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment. Orillo conceded that her scheme caused a loss, to Medicare, in excess of $400,000, and agreed to entry of a $500,000 forfeiture judgment.The district court determined that the loss amount for the healthcare fraud count was $744,481 and ordered her to pay that amount in restitution. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting Orillo’s argument that the loss and restitution amount should be limited to only those stemming from visible alterations. View "United States v. Orillo" on Justia Law

In 2000, the Schuchmans purchased homeowner’s insurance from State Auto to insure a residence in Junction City, Illinois. About 10 years later, a fire severely damaged the insured house and the Schuchmans made a claim against the homeowner’s policy. After a lengthy investigation, State Auto denied the claim on the basis that the Schuchmans were not residing on the “residence premises,” as that term is defined by the policy, and were maintaining a residence other than at the “residence premises,” in violation of the policy’s Special Provisions. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of State Auto. The Seventh Circuit reversed, agreeing that the term “residence premises” is ambiguous and should be liberally construed in favor of coverage. View "Schuchman v. State Auto Prop. & Cas.Ins. Co." on Justia Law

Convicted of sex trafficking in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1591(a), and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Sawyer admits that he forced at least seven girls whom he knew to be minors to work as prostitutes for his benefit. He argued that his conviction should be vacated because the jury was instructed improperly on one element of the offense. The Seventh Circuit rejected the argument and affirmed. By agreeing to the instructions at trial, Sawyer waived his argument. Even if he had not waived the point, the instructions were correct in explaining that the government had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Sawyer’s conduct affected interstate commerce to prove guilt but that Sawyer need not have known or intended that his conduct would have an effect on interstate commerce. Sawyer stipulated that his conduct had such an effect. The court rejected an argument that the jury should have been instructed to acquit if the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he actually knew or intended that his conduct affected interstate commerce. The statutory term “knowingly” does not modify “in or affecting interstate commerce,” which merely established a basis for congressional jurisdiction. View "United States v. Sawyer" on Justia Law

Philpot, former Clerk of Lake County, Indiana, took $25,000 in incentive payments from a federally funded child‐support fund (42 U.S.C. 658a(a)) without the required approval of the county fiscal body. The Indiana Department of Child Services disburses those federal funds to the counties, Ind. Code 31‐25‐4‐23(a), which have a relatively free hand in directing the money, although “amounts received as incentive payments may not, without the approval of the county fiscal body, be used to increase or supplement the salary of an elected official.” Philpot had used the funds to provide himself and staff members with bonuses. Convicted of mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1341, and theft from a federally funded program 18 U.S. 666(a)1A, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, despite claims concerning whether Philpot “knowingly” violated the statute and the fact that Philpot had voluntarily returned the funds. View "United States v. Philpot" on Justia Law

The Berkowitz family has a history of IRS problems. Yair began participating in his father’s schemes in 1999, acquiring the information of dead people and federal prisoners to prepare fraudulent tax returns. Between 2003 and 2009, 58 individuals received refund checks in a conspiracy that involved more than 3,000 false state and federal tax returns. Yair received tax returns from Marvin in Israel, mailed the returns from various U.S. postal codes to avoid IRS suspicion, and controlled accounts where proceeds were deposited. When refund checks issued, Yair traveled to pick them up and made payments to co‐conspirators. In 2006, IRS agents told Yair that money he received from Marvin was obtained by fraud. Yair denied knowledge of the scheme. He began to reduce his direct involvement, but continued to receive money from the scheme and met with an undercover IRS agent about expanding the fraud. The scheme was uncovered. Yair, Marvin, and others were charged with conspiracy to defraud the IRS, wire fraud, and mail fraud. Yair pleaded guilty only to wire fraud based on a 2006 PayPal transfer of $250. At sentencing, the district court followed the Presentence Report’s recommendation and ordered Yair to pay more than $4 million in restitution along with his prison sentence; his liability was joint and several with his co‐defendants. The Seventh Circuit found the award appropriate and affirmed.View "Unted States v. Berkowitz" on Justia Law

Johnson was rejected for four promotions and was terminated in 2004, when her employer, General Board learned that Johnson had been recording conversations with co-workers without their consent. Johnson had filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2001 and in 2003 and, after her termination, filed a charge, claiming sexual harassment, based on a video shown by a team leader, featuring male nudity. Johnson sued General Board, alleging race discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. 981, and sexual harassment in violation of Title VII. Johnson testified that a hiring official told her that her tendency to complain about discrimination might have contributed to the decision not to promote her. Most of Johnson’s claims were dismissed. Two remaining claims for retaliation were tried; a jury returned a verdict for the defendants. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting challenges to evidentiary rulings and to jury instructions. The district court failed to comply with FRCP 51(b), which requires the court to decide the content of final jury instructions and give the parties an opportunity to object before instructions and final arguments are delivered; the procedural error was ultimately harmless. View "Johnson v. Gen. Bd. of Pension & Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church" on Justia Law

In 2001 a burglar set fire to Frankton High School, causing millions of dollars in damages. According to the plaintiff, an officer coerced one of the suspects and others to accuse the plaintiff. The plaintiff was convicted of arson, burglary, and theft. He obtained post-conviction relief and was released from prison in 2006, after proving that a key witness had lied. In 2007 a retrial was scheduled. On advice of counsel, plaintiff deferred filing a civil rights suit pending retrial, but the trial kept getting rescheduled until charges were dismissed in 2010. In 2011, the plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming malicious prosecution, due process, violations, and other torts, by Indiana police officers, the town that employed them, and the sheriff. The district judge dismissed the claim as untimely and held that Indiana law provides an adequate remedy for malicious prosecution, barring recourse to section 1983. The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded, finding that Indiana law does not provide an adequate remedy. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants intimidated him into delaying filing a civil suit until the criminal proceeding ended. If that is true, the limitations period did not start to run until then, so that his November 2011 filing was within the limitations period. View "Julian v. Hanna" on Justia Law

American Airlines filed for bankruptcy and implemented a plan to reduce labor costs. Anticipating a reduction in the number of AA mechanics, resulting in reduction in the number of Transportation Workers Union members, the national leadership of that union consolidated local unions and shuttered offices. The district court denied a motion by local unions for a preliminary injunction preventing the consolidation. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. TWU’s actions were within the scope of its authority; TWU reasonably exercised powers granted to it by the TWU Constitution. View "Transp. Workers Union of Am., AFL-CIO Local Unions v. Transp. Workers Union of Am., Int'l " on Justia Law

Thompson pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and heroin, 21 U.S.C. 846, 841(a)(1), and was sentenced to 540 months in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Thompson then moved to vacate under 28 U.S.C. 2255 alleging that the government breached agreements with him (and others who cooperated on his behalf) to recommend that he serve between 108 and 135 months in prison, and that his attorneys rendered ineffective assistance at the time he pleaded guilty, at sentencing, and on appeal. The district court denied the motion. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that Thompson never moved to withdraw his guilty plea, nor did he mention any deals in his opportunities to address the district court directly. Thompson did not show prejudice as a result of any alleged failings on the part of counsel. View "Thompson v. United States" on Justia Law