10th Circuit Case Commentaries

United States v. Mandrell: Descriptive Testimony from Phone-Monitoring Software Can Sustain Supervised-Release Revocation for Halfway-House “Sexually Explicit Material” Policy Violations

Date: Apr 23, 2026

Descriptive Testimony from Phone-Monitoring Software Can Sustain Supervised-Release Revocation for Halfway-House “Sexually Explicit Material” Policy Violations Case: United States v. Mandrell...

Parkhurst v. Shannon: Prison-Job Retaliation Requires Job-Specific Proof of Chilling Effect; Disciplinary Guilt Does Not Bar Retaliation Claims Based on Timing and Departures from Practice

Date: Apr 21, 2026

Parkhurst v. Shannon: Prison-Job Retaliation Requires Job-Specific Proof of Chilling Effect; Disciplinary Guilt Does Not Bar Retaliation Claims Based on Timing and Departures from Practice...

Oral, Preliminary Assurances—Especially Where a Writing Is Expected—Do Not Satisfy Wyoming Promissory Estoppel

Date: Apr 21, 2026

Oral, Preliminary Assurances—Especially Where a Writing Is Expected—Do Not Satisfy Wyoming Promissory Estoppel 1. Introduction Four B Properties, LLC; Ranch 10, LLC; Gary A. Binning v. The Nature...

Mazur v. State Farm: Foreseeability Does Not Satisfy Kastner UM Causation; Independent Acts Break the Coverage Chain

Date: Apr 20, 2026

Foreseeability Does Not Satisfy Kastner UM Causation; Independent Acts Break the “Directly Related or Inextricably Linked” Chain Introduction Mazur v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company...

No Due Process Right to Attend a Limited Plea-Offer-Expiration Hearing; No Substitute Counsel Absent an Actual Ineffectiveness Adjudication

Date: Apr 20, 2026

No Due Process Right to Attend a Limited Plea-Offer-Expiration Hearing; No Substitute Counsel Absent an Actual Ineffectiveness Adjudication Introduction In United States v. Buzzard (10th Cir. Apr....

Good-Faith Reliance Saves a Warrant with a Potential Street-Name Error When Officers Use Official Records and Know the Target Location

Date: Apr 20, 2026

Good-Faith Reliance Saves a Warrant with a Potential Street-Name Error When Officers Use Official Records and Know the Target Location 1. Introduction In United States v. Davis (10th Cir. Apr. 16,...

United States v. Jackson: Appellate Burden to Show a Fourth Amendment “Search” Before Litigating Warrant-Scope and Exclusionary-Rule Exceptions

Date: Apr 20, 2026

United States v. Jackson: Appellate Burden to Show a Fourth Amendment “Search” Before Litigating Warrant-Scope and Exclusionary-Rule Exceptions Introduction In United States v. Jackson (10th Cir....

Allocution Contradictions Do Not Preserve PSR Fact Objections Absent a Clear, Timely, and Specific Alert to the Court

Date: Apr 20, 2026

Allocution Contradictions Do Not Preserve PSR Fact Objections Absent a Clear, Timely, and Specific Alert to the Court Case: United States v. Rodriguez-Parra (10th Cir. Apr. 16, 2026) (Order and...

Stipulated Judgment as Admission of Liability (Not a Promise to Pay) and Rule 52(c) Mid-Trial Judgment in § 523(a)(2)(A) Bench Trials

Date: Apr 20, 2026

Stipulated Judgment Is an Admission of Liability (Not a “Promise to Pay”) for § 523(a)(2)(A), and Mid-Trial Judgment in a Bench Trial Proceeds Under Civil Rule 52(c), Not Rule 50(a) Case: Desiree...

TVPRA Restitution in Multi-Perpetrator Trafficking Requires Defendant-Specific But-For Proof Before Any Apportionment

Date: Apr 20, 2026

TVPRA Restitution in Multi-Perpetrator Trafficking Requires Defendant-Specific But-For Proof Before Any Apportionment I. Introduction In United States v. Cifuentes-Lopez (10th Cir. Apr. 14, 2026),...

Odell v. Ford County Sheriff’s Department — Screening-Stage Limits on Martinez-Report Video and Non-Categorical Heck Bar for Excessive-Force Claims

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Screening-Stage Limits on Martinez-Report Video: No “Blatant Contradiction” Finding Without a Truly Conclusive Recording, and Heck Does Not Categorically Bar Excessive-Force Claims After...

Rule 14 Severance: No Prejudice Where Evidence Is Intrinsic to Both Counts in a Unified Fraud Scheme

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Rule 14 Severance: No Prejudice Where Evidence Is Intrinsic to Both Counts in a Unified Fraud Scheme 1. Introduction United States v. Fairbanks (10th Cir. Apr. 15, 2026) arose from an alleged...

Rule 12 Waiver for Newly Reframed Suppression Theories and Continued Foreclosure of § 922(g)(1) Challenges After Vincent II

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Rule 12 Waiver for Newly Reframed Suppression Theories and Continued Foreclosure of § 922(g)(1) Challenges After Vincent II Case: United States v. Nemeth (No. 24-8049) | Court: U.S. Court of Appeals...

Rooker-Feldman Bars Attacks on Child-Support Judgments but Not Independent Due-Process Claims for a Modification Hearing (Eaves v. Paxton)

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Rooker-Feldman Bars Attacks on Child-Support Judgments but Not Independent Due-Process Claims for a Modification Hearing (Eaves v. Paxton) Introduction In Eaves v. Paxton (10th Cir. Apr. 15, 2026), a...

Hackford v. United States Department of Interior — Finality and Time-Bar of Ute Partition Act Roll Challenges

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Hackford v. United States Department of Interior: Ute Partition Act Roll Classifications Are Final After the Statutory Appeal Window—Late Membership Challenges Fail at § 1915 Screening 1....

Livingston v. Unified Government of Wyandotte County: No-Citation Traffic Stops, Police-Action Accrual, and No Relation-Back for “John Doe” Defendants Under Rule 15(c)

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Livingston v. Unified Government of Wyandotte County: No-Citation Traffic Stops, Police-Action Accrual, and No Relation-Back for “John Doe” Defendants Under Rule 15(c) 1. Introduction In Livingston...

Vasquez-Garcia v. Centurion: Pleading-Stage Limits on Statute-of-Limitations Dismissals in § 1983 Deliberate-Indifference Claims; Continuing Violations for Persistent Failure to Treat Chronic Conditions

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Vasquez-Garcia v. Centurion: Pleading-Stage Limits on Statute-of-Limitations Dismissals in § 1983 Deliberate-Indifference Claims; Continuing Violations for Persistent Failure to Treat Chronic...

“Seriousness” Is Not Retribution: Considering the Nature and Circumstances of a Supervised-Release Violation Only for Deterrence, Public Protection, and Rehabilitation

Date: Apr 17, 2026

“Seriousness” Is Not Retribution: Considering the Nature and Circumstances of a Supervised-Release Violation Only for Deterrence, Public Protection, and Rehabilitation 1. Introduction In United...

Pleading a “Shadow Partnership” as a RICO Enterprise Requires Plausible, Distinct Profit-Sharing Facts—Not Just “Partner” Titles or Law-Firm Practices

Date: Apr 17, 2026

Pleading a “Shadow Partnership” as a RICO Enterprise Requires Plausible, Distinct Profit-Sharing Facts—Not Just “Partner” Titles or Law-Firm Practices 1. Introduction Kosher Eats LLC, et al. v....

Tenth Circuit: A Defendant’s Police-Officer Status, Standing Alone, Cannot Aggravate Sentence; Supervised Release Preserves Mootness on Direct Appeal

Date: Apr 16, 2026

Tenth Circuit: A Defendant’s Police-Officer Status, Standing Alone, Cannot Aggravate Sentence; Supervised Release Preserves Mootness on Direct Appeal Case: United States v. Thompson (10th Cir. Apr....

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