Federal Judge Bruce Selya was known for his extensive vocabulary. Here are some of his brilliant decisions.
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If you have the time today, here's a rundown of some of Selya's brilliant decisions during his tenure on the bench.
👨⚖️ 'This rebuttal is all foam and no beer.' – Decision denying appeal former fall river mayor Jasiel Correia,
who was convicted on corruption charges.
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👨⚖️ 'Most people would think that bilking a widow out of her life's savings is outrageous; some would think that charging $5.25 for a salted caramel mocha frappuccino is outrageous. But everyone would agree that the two acts are qualitatively different, and are not deserving of the same level of opprobrium.' – Decision affirming a ruling on the Massachusetts Tips Act.
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👨⚖️ 'After careful perscrutation of a scumbled record, we conclude that some of the petitioners' claims are unpreserved, some are subject to a jurisdictional bar, and others are simply not actionable. The common denominator is that none of the claims can proceed in the district court.' – Decision affirming the dismissal of a lawsuit related to ICE raids in New Bedford.
👨⚖️ 'In this diversity case, 28 U.S.C. § 1332, governed by the substantive law of Massachusetts, plaintiff-appellant Richard C. Powers had three chances to put the ball in play. He struck out. At the last, the district court dismissed Powers' second amended complaint for failure to state an actionable claim. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Powers says that the strike-out call was a blunder. We find the side was retired in accordance with the rules and, therefore, affirm the dismissal." – Decision affirming a ruling on lawsuit challenging an employee's contract with a private company.
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👨⚖️ 'In sum, once Congress has spoken, a court cannot override the unambiguous words of an enacted statute and substitute for them the court's views of what individual legislators likely intended. Any other rule imports a virulent strain of subjectivity into the interpretive task and, in the process, threatens to transfer too large a slice of legislative power from Congress to the courts.' – Decision on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in Rhode Island.
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👨⚖️ 'We are equally unpersuaded that the court's policy of keeping all legal memoranda hidden from public view is warranted based upon hypothetical concerns about overzealous counsel behaving badly. Judges deal every day with the need to ensure that lawyers play fair and square, and we are unwilling to assume, without hard evidence, that lawyers who practice in the District of Rhode Island are so unruly that ordinary antidotes to fractiousness (e.g., sanctions, contempt, loss of the right to practice) will prove impuissant.' – Decision on a lawsuit brought by The Providence Journal during Buddy Cianci's corruption trial.
👨⚖️ 'The record evinces egregious governmental misconduct; the FBI agents responsible for handling Barboza exhibited a callous disregard for the scapegoats' rights. But it is our duty to interpret and apply the law even-handedly, regardless of the egregiousness of a defendant's misconduct.' – Decision upholding the award of $101.7 million in damages to mobsters who were framed for a crime they didn't commit.
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👨⚖️ 'This thriving rental market among college students has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the clamor for student housing is an economic boon to property owners willing to rent their dwellings. On the other hand, the sheer mass of exuberant young people and their predilections have proven to be a threat to the quality of life in a quiet enclave.' – Decision affirming a ruling on the town of Narragansett's 'orange sticker' ordinance.
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an hour ago
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