• Walker v. Kelly

  Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 2010-03-09 · cited 1×

  This case involves a petition for rehearing en banc following a habeas corpus challenge by Darick Demorris Walker to his capital murder conviction. Walker claimed a Brady violation because prosecutors withheld police reports that could have impeached the credibility of the sole eyewitness, a thirteen-year-old who identified him based on voice rather than sight. A 2006 panel of the Fourth Circuit had found that Walker overcame procedural default and established the violation, but a 2009 panel reached the opposite result on similar evidence. The court denied rehearing en banc after a poll showed that a majority of active judges voted against it. Judge Gregory dissented, arguing that the denial undermined the law of the case doctrine and fairness in a capital case where the withheld evidence was material to guilt or innocence.

  criminal lawprocedure

  Read the full opinion inline ▾ (584 words)

• Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. Aracoma Coal Co.

  Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 2009-05-29 · cited 1×

  The case involved environmental organizations challenging four permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to coal companies, allowing the disposal of surface mining waste into headwater streams in West Virginia under Clean Water Act Section 404. The Fourth Circuit panel upheld the permits, finding that the Corps had not abused its discretion. The court reasoned that its review was narrow due to statutory delegation to states under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and prior circuit precedent affirming the Corps' authority, and that the Corps' assessment of stream impacts satisfied the arbitrary-and-capricious standard even without a full functional assessment protocol. The full court denied rehearing en banc after a poll of active judges.

  environmentbusiness & regulatoryfederal power

  Read the full opinion inline ▾ (2,115 words)

Affiliations