United States Sixth Circuit - March 2002 Opinion Summaries

TAYLOR v. WITHROW

Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus
The right of a criminal defendant to assert self-defense is a fundamental right, and failure to instruct a jury on self-defense when the instruction...

SHARP v. LINDSEY

Constitutional Law, Contracts, Education Law, Labor & Employment Law
Even assuming principal's letter and skit criticizing superintendent addressed matters of public concern, school board's interests in a tension-free...

OHIO FARMERS INS. CO. v. LEET

Bankruptcy Law
Even though creditors' counsel mailed 11 U.S.C. section 523 dischargeability complaint to the bankruptcy court clerk's office in what should have been...

SCOTT v. COLLINS

Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus
After finding that the respondent waived the statute of limitations defense, the district court improperly cured waiver by sua sponte dismissing the...

CHANDLER v. SPECIALTY TIRES OF AMERICA (TENN.), INC.

Health Law, Labor & Employment Law
The Tennessee Handicap Act protects employees in the private sector from discriminatory termination, and, because plaintiff raised a genuine issue of...

CSX TRANSP., INC. v. CITY OF PLYMOUTH

Civil Procedure, Transportation
Because federal regulations substantially subsume the subject matter of a Michigan statute that prohibits trains from continuously blocking grade...

US v. AL-ZUBAIDY

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure
Regulating use of the channels of interstate commerce to prevent the spread of harm to people of other states from the state of origin is within...

PETERS v. LINCOLN ELECTRIC CO.

Civil Procedure, ERISA, Labor & Employment Law
Plaintiff's deposition responses can constitute an "other paper" from which it may be ascertained the case is removable under federal question...

COLES v. WONDER

Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property, Copyright
In the case of an unpublished work, any copy deposited as part of an application for a certificate of copyright registration pursuant to The Copyright...

US v. CARTER

Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
Where there was no evidence that defendant planned three prior drug sales, or that the first drug sale would entail the following sales, and the three...