Daniel Leveto appeals the District Court's judgment of conviction for federal income tax fraud following a jury trial. He asserts a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and he has made numerous challenges to evidentiary decisions made by the District Court. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court... ... ... I... Leveto operated a veterinary hospital in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Internal Revenue Service auditors detected fraud on Leveto's...  

This case requires the Court to consider the contours of state sovereign immunity and under what circumstances such immunity may be waived... Alleging violations of both federal and state anti-discrimination laws, Michael A. Lombardo (Lombardo) filed an employment discrimination complaint in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare and its Secretary, Estelle Richardson, in her official capacity (collectively, the...  

We must decide whether a federal district court has diversity jurisdiction over a lawsuit involving a partnership where one of its partners is a dual American-British citizen domiciled in a foreign state. The district court held that it lacked diversity jurisdiction over such an entity, and we affirm... I. APPELLATE JURISDICTION & STANDARD OF REVIEW... We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 over a dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and our review for lack of...  

The precedential opinion filed on July 28, 2008 is AMENDED as follows: (1) the Roman numeral sections I, III, IV, V, VI are amended to I, II, III, IV, and V; and (2) the citation on to Sebastian Int'l, Inc. v. Russolillo, No. 00-03476 CM, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21510 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 25, 2005) is amended to read Sebastian Int'l, Inc. v. Russolillo, No. 00-03476 CM, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21510 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 25, 2000)...  

Nazmi Rranci, a native of Albania, seeks relief from an Immigration Judge's order that he be removed from the United States. He petitions our Court for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissing his appeal and declining to reopen his case. We decide whether the BIA erred in holding that his case cannot be reopened on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel. A sub-issue is whether an alien who serves as a Government witness in the United States can be removed to...  

This court filed its opinion in this matter on August 30, 2007 in which we reversed the District Court's entry of summary judgment for defendant Radian Guaranty, Inc., held that the notice requirement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act was applicable to Radian, and... ... ... directed a remand for a determination whether Radian had acted willfully. Whitfield v. Radian Guaranty, Inc., 501 F.3d 262 (3d Cir. 2007). On December 19, 2007, Radian filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the Supreme...  

At issue is whether certain parents who home-school their children must comply with the reporting and review requirements of Pennsylvania's compulsory education law. Compliance, the parents contend, would violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania demurs, contending its compulsory education law neither substantially burdens the free exercise of religion nor transgresses neutral application to all citizens, and serves an important state interest in ensuring...  

Sioe Tjen Wong, a native and citizen of Indonesia, petitions for review of a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). A Catholic Indonesian of Chinese descent, Wong claims that she has a well-founded fear of persecution in Indonesia because of her religion and her ethnicity. As we explain below, substantial evidence supports the BIA's denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Accordingly, we will deny Wong's...  

Jai Ho Lee died in October 1991 after being shot during the robbery of the Stop and Go Deli in Philadelphia that he managed. A Philadelphia County jury convicted Jesse Bond of Lee's first-degree murder in February 1993. It returned a verdict of death and the court imposed that sentence... Bond exhausted his state court remedies before filing a petition for habeas corpus in... ... ... the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The District Court rejected Bond's...  

Samuel Rappaport died in 1994 leaving an estate valued at over $58 million to his wife and two children. In 2002, the Pennsylvania Orphan's Court removed the estate executors, Richard Basciano and Lois Palmer, after finding that they engaged in multiple acts of mismanagement, conversion of estate assets, and self-dealing. The present action was initiated in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by Three Keys LTD, a company created by Basciano, to gain access to estate...  

Richard Rosenau claims that a debt-collection letter he received from Unifund Corporation and/or Unifund CCR Partners ("Unifund") was deceptive under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1692e. The District Court granted Unifund's motion for judgment on the pleadings. Rosenau appeals, arguing that the letter was deceptive because (1) it implied that it came from an attorney and (2) it stated that it came from the "Legal Department." For the...  

The Court, sua sponte, orders rehearing en banc in the above-captioned matter. It is ordered that the Clerk of this Court list the above case for rehearing en banc on Wednesday, November 19, 2008...  

In this statutory interpretation case, we must decide when the statute of limitations begins to run in a case arising under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act (RA). Appellant Disabled in Action of Pennsylvania (DIA) argues that under the plain language of the statute, its claims accrued "upon the completion" of alterations to two Philadelphia subway stations. Appellee Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) argues, and the District...  

Plaintiff Deborah Fellner filed this lawsuit against defendant Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC ("Tri-Union") in the Superior Court of New Jersey seeking damages for harm she allegedly sustained as a result of her consumption of methylmercury and other harmful compounds contained in Tri-Union's tuna fish products. The case was removed to federal court, and Tri-Union filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim asserting that Fellner's lawsuit is preempted by regulatory actions of the...  

In November 2006, a jury found Tony Soto guilty of four counts of aiding and abetting his girlfriend, Theresa Brown, in making false statements to a federal firearms licensee in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A) & § 2. Soto appeals his conviction. We will affirm. I... Fred Delia owns and operates a gun shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has a federal firearms license. When a person buys a gun at his store, he is required to fill out a 4473... ... ... form. On the form,...  

In July 2005, a jury found Jake Kelly ("Kelly") guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of... ... ... 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and § 924(e). Soon after the jury verdict, Kelly moved for a new trial, arguing, inter alia, that he had recently discovered new evidence of his innocence—the hearsay statement of Victor Jones, who purportedly admitted to possessing the gun for which Kelly was arrested. After an evidentiary hearing at which Jones...  

Petitioner, Lesline Veronica Cospito, petitions for review of a final order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). For the reasons that follow, the petition for review will be dismissed in part and denied in part... I... Cospito, a native and citizen of Jamaica, arrived in the United States on February 14, 1991 as non-immigrant temporary worker with authorization to remain in this country until July 31, 1991. Cospito remained longer and, despite having two...  

I. INTRODUCTION... This matter comes on before this court on appeal from an order entered in the District Court on June 21, 2007, dismissing this case with prejudice for lack of standing of each of the plaintiff-appellants and for failure to state a federal claim on which the court could grant relief. The case concerns the legality of a settlement agreement ("Agreement") which the Philadelphia City Solicitor ("Solicitor"), acting on behalf of the City of Philadelphia...  

Retired employee Melvyn Pell and his wife, Ellen Pell (collectively, "Pell") initiated this litigation against E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. and its Board of Benefits and Pensions (collectively, "DuPont") under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). Pell claimed that his pension benefit is lower than DuPont had led him to expect. After a bench trial, the District Court enjoined DuPont to use a "credited service date" of August 1, 1972, when...  

Marvin Goldberg ran an outfit called Equihealth Products that sold veterinary grade prescription drugs to horse owners so long as they affirmed that they were using the drugs to treat their own horses and that under their state's law owners treating their own horses were considered veterinarians. Because his clientele made these affirmations, Goldberg argued that Equihealth could legally dispense these drugs without proof of prescription, a proposition he supported by citation to Food, Drug,...