Year: 2017

This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on December 22, 2017.

Alejandro-Rosado was convicted of receiving a firearm as a person under indictment and was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment plus three years of supervised release. While he was serving supervised release, the Probation Office notified the district court of nine separate violations of Alejandro-Rosado’s supervised release terms: he failed his first drug test and subsequently failed three more drug tests; Alejandro-Rosado was observed handling a firearm and changing the magazine; he was witnessed selling cocaine. Alejandro-Rosado was arrested for being in possession of synthetic marijuana and prescription pain pills and…

In 2011, Dr. Volkman was convicted of drug-related charges for illegally prescribing pain medication leading to the deaths of at least 14 individuals. Eil, a journalist writing a book on Volkman’s case, attended portions of that public trial. In 2012, Eil submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the exhibits introduced by the government at the trial. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) provided thousands of pages of responsive documents, some of which were redacted, but withheld the medical records of Volkman’s living former patients and the death-related…

After approximately 11 years of working his way up the Costco employment ladder, Garcia was fired following an investigation which revealed an inventory discrepancy in the Meat Department that he managed. Garcia sued, alleging six Puerto-Rico-based claims. The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of Costco, upholding the admission of affidavits by Costco employees and attached exhibits. Puerto Rico’s “Law 80,” provides a remedy to employees who are discharged “without just cause.” Costco met its burden of proving just cause, which was not rebutted by evidence of Garcia’s employment…

Police officers were searching a mall for a motorcyclist who had violated traffic laws when they were spotted by Rivera-Cruz, who ran, yelling “police!” into a walkie-talkie. The officers recovered a loaded revolver with an obliterated serial number from a fanny pack that Rivera-Cruz had tossed onto the ground during his flight. On the eve of trial, Rivera-Cruz pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Sentencing Guidelines calculations in his plea agreement included a three-level reduction in offense level for acceptance of responsibility. The plea…

This original jurisdiction proceeding arises from a dispute between the States of Florida and Georgia regarding Georgia’s use of water in the ApalachicolaChattahoochee-Flint River Basin (the “Basin”), which encompasses parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. In its Complaint, Florida alleges that it has suffered serious harm to its ecology and economy – particularly in Apalachicola Bay (the “Bay”) – because of reduced flows in the Apalachicola River (the “River”) resulting from Georgia’s increasing consumption of water from the Basin. Florida therefore seeks an equitable apportionment of the waters of the…

Act of May 31, 1939, ch. 155, 53 Stat. 785 [hereinafter 1938 Compact] (attached hereto as Appendix A). Although the negotiators of the 1938 Compact intended the compact “to remove all causes of present and future controversy among these States and between citizens of one of these States and citizens of another State with respect to the use of the waters of the Rio Grande,” id. at 785, that lasting peace has not been achieved, as evidenced by the periodic litigation between signatory States since the compact’s ratification. See, e.g.,…