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

Gaetjens bred cats in her Loves Park home.. Her doctor told her to go to the hospital because of high blood pressure. Later that day, the doctor couldn’t locate Gaetjens and phoned Eads, Gaetjens’s neighbor. Eads could not locate Gaetjens. The next day, Gaetjens was still missing. Eads called the police, stating that Gaetjens might be experiencing a medical emergency. Officers went to Gaetjens’s home but could not see anyone inside. They saw packages on the porch, untended garbage, and a full mailbox. . Eads provided a key. The police went into the home but immediately left because of intense odors, "urine, feces, and maybe a decomposing body." The police called the Fire Department to enter with breathing devices. The Fire Chief temporarily condemned the home as not fit for habitation. Firefighters went inside to look for Gaetjens but found 37 cats. They summoned Animal Services to round up the cats because Gaetjens was not allowed inside the condemned house. The cats were impounded for nine days. Four cats died.Gaetjens, who had been in the hospital, sued under section 1983. The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The Fourth Amendment ordinarily prohibits such conduct without a warrant but emergencies breed exceptions. The defendants had reason to believe that Gaetjens was experiencing a medical emergency and found her home so noxious that it posed a public safety risk. View "Gaetjens v. Winnebago County" on Justia Law

In 2010, Chuchman, a 17-year-old student, joined the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), a political party that opposed then-president Yanukovych. In 2012, her university’s dean warned Chuchman that she could be expelled for her political activity. Two months later, police assaulted, arrested, and detained Chuchman at a rally. The dean again implored Chuchman to stop her political activity, saying she could be expelled. In 2013, Chuchman was assaulted by the police after attending another protest, suffering a broken nose, and a concussion; she was hospitalized for three weeks. Chuchman entered the U.S. using a cultural exchange visa. Two months later, Ukrainian police began searching for her. They sent summonses to her dormitory and to her parents’ house. While Chuchman was in the U.S., demonstrations and civil unrest broke out across Ukraine, culminating in Yanukovych’s ouster in 2014. UDAR merged with the new president’s party.Chuchman applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. In Ukraine, the police continued to search for Chuchman, citing “public disturbances.” Chuchman testified that she feared reprisal from the many pro-Yanukovych officials who remained in office. The IJ found Chuchman credible but denied relief. The BIA affirmed. The Seventh Circuit denied a petition for review. Substantial evidence supports the conclusion that Chuchman’s experience in Ukraine did not rise to the level of persecution; she failed to present compelling evidence that the new government would persecute her if she returned. View "Chuchman v. Garland" on Justia Law

Coscia used electronic exchanges for futures trading and implemented high-frequency trading programs. High-frequency trading, called “spoofing,” and defined as bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution, became illegal in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank Act, 7 U.S.C. 6c(a)(5). Coscia was convicted of commodities fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1348, and spoofing, After an unsuccessful appeal, Coscia sought a new trial, citing new evidence that data discovered after trial establishes that there were errors in the data presented to the jury and that subsequent indictments for similar spoofing activities undercut the government’s characterization of Coscia as a trading “outlier.” He also claimed that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance, having an undisclosed conflict of interest. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Even assuming that Coscia’s new evidence could not have been discovered sooner through the exercise of due diligence, Coscia failed to explain how that evidence or the subsequent indictments seriously called the verdict into question. Coscia has not established that his attorneys learned of relevant and confidential information from its cited unrelated representations. Coscia’s counsel faced “the common situation” where the client stands a better chance of success by admitting the underlying actions and arguing that the actions do not constitute a crime. That the jury did not accept his defense does not render it constitutionally deficient. View "Coscia v. United States" on Justia Law

Chicago officers responded to a 911 call and found Jones bleeding from a gunshot wound. Jones stated, “Damon shot me” and that Damon was wearing a “black hoodie.” About 90 seconds later, officers encountered Damon Goodloe, wearing a black hoodie but unarmed. They took Goodloe to the scene, where Jones stated, “he’s the one that shot me.” Jones died at a hospital.The prosecution introduced Jones’s statements to the officers. Goodloe’s hands tested positive for gunshot residue. Lovett testified that she saw Goodloe (whom she knew) and another man, both in black hoodies, heard several gunshots but ducked before she could see who fired a gun, called 911, and identified Goodloe in a line-up. Loggins testified that he was purchasing cocaine from Jones when he observed two men in black hoodies. When the shots were fired, he fled. A jury convicted Goodloe of first-degree murder without finding that he personally discharged a firearm.The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of Goodloe’s habeas petition, first upholding the admission of Jones’s identification of Goodloe. Statements are nontestimonial when made during police interrogation under circumstances objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to meet an ongoing emergency. The state appellate court did not unreasonably apply Supreme Court precedent in concluding that the emergency was ongoing when Goodloe was taken to the ambulance in handcuffs. Counsel was not ineffective for failing to investigate witnesses who could have provided an innocent explanation for Goodloe's presence near the shooting; their testimony was unlikely to create a reasonable probability of a different result. View "Goodloe v. Brannon" on Justia Law

In 2012, Demkovich was hired as the music director at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church. Demkovich is gay, overweight, and suffers from diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Demkovich claims Reverend Dada subjected him to a hostile work environment based on his sexual orientation and his disabilities. After Demkovich married his partner, Reverend Dada demanded Demkovich’s resignation because his marriage violated Church teachings. Demkovich refused. Reverend Dada fired him. Demkovich filed hostile environment claims under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act.The Seventh Circuit initially declined to extend the constitutional "ministerial" exemption to categorically bar all hostile environment discrimination claims by ministerial employees where there is no challenge to tangible employment actions like hiring and firing. On rehearing, the court ordered the dismissal of all of Demkovich’s claims. The First Amendment ministerial exception protects a religious organization’s employment relationship with its ministers, from hiring to firing and the supervising in between. Adjudicating a minister’s hostile work environment claims based on the interaction between ministers would undermine this constitutionally protected relationship. It would also result in civil intrusion upon, and excessive entanglement with, the religious realm. View "Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish," on Justia Law

Gonzalez, a member of the Latin Kings street gang, sold a gun to a fellow Latin Kings member, who was a confidential government source. The source assisted law enforcement in recording conversations between himself and Gonzalez, including a call in which Gonzalez stated that he could sell him two more firearms the following day. Gonzalez, who had an earlier felony conviction for aggravated robbery, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). During Probation Office interviews, Gonzalez made “several inconsistent statements” about his identity and lied about his gang membership.The district court awarded Gonzalez a three‐point reduction in his offense level for accepting responsibility but concluded that Gonzalez’s material misrepresentations merited a two‐level enhancement for obstruction of justice, resulting in a sentencing range of 33-41 months. The court found this to be inadequate, in light of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and imposed a sentence of 72 months’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. While a court must always consult the guidelines and take them into account, the ultimate length of a sentence (within statutory maxima and minima) is committed to the discretion of the judge, who is constrained by the factors in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). Gonzalez’s sentence is not substantively unreasonable. View "United States v. Gonzalez" on Justia Law

Gradei’s withdrew from a multi-employer pension plan, asserting that it had ceased all operations covered by the governing multi-employer collective bargaining agreement and was no longer required to contribute to the Fund, which sought to collect $221,932.55 in withdrawal liability. Gradei’s did not respond to payment demands and filed for bankruptcy. The Fund sued the Pitellos (Gradei’s owners) and another corporation owned by the Pitellos (GX), on the theory that they were businesses under common control. The district court found that Gradei’s and GX were conducting business rent-free on property owned by the Pitellos, which was enough to establish common control.The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. 1381(a), 1404(a) withdrawal liability applies to the withdrawing employer and to “all trades or businesses ... under common control” with that employer. The court rejected Pitello’s argument that the property was only a passive investment. It is possible to rebut the presumption that leasing property to a withdrawing employer is a business but the Pitellos failed to do that. The court noted the economic equivalence between a return on investment in the form of rent collection and return on investment in the form of dividends or salaries made possible by the absence of any rent obligation. The land is part of the business. View "Local 705 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Pension Fund v. Pitello" on Justia Law

ERISA-covered employee benefit funds filed suit to hold a newly formed, family-run plumbing company liable for an existing ERISA judgment on the basis that it stepped into the predecessor family company’s obligations. The funds cited the federal common law doctrine of successor liability and contended that was enough to show their claim arose under federal law and raised a federal question properly in federal court under 28 U.S.C. 1331. The district court agreed, proceeded to the merits, and concluded it would be inequitable to hold the new entity responsible for the other’s unpaid plan contributions on a theory of successor liability.The Seventh Circuit vacated, stating the suit must be dismissed. The reliance on federal common law alone does not suffice to show a claim “arising under” federal law for purposes of establishing federal question jurisdiction. Supreme Court precedent indicates that in these circumstances the funds needed to identify a source of law supplying them a federal cause of action—a federal law authorizing them to sue in federal court on their claim. Section 1331, the federal question jurisdiction statute, does not itself create or supply that cause of action here. Nor have the funds identified any other statute authorizing their action in federal court. View "East Central Illinois Pipe Trades Health & Welfare Fund v. Prather Plumbing & Heating, Inc." on Justia Law

In his employment discrimination action, Nichols obtained a judgment of $1.5 million in damages (later reduced to the statutory cap of $300,000) and $952,156 in equitable relief. His attorney, Longo petitioned for $1,709,345 in attorneys’ fees and $4,460.47 in costs under Title VII’s fee-shifting provision, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(k). He submitted that his hourly rate was $550 and that he had worked 3,107.9 hours on Nichols’s case; he requested a 15% upward adjustment, arguing that Nichols’s case was “risky”; the successful outcome; and the deterrent impact of a large award.The Seventh Circuit affirmed an award of $774,584.50 in fees and $4,061.02 in costs. Relying on other then-recent fee awards for Longo, the court set the reasonable hourly rate at $360 for attorney work and $125 for paralegal work. The court reduced Longo’s request by 962.1 hours, including 109.2 hours that Longo had billed for trips from his office to the courthouse; 18.5 hours for paralegal work billed at an attorney’s rate; a 10% reduction (298.0 hours) for excessive billing for clerical work; and another 20% reduction (536.4 hours) for general excessive billing. The court permitted Longo 2,145.8 hours at an attorney’s rate and 18.5 hours at a paralegal’s rate and denied Longo fees for litigating the fee petition, noting Longo’s lack of billing judgment and overly voluminous petition. View "Nichols v. Illinois Department of Transportation" on Justia Law

Schenck and Davis have a young child, ABC. Schenck took sexually explicit photos of ABC and sent them to Schneibel, who told Davis, who told Schenck’s mother, who told Detective Bauman. Detective Enget interviewed Schneibel, who described the images she received from Schenck. Bauman obtained, from a Wisconsin state judge, a warrant to search Schenck’s apartment for child pornography. Police executed the warrant, seized Schenck’s computer and iPhone, and found four pornographic images of ABC when she was under two years old.Schenck was charged with three counts of production of child pornography and one count of distribution. Schenck moved to suppress all evidence discovered during the search, arguing the affidavit lacked probable cause because it failed to demonstrate ABC was a child, and it failed to demonstrate the images were sexually explicit. . The district judge denied the motion and sentenced Schenk to 240 months in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of suppression. Considering the totality of the circumstances, and applying common sense, it is clear that there were good reasons for the state judge to think ABC was a child at the relevant times. The complete content and context of the affidavit also gave the issuing judge ample grounds to find probable cause that a search would produce evidence of a crime. View "United States v. Schenck" on Justia Law