Post-Retirement Opinions

McWhite v ACE American Ins Co

Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Justice O’CONNOR wrote the opinion, in which Judge DUNCAN and Judge AGEE joined.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice:

Appellant Stanley McWhite appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Appellee ACE American Insurance Company in his suit claiming that his employer’s automobile insurance policy includes or should be reformed to include underinsured motorist coverage. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

Appellant Stanley McWhite was employed by Ahold Americas Holdings, Inc. On February 10, 2005, McWhite was driving a tractor-trailer truck owned by Ahold, when the truck jack-knifed. McWhite exited the truck, and while setting up warning triangles along the road, as required by Ahold policy and Department of Transportation regulations, McWhite was struck and injured by a vehicle driven by an “underinsured” motorist.1

After recovering $25,000 from the driver of the vehicle, see Covenant Not to Execute, J.A. 57, McWhite filed suit against his employer’s insurance company, Appellee ACE American Insurance Company, in the Florence County, South Carolina, Court of Common Pleas. McWhite sought a declaratory judgment that he is an “insured” for purposes of underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage under a policy issued by ACE to Ahold. ACE removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on the grounds of diversity

Post-Retirement Opinions

Perez-Sanchez v Public Building Authority

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Retired).

We consider claims of constitutional violations brought in the aftermath of Puerto Rico’s Popular Democratic Party election victories in 2001, and affirm the district court’s dismissal of some claims, and grant of summary judgment on other claims.

I.

Appellant Juan Pérez–Sánchez, a member of Puerto Rico’s New Progressive Party (“NPP”), has worked at the Public Building Authority (“PBA”) since 1993. His long work service was rewarded with promotions; in December of 2000, he was appointed as acting regional director of PBA.

Appellant’s career victory, however, was shortlived. In January of 2001, the NPP was defeated in the Puerto Rican general elections, and the Popular Democratic Party (“PDP”) won instead. Shortly after the PDP’s rise to power, appellant alleged that he suffered discrimination as a result of his political orientation.

The precise facts of appellant’s alleged discrimination have not been fully presented by the parties. Nonetheless, appellant claims that in 2001, he was removed from his office by a member of the PDP. He was stripped of the supervisory functions which he had formerly exercised, and those duties were given to another member of the PDP. Appellant alleges further that he was subjected to numerous indignities over the course of the next half-decade: Some unknown person broke his office door, his office keys were taken away, his parking spot was removed, and ethics violations were filed against him on the grounds

Post-Retirement Opinions

Spivey v Adaptive Marketing LLC

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Ret.).

Quinten E. Spivey challenges the district court’s grant of summary judgment against him on his claims against Adaptive Marketing for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Because we find that no reasonable jury could find in favor of Spivey, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

Appellant Spivey called a telemarketing number in January 2003 and ordered an Atkins diet product. This dispute arises from the rest of that telephone conversation.

A.

Adaptive has produced a partial recording of what it alleges is the conversation between the telemarketer and Appellant. According to the district court, the recording is as follows:

Telemarketer: Thank you for your order. We’re sending you a risk free 30–day membership to HomeWorks, offering hundreds of dollars in savings at stores like the Home Depot, K–Mart, Linens & Things and many more. After 30 days, the service is extended to a full year for just $8.00 per month, just $96.00 annually. Billed in advance as HomeWorks with the credit card you are using today. You will be charged an annual fee at the end of your 30–day trial period and at the beginning of each new membership year. If you want to cancel, simply call the toll-free number that appears in your kit in the first 30 days and you will not be billed. If you don’t save hundreds of dollars in your first year, just call and you’ll get a full refund. So look for your kit in your mail is that okay?

Male: Okay.

Spivey v. Adaptive

Post-Retirement Opinions

Turner v City Council of City of Fredericksburg VA

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Retired):

Appellant Hashmel Turner claims that the Council for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, violated his First Amendment rights when it implemented a policy beginning in 2005 requiring that legislative prayers be nondenominational. Because the prayers at issue here are government speech, we hold that Fredericksburg’s prayer policy does not violate Turner’s Free Speech and Free Exercise rights. Likewise, the requirement that the prayers be nondenominational does not violate the Establishment Clause.

I.

The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia (“the Council”) begins every meeting with a Call to Order, which consists of an opening prayer offered by one of the Council’s elected members followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Only Council members are allowed to offer the opening prayer, and the Council members rotate the Call to Order duty. Until 2005, members of the Council were allowed to offer denominational prayers.

Turner was first elected to the Council in 2002. He is an ordained minister and a part-time pastor of the First Baptist Church of Love. Turner’s religious beliefs require him to close his prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Turner’s prayers on behalf of the Council reflected this practice.

In 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to file a lawsuit if the Council’s practice of opening with sectarian prayers continued. The City Attorney examined the relevant case law and concluded that the safest course

Post-Retirement Opinions

US v Conley

SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Retired).

Appellant claims the introduction into evidence of phone calls between him and Kenneth Durgin, an inmate in a correctional facility, violated the Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq. Because Durgin consented to monitoring of his calls, we affirm the district court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress.

I.

Appellant Christopher Conley first came to the government’s attention during an investigation into a drug trafficking ring. Kenneth Durgin, who was serving time in the Maine Correctional Center (“MCC”), was also suspected of involvement in that ring. Witnesses identified appellant as a potential member of the organization. But when he was called before a grand jury and interviewed by government agents, he denied his involvement with the group, his alias of “White Boy,” and any relationship with Durgin.

Another arm of the investigation focused on inmate Durgin. Agent Paul McNeil informed Peter Herring, the correctional investigator responsible for investigating alleged crimes at MCC, that he suspected Durgin was involved in ongoing drug trafficking operations while he was incarcerated. He requested permission to record and listen to Durgin’s phone conversations. Permission was granted, and Herring transferred recordings of Durgin’s calls to McNeil.

Unfortunately for appellant, the phone conversations were all too illuminating. During those calls, Durgin spoke with appellant. Appellant bragged that the government

Post-Retirement Opinions

US v Cruz

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Ret.):

Section 7407 of Title 26 of the United States Code permits the United States to seek, and a district court to issue, an injunction prohibiting tax preparers from engaging in certain deceptive or fraudulent practices. 26 U.S.C. § 7407. The district court may specifically enjoin a tax preparer from engaging in a variety of deceptive practices, including misrepresenting his eligibility to practice before the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). § 7407(b)(1)(A)-(D), (b)(2). If the district court finds that the tax preparer has continuously engaged in offensive conduct, and that an injunction specifically prohibiting such conduct would not be effective at preventing further abuses, “the court may enjoin such person from acting as a tax return preparer” altogether. § 7407(b)(2).

In this case, the Government brought a suit against Abelardo Ernest Cruz and four co-defendants seeking to enjoin them from operating as tax return preparers. The complaint alleged that the defendants engaged in a fraudulent tax preparation scheme in which they would intentionally overstate deductions and credits on their clients’ tax returns in an effort to reduce their clients’ tax liabilities and increase their refunds. It further alleged that the defendants made various misrepresentations regarding their eligibility to practice before the IRS.

The District Court found that the defendants had engaged in deceptive practices in preparing tax returns and issued an injunction

Post-Retirement Opinions

US v Gary

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Retired):

Melvin Gary appeals the district court’s decision to allow the government to introduce evidence obtained from a search of his home pursuant to a warrant. He claims the affidavit underlying that warrant failed to establish probable cause on its face, and that the warrant was void because the affidavit excluded material information. Because the warrant was issued in good faith and the information excluded was not material, we affirm the district court.

I.

Late on the evening of March 25, 2005, Officer Graves of the Richmond Police Department investigated a tip from an unnamed informant. The informant had suggested that an individual named “Melvin” was selling illegal narcotics from 601 Northside Avenue. Graves visited the address in question and noticed that there were several green trash cans in the alley behind the home. Two of those trash cans were directly behind number 601. One can was spray-painted with the number “601”; adjacent to it was a second trash can, which was unmarked.

Graves removed several large, black trash bags from both cans. All the bags he removed were tied in a similar fashion. Graves did not document which bag came from which can. Inside the trash bags, Officer Graves found two plastic bags containing a white powder residue, which he believed to be heroin, squares of foil and plastic bags with the corners removed (materials often used in packaging narcotics), a document addressed to “Tammy Sauls” at 601 Northside

Post-Retirement Opinions

US v Guild

Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Associate Justice O’CONNOR wrote the opinion, in which Judge NIEMEYER and Judge GREGORY joined.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Retired):

Defendant-appellant Paul Guild sexually assaulted two boys entrusted to his care by their respective parents on his promise that he would tutor them and arrange for their participation in music lessons and team sports. He presents a host of challenges to his conviction and sentence. We find none meritorious and consequently affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

Guild served as a Regional Supervisory Executive Officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”) stationed in Kiev, Ukraine. When one of his colleagues was transferred from Kiev to the United States, Guild agreed to take in her fourteen-year-old son, Nathan, so that Nathan could complete orthodontic treatments. Guild agreed to arrange for music lessons, team sports, and summer jobs for Nathan, and also to tutor Nathan in math and English. When another member of the Kiev diplomatic community learned of these planned activities, he asked if his fifteen-year-old stepson, Ousmane, could participate as well, and Guild agreed.

One night when Ousmane was sleeping over, Guild called the two boys to his room, where he was seated with a towel over his lap, otherwise naked. Guild told the boys that he had been spanked as a child, made each take off his pants and underwear,

Post-Retirement Opinions

US v Jiminez

O’CONNOR, Associate Justice (Ret.).

A jury convicted Raul Jiminez of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Jiminez challenges the proceedings below on two grounds. First, Jiminez contends that the district court improperly allowed certain evidence to be introduced which was unfairly prejudicial. Second, Jiminez contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. Because the district court did not abuse its discretion in the contested evidentiary rulings and a reasonable jury could have found Jiminez guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

Using a federal wiretap to intercept phone calls, law enforcement officials learned of a drug shipment that was to be delivered to Norfolk, Nebraska. On the morning of March 3, 2005, a Nebraska State Patrol official informed Trooper Timothy Stopak of suspicions that a shipment of methamphetamine was being transported in a green Plymouth minivan, with the Minnesota license plate number NHB030, traveling north on Highway 81 toward Norfolk, Nebraska. Later that morning, Trooper Stopak saw the green minivan and pulled the vehicle over for speeding.

Trooper Stopak approached the vehicle and asked Jiminez, who was the only occupant of the minivan, for his driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. As Jiminez handed over some of the materials, Trooper Stopak observed that Jiminez’s hand was shaking. When

Post-Retirement Opinions

US v McGuire

O’CONNOR, Supreme Court Justice (Ret.):

Appellant Jason McGuire fired a single shot from a handgun in the general direction of an airborne police helicopter. Believing he meant to hit the helicopter, a jury convicted McGuire of attempting to “set[ ] fire to, damage[ ], destroy[ ], disable[ ], or wreck[ ] an[ ] aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.” 18 U.S.C. § 32(a)(1). The judge determined that this was a crime of violence for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A), which imposes a mandatory consecutive sentence on anyone who uses or possesses a firearm in connection with such a crime. McGuire challenges both the jury’s verdict and the judge’s determination. We affirm.

I.

Because McGuire challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, the facts are in dispute. Roughly speaking, however, they are as follows:

Inebriated and distraught because of losing his girlfriend and his job, McGuire took his father’s loaded.38–caliber revolver from an unlocked safe and out into the driveway of his home. He called several friends on his cell phone, attempting to vent his distress, but could not find a ready ear. He was contemplating suicide, he says, but he could not bring himself to it. Instead, he fired off several rounds: one into a tree near the driveway, and several down the empty street. Neighbors called the police. McGuire, meanwhile, went back inside. See Dkt. No. 152 at 19–24.

When he came out again, the police had responded.