Dennis W. Shedd
How Judge Shedd rules, drawn from 46 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Shedd no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Shedd
Dennis W. Shedd was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Shedd received a commission on November 26, 2002. Judge Shedd previously served on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, commissioned there on October 30, 1990. Judge Shedd assumed senior status on January 30, 2018 and retired on May 2, 2022.
How Judge Shedd decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He ends the interpretive inquiry at the statutory text when the language is plain and the broader scheme is coherent and consistent.
“if the language is plain and the statutory scheme is coherent and consistent, we need not inquire further.”
In Hernandez-Avalos v. Lynch, Shedd granted review of the asylum denial because unrefuted evidence compelled the conclusion that Salvadoran authorities could not or would not protect the petitioner from gang threats.
“remains unrefuted and compels the conclusion in this case that as a matter of law, she has met her burden of showing that the authorities are unwilling and unable to protect her against the threats she received.”
On federal habeas review, he gives state-court decisions the benefit of the doubt under the governing highly deferential standard.
“highly deferential standard for evaluating state-court rulings, which demands that state-court decisions be given the benefit of the doubt.”
Procedural preferences
For assumed sentencing error, he asks whether the district court would reach the same result under the alternative calculation and whether that sentence would remain reasonable.
“To apply this ‘assumed error harmlessness inquiry’ we require ‘(1) knowledge that the district court would have reached the same result even if it had decided the guidelines issue the other way and (2) a determination that the sentence would be reasonable even if the guidelines issue had been decided in the defendant’s favor.’”
In LeBlanc v. Holder, he dismissed a father's petition for review of an immigration agency's refusal to reopen an I-130 filing for his son because the court lacked jurisdiction and transfer to district court would not serve the interests of justice.
“Because we lack jurisdiction over Ashton’s petition, and because transfer to an appropriate district court is not in the interests of justice, we dismiss.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Accordingly, the decision of the Benefits Review Board is AFFIRMED.”
“For all of these reasons, the petition for review is hereby DENIED.”
“We reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Staples and remand for further proceedings.”
“Based on the foregoing, we affirm the district court's orders unsealing Exhibits E, F, G, H, I, M, N, O, R, and T, and we remand this case to the district court for further consideration of whether Exhibits C, P, Q, and S should be unsealed.”
“AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED”
“For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is reversed, and we remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. REVERSED AND REMANDED.”
“Because Evans has failed to establish that the district court imposed a sentence that exceeded the maximum authorized by the facts that he admitted, we affirm his sentence.”
“Accordingly, the rule is not available for post-conviction relief for federal prisoners, like Morris, whose convictions became final before Booker (or Blakely) was decided. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order denying Morris relief.”
“Based on the foregoing, we vacate the district court’s order denying Tou’s motion for summary judgment and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. REVERSED AND REMANDED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, we grant Bockou Essohou’s petition for review, vacate the Board’s decision, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“In sum, as Bader has established, pursuant to the Hague Convention and ICARA, that C.J.B. was wrongfully removed from Germany and as no defense precludes her return, C.J.B. must be promptly returned to Germany. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
A historical record
Judge Shedd no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.