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Judge, District Court, D. Maine · Born 1950 · Bangor, ME
District Court, D. Maine — appointed by George W. Bush
Beacon Investments LLC v. Mainepcs, LLC
District Court, D. Maine · 2012-03-28 · cited 1×
In this bankruptcy appeal, secured creditors Beacon Investments LLC and United Express Wireless, Inc. challenged the Bankruptcy Court's approval of MainePCS LLC's settlement of pending litigation against competitor Northeast Wireless Networks, LLC. The District Court affirmed the approval, concluding that the Bankruptcy Court did not abuse its discretion in approving the compromise, that the appellants had waived their argument that the 'entire fairness' standard should apply to the settlement, and that even if that standard had been applied the result would have been the same. The Court also held that under MainePCS's operating agreement, the vote of two of the three managers was sufficient to authorize the settlement. The underlying dispute arose from MainePCS's failed contracts with T-Mobile and subsequent dealings involving its board members and lenders.
business & regulatoryprocedure
United States v. Corbin
District Court, D. Maine · 2011-11-14 · cited 4×
In United States v. Corbin, defendant Paul Corbin faced federal charges for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine, plus unlawful firearm possession, and moved to disqualify the presiding judge under 28 U.S.C. §§ 144 and 455. The motion cited the judge's published statements to a newspaper about the risks of methamphetamine trafficking from Canada into Maine, along with a DOJ report on border security distributed to judges. The court denied the motion, ruling that the statements reflected general judicial observations on public safety issues rather than personal bias or prejudice against the defendant. It held that neither the comments nor the report created an objective basis for questioning the judge's impartiality, as recusal requires a factual showing that a reasonable person would doubt neutrality, and the affidavit was legally insufficient.
criminal lawprocedure
Hofland v. LaHaye
District Court, D. Maine · 2011-11-10 · cited 2×
This case involves pro se plaintiff Randall Hofland's civil lawsuit against Richard LaHaye and others, stemming from events leading to Hofland's 2008 arrest; Hofland repeatedly attempted to amend his complaint over two years while the case was stayed for related criminal proceedings. The magistrate judge screened the fourth proposed amended complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, found no viable claims, and recommended dismissal along with filing restrictions. The district court affirmed the recommended decision, struck the latest filings, entered judgment for defendants, and imposed pre-filing injunctions after determining that Hofland had filed multiple meritless suits, refused to accept prior rulings, and engaged in dilatory and abusive litigation tactics. The core reasoning was that federal courts should not expend resources on frivolous matters and that Hofland's pattern of conduct justified restrictions under Cok v. Family Court of Rhode Island.
procedure
United States v. Farlow
District Court, D. Maine · 2011-10-21 · cited 1×
In United States v. Farlow, the defendant, after entering a conditional guilty plea to charges of transporting and possessing child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and appealed an order denying his motion to suppress evidence from a computer search. Farlow then moved for release pending appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c), arguing he posed no flight risk or danger to the community, raised substantial questions about the search's legality, and had exceptional reasons for release due to his serious illness. The government opposed, citing his criminal history involving sexual offenses against minors and arguing no substantial appellate issues or exceptional circumstances existed. The court denied the motion, concluding Farlow failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that his appeal raised a substantial question likely to result in reversal and that no exceptional reasons justified release despite his health issues. The decision applied standards from § 3143(b) and considered factors such as the nature of the offense and prior conduct.
criminal lawprocedure
United States v. Mays
District Court, D. Maine · 2011-10-11
The United States sued two Southwest Harbor residents under the False Claims Act, alleging they submitted invoices and received federal grant funds for installing a town surveillance camera system that was actually installed by volunteers without compensation. The defendants moved for summary judgment, contending there was no evidence of false claims or unjust enrichment. The court denied the motion, concluding that genuine disputes of material fact existed about whether the billed installation services were performed and whether the government relied on inaccurate invoices when disbursing the grant money. This evidence was sufficient to allow the FCA claims, as well as common-law claims for unjust enrichment, payment by mistake, and accounting, to proceed to trial.
criminal lawfederal power
United States v. Sanchez-Ramirez
District Court, D. Maine · 2011-09-30
In United States v. Sanchez-Ramirez, the defendant filed motions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) to reopen the court's prior denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 petition to vacate his sentence and for appointment of counsel. The § 2255 petition had raised claims including the lack of a competency hearing, ineffective assistance of counsel regarding sentencing factors and jury trial waiver, and improper use of prior burglary convictions as predicates for Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) sentencing enhancement under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). The court denied the motions, holding that the defendant could not reopen an appeal he had voluntarily dismissed, that the cited intervening case Johnson v. United States was neither new nor applicable to his burglary predicates, that the ineffective assistance claim regarding jury waiver had already been rejected, and that the ACCA enhancement properly applied to his prior convictions rather than his current firearm possession offense.
criminal lawproceduregunsfederal power