Mary Beck Briscoe
How Judge Briscoe rules, drawn from 37 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Briscoe decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
She reads statutory and regulatory text according to its ordinary meaning and enforces it as written, giving effect to the plain terms even when a party urges a purpose-based gloss to the contrary.
“If the meaning of the text is clear, our endeavor is at an end, and we must enforce the regulation in accordance with its plain meaning.”
In criminal-law cases she follows intervening Supreme Court precedent to its logical conclusion, revisiting settled circuit classifications when a higher-court decision undermines them.
“because Morris's Oklahoma state conviction for 'DUI Alcohol - Second Offense' is essentially identical to the DUI conviction at issue in Begay, the Court's ruling in Begay makes clear that Morris's Oklahoma DUI conviction falls outside the scope of the [ACCA]'s clause (ii) 'violent felony' definition.”
Procedural preferences
She enforces jurisdictional and finality limits strictly, dismissing appeals and petitions that are unripe, moot, untimely, or taken from non-final orders rather than reaching the merits prematurely.
“The petition for review of agency action is DISMISSED as not timely filed.”
She gives full effect to preclusion doctrine, holding that a party cannot revive a claim already adjudicated by relabeling or reaffirming the same underlying transaction.
“Douglas-4 cannot circumvent res judicata by simply reaffirming a previously adjudicated contract.”
Cautions
She protects First Amendment speech and assembly by insisting that permit and licensing conditions be narrowly tailored to the government's actual interest, and will not treat the availability of alternative channels as a substitute for that tailoring.
“Although a narrowly tailored regulation may tend to leave open ample alternatives for communication, there is no basis for substituting one requirement for the other.”
In disability-discrimination cases she reads an employee's accommodation requests generously at the summary-judgment stage, declining to narrow a request for reassignment into something the law disfavors and recognizing that chronic-condition leave requests need only an expected duration of the impairment.
“It would also penalize Herrmann for requesting more than the bare minimum that the ADA allows.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“the Unions brought suit nearly two years after the Employers' final refusal to arbitrate the grievance, this suit is time-barred. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“The appeals are DISMISSED as unripe for adjudication.”
“As the jury remedy issue was not preserved by the government and would have no effect on Haymond's sentence even if reached, we grant the government's unopposed motion to dismiss.”
“we DISMISS Minemyer's appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.”
“We cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“Because we conclude that Utah's insurance and indemnification requirements are not narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, we AFFIRM.”
“we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Matthews' motion. ... AFFIRMED.”
“we conclude that the district court properly granted the Tribe's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and AFFIRM.”
“Plaintiffs' motion to dismiss is GRANTED and SCI's appeal is DISMISSED.”
“We therefore REMAND with directions to vacate Morris's sentence and resentence.”
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