COLE, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-Appellant Memphis Biofuels, LLC appeals the dismissal of its suit against Defendant-Appellee Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc. for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Because we agree with the district court that Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc. enjoys tribal-sovereign immunity, we AFFIRM.

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. This action arises from the tragic shooting by police officers of a fifteen-year old boy, Brandon McCloud, in his own bedroom. While conducting a protective sweep of a home in the early-morning darkness prior to executing a search warrant, the officers encountered a male suspect hiding in a bedroom closet. When they ordered him to come out and show his hands, the suspect came toward the officers with a knife upheld. When he ignored their commands to drop the knife and continued to move toward the officers in close quarters, they opened fire, killing him instantly.

The administratrix of McCloud’s estate brought action against the officers under federal and state law, alleging the use of deadly force was excessive as the officers were not under imminent threat of serious bodily harm. The district court denied the officers’ motion for summary judgment, holding that they are not entitled to qualified immunity because there are genuine issues of material fact that preclude ruling, as a matter of law, that the officers’ conduct was objectively reasonable. Specifically, the court determined there is a factual dispute about the nature of the threat posed by McCloud, rendering it impossible to rule whether the officers’ reaction was objectively reasonable.

We find the district court’s reasoning, albeit thorough and well-articulated, to be erroneous in its ultimate conclusion. Our review of the record convinces us that the material facts are not genuinely disputed. Based on the record evidence, we conclude as a matter of law that the officers’ conduct is not shown to have been objectively unreasonable. For the reasons that follow, the denial of qualified immunity is reversed.

MARTHA CRAIG DAUGHTREY, Circuit Judge. This copyright-infringement case is “one of several hundred filed by [Bridgeport Music, Inc., and Southfield Music, Inc.] against entities and/or individuals associated with the ‘rap’ or ‘hip-hop’ music industry,” seeking declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and damages from some 800 defendants for copyright infringement under the federal copyright statute, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq. Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Still N The Water Publ’g, 327 F.3d 472, 475 (6th Cir. 2003). The district court severed the original case into 476 separate actions, resulting in the filing of numerous amended complaints based on allegedly infringing musical compositions and sound recordings. Id. The one now before us involves the work of George Clinton, known for his leadership of Parliament-Funkadelic, a key band in the 1960s and ‘70s “funk music” scene. Clinton and his co-authors later transferred ownership of some of the rights in their music to Bridgeport Music, Inc., and Southfield Music, Inc. (collectively, Bridgeport or the plaintiff), including the composition rights to his 1982 single, and perhaps best-known work, “Atomic Dog,” which is the subject of the present case.

Public Announcement, an R&B and hip hop group, released the song “D.O.G. in Me” on their All Work, No Play album in 1998. Bridgeport claims that “D.O.G. in Me” infringed its copyright on Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” based on the use of the phrase “Bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yea” (the “Bow Wow refrain”), as well as use repetition of the word “dog” in a low tone of voice at regular intervals and the sound of rhythmic panting in “D.O.G. in Me.” A jury later found UMG Recordings, Inc., and Universal Music Group, Inc. (collectively, UMG or the defendant), to have willfully infringed Bridgeport’s rights in “Atomic Dog” and awarded statutory damages of $88,980. UMG has appealed the verdict, claiming that the jury was improperly instructed and that UMG was entitled to judgment in its favor as a matter of law on the question of “substantial similarity.” We find no reversible error and affirm.

MARTHA CRAIG DAUGHTREY, Circuit Judge. Following his convictions in Ohio state court for aggravated robbery and aggravated murder, with specifications, Gary Van Johnson was sentenced to death. After exhausting his direct appeals, as well as avenues for state collateral relief, Johnson petitioned for habeas relief in federal court under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Denied the relief he desired, the petitioner now appeals to this court and raises numerous claims of constitutional error, including arguments involving alleged (1) insufficiency of the convicting evidence, (2) improper withholding of impeachment evidence by the prosecution, (3) prosecutorial misconduct, (4) failure of the trial judge to declare a mistrial, (5) ineffective assistance of counsel at the guilt phase of the trial and (6) at the penalty phase of the trial, and (7) improper failure of the district judge to recuse himself from the habeas proceedings. Although we find no merit to the other issues raised on appeal for the reasons expressed below, we conclude that Johnson’s trial attorney did not provide his client with effective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase of the trial. As a result, we find it necessary to reverse the district court’s judgment and remand the case for further proceedings.