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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
MICHAEL HODSON, JR.,
Defendant-Appellant.


No. 07-5504

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Kentucky at London.
No. 06-00117—Danny C. Reeves, District Judge.
Submitted: June 13, 2008
Decided and Filed: September 19, 2008
Before: NORRIS, BATCHELDER, and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges.

_________________________
OPINION
_________________________

ALICE M. BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge. In this appeal, which arises from the district court’s denial of a criminal defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a warrant, we must decide whether a suspect’s ostensibly admitting to having engaged in child molestation is sufficient, without more, to establish probable cause to search that suspect’s home for child pornography. Because we conclude that it is not, we REVERSE the district court’s denial of the suppression motion, VACATE the conviction, and REMAND this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.


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RICHARD K. NIEMI, doing business as RICHARD K. NIEMI DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SERVICES; and RKN TECHNOLOGY, L.L.C.,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
NHK SPRING CO., LTD.; NHK INTERNATIONAL, LTD.; and NEW MATHER METALS, INC.,
Defendants-Appellees.


No. 07-3536

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Toledo.
No. 03-07512—James G. Carr, Chief District Judge.
Argued: July 31, 2008
Decided and Filed: September 19, 2008
Before: DAUGHTREY and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges; VAN TATENHOVE, District Judge.

_________________________
OPINION
_________________________

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Richard K. Niemi devised a new method of manufacturing stabilizer bars for automobiles in 1990, a “trade secret.” He alleges he disclosed this method to defendant New Mather Metals, Inc., only after entering into an oral confidentiality agreement. Pursuant to this agreement, New Mather was allowed to use the manufacturing process in exchange for its promise to maintain its secrecy and to grant plaintiff the exclusive right to perform all design work for New Mather. In 1998, Niemi learned that New Mather had breached the agreement by entering into design contracts with other parties. Niemi brought suit for misappropriation of trade secret, breach of contract, and promissory estoppel. The district court dismissed the claims against New Mather’s parent corporation, NHK Spring Co., Ltd., for lack of personal jurisdiction and awarded summary judgment to New Mather on all of Niemi’s claims. Niemi has timely appealed these rulings.

On careful consideration of the record, we uphold the district court’s dismissal of the claims against NHK Spring Co., but conclude there is sufficient evidence to create genuine issues of material fact on the trade secret and promissory estoppel claims. For the reasons that follow, the summary judgment rulings on these two claims are vacated and the matter remanded for further proceedings.


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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
MICHAEL SHANK,
Defendant-Appellant.


No. 07-3544

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Ohio at Dayton.
No. 03-00120—Walter H. Rice, District Judge.
Argued: June 12, 2008
Decided and Filed: September 19, 2008
Before: SILER and COLE, Circuit Judges; CLELAND, District Judge.

_________________________
OPINION
_________________________

CLELAND, District Judge. Michael Shank (“Shank”) was arrested after Dayton, Ohio police officers found a firearm and crack cocaine in a car he had been driving in a neighborhood well known for drug distribution and firearm violence. The car, which Shank did not own and for which he had no documents or other indication of lawful possession, had been stopped because it had illegally tinted windows; officers carried out a protective search after they became aware that Shank – increasingly nervous and able to identify himself only verbally – had been contacted at least twice previously by Dayton police, each contact apparently associated with significant “dealer quantities” of crack cocaine.

Shank entered a conditional plea of guilty to Count 2, Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). He appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence, including the subject firearm. On appeal, Shank alleges that: (1) the officers lacked probable cause to effectuate a traffic stop; (2) his detention in the back of the police cruiser continued too long and violated his Fourth Amendment rights; and (3) the search of the vehicle violated his Fourth Amendment rights because the officers lacked reasonable suspicion that he was armed. For the reasons stated below, we reject each argument and AFFIRM.