Seventh Circuit — U.S. Court of Appeals

20 opinions this month · page 1
Yesterday — Monday, August 17, 2026 1 opinion
Slip opinion No. 24-2913

Derek Fields v USA, 24-2913

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Criminal Habeas Corpus

  • Seventh Circuit affirms denial of § 2255 relief where movant's own prior statements foreclosed showing he would have accepted a plea offer.
  • Court assumed deficient plea advice but held Strickland prejudice failed absent proof movant would have gotten a lower sentence.
  • Useful for federal criminal defense and habeas practitioners litigating ineffective-assistance claims tied to rejected or mishandled plea offers.
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Friday, August 14, 2026 4 opinions
Slip opinion No. 24-2947

Johnnie Savory v Allen Andrews, 24-2947

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Civil Rights and Section 1983

  • Seventh Circuit reverses across the board, granting qualified or absolute immunity to all officers and the polygrapher on every claim.
  • Court clarifies its interlocutory jurisdiction to review undisputed record facts even when the district court flagged factual disputes without specifying them.
  • Essential reading for civil rights defense attorneys litigating decades-old wrongful conviction claims involving qualified immunity, fabrication of evidence, and coerced confession theories.
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Slip opinion No. 25-1627

Lynnette Kaiser v Alcoa USA Corp., 25-1627

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil ERISA and Benefits

  • Seventh Circuit affirms Rule 23(b)(2) class certification where injunctive relief predominates and reimbursement claims are merely incidental monetary relief.
  • Court reverses summary judgment based on judicial estoppel, finding Alcoa's prior statements in unrelated litigation were not 'clearly inconsistent' with its current position.
  • Essential reading for ERISA and labor litigators handling retiree benefits class actions, CBA vesting disputes, and judicial estoppel arguments across related litigation.
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Slip opinion No. 25-2428

Irma Herrera v USA, 25-2428

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Criminal General

  • New opinion from U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • Case decided on 2026-08-14
  • See full opinion for details
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Thursday, August 13, 2026 7 opinions
Slip opinion No. 25-2118

USA v Jerid Hinz, 25-2118

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Criminal Federal Sentencing

  • Seventh Circuit affirms revocation sentence, finding record shows court disregarded unproven gun/violence allegations at sentencing
  • Court holds sentencing judge cannot impose post-confinement registration conditions absent an actual term of supervised release
  • Useful for federal criminal defense and sentencing attorneys challenging due process violations or ultra vires supervised release conditions
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Slip opinion No. 25-2251

Sunco International Inc. v Jiangsu Sunco Boiler Co., Ltd., 25-2251

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Business Law

  • Seventh Circuit affirms that non-signatories may compel arbitration under direct-benefits estoppel when claims are intertwined with the contract's terms
  • Corporate officers/directors are not automatically bound by their company's arbitration clause absent direct benefit or close connection to the dispute
  • Useful for business litigators and arbitration counsel handling motions to compel arbitration involving non-signatory affiliates, officers, or directors
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Slip opinion No. 25-2366

David McDonald v Trustees of Indiana University, 25-2366

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Constitutional Law

  • Seventh Circuit affirms dismissal: professors lacked standing absent credible enforcement threat or objectively reasonable chilling effect from Indiana's intellectual diversity law.
  • Indirect statutory application through university boards and 'interim' labeling of policies do not categorically defeat standing, but weaken credibility of enforcement threat.
  • Useful for constitutional litigators handling pre-enforcement First Amendment challenges to state laws and institutional policies affecting speech, especially in higher education.
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Slip opinion No. 24-2017

Robert Ferguson v Aon Risk Services Companies, Inc., 24-2017

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Insurance Law

  • Seventh Circuit affirms insurance brokers owe no duty to non-insured third parties absent explicit contractual intent to benefit them
  • Court holds mere reference to a party in a brokerage contract does not confer third-party beneficiary status under Illinois law
  • Useful for insurance coverage litigators and professional negligence defense counsel handling broker liability and third-party beneficiary claims
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Slip opinion No. 25-1392

Reginald Chapman v Eileen O'Neill Burke, 25-1392

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Civil Rights and Section 1983

  • Seventh Circuit holds Rooker-Feldman does not bar § 1983 facial challenges to state DNA testing statutes, even after losing in state court
  • A prosecutor's professed willingness to allow DNA testing does not defeat Article III standing when she still controls and withholds the evidence
  • Useful for civil rights and post-conviction attorneys litigating § 1983 challenges to state DNA testing statutes or facing Rooker-Feldman/standing dismissals
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Wednesday, August 12, 2026 4 opinions
Slip opinion No. 24-2231

USA v Daniel Betty, 24-2231

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Criminal General

  • New opinion from U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • Case decided on 2026-08-12
  • See full opinion for details
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Slip opinion No. 24-3296

Frank William Bonan, II v FDIC, 24-3296

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Administrative Law

  • Seventh Circuit holds Jarkesy's public rights exception covers FDIC breach-of-fiduciary-duty and unsafe/unsound-practice claims, permitting agency adjudication without a jury
  • Court declines to decide Article II removal-restriction constitutionality because petitioner failed to show compensable harm under Collins v. Yellen
  • Essential reading for banking regulatory defense counsel and administrative law practitioners litigating post-Jarkesy separation-of-powers and jury-trial challenges to agency enforcement
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Slip opinion No. 25-2129

Brian Pfalzgraf v Rusk County, Wisconsin, 25-2129

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Civil Rights and Section 1983

  • Seventh Circuit holds officer lacked reasonable suspicion to frisk driver absent individualized facts suggesting he was armed and dangerous.
  • Court finds genuine fact dispute on extended-stop claim because body-camera footage did not clearly contradict officer's testimony about suspect's behavior.
  • Useful for civil rights litigators and municipal defense counsel handling Fourth Amendment traffic-stop, qualified immunity, and summary judgment disputes.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 1 opinion
Slip opinion No. 23-3374

USA v Johntavis Matlock, 23-3374

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Criminal Drug Crimes

  • Seventh Circuit affirms § 841(b)(1)(C) conviction, finding sufficient evidence of 'but-for' causation under Burrage despite absence of toxicology testing.
  • Presence of other drugs or health conditions does not defeat but-for causation where defendant's drug was 'the straw that broke the camel's back.'
  • Useful for drug-crime defense and prosecution attorneys litigating causation elements in overdose-related distribution cases under 21 U.S.C. § 841.
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Friday, August 7, 2026 3 opinions
Slip opinion No. 25-1067

Consolidated Chassis Management LLC v Northland Insurance Company, 25-1067

U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Civil Insurance Law

  • Seventh Circuit holds mere adversity between insured codefendants, without an insurer-insured conflict, does not trigger the independent-counsel exception under Illinois law.
  • Court reverses judgment for insured, finding no 'diametrically opposed' interests and no actionable conflict from a promptly withdrawn reservation of rights.
  • Useful for insurance coverage counsel and litigators handling multi-insured defenses, reservation-of-rights disputes, and Illinois § 155 bad-faith claims.
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