James Taylor

Correspondent

James Taylor

Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.

Criminal Justice

Decisions covered by James Taylor

1,506 decisions
Mar 25 2026
3rd Cir. 2:16-cr-00088-001) Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MOHAMMED JABATEH

The Third Circuit affirmed the denial of a § 2255 motion challenging an asylee's convictions for perjury and immigration fraud based on false oral statements. The court held that while the immigration fraud statute does not apply to oral statements, the appellant failed to preserve this specific challenge for direct appeal, and thus no plain error existed to warrant relief.

Constitutional Habeas Corpus - Federal Prisoner (28 USC 2255) Plain Error Review Sixth Amendment - Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
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Mar 24 2026
10th Cir. 6:22-CR-10012-EFM-1) Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RYAN CARL LOWMASTER

The Tenth Circuit affirmed Ryan Carl Lowmaster's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting his Second Amendment challenge as foreclosed by binding circuit precedent. The court relied on its prior decision in Vincent v. Garland, which was readopted after the Supreme Court denied certiorari on the matter.

Criminal Firearms
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Mar 24 2026
10th Cir. 5:24-CR-00303-HE-1 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KENT MATTHEW STAPP

The Tenth Circuit enforced a defendant's appeal waiver because his 24-month sentence fell within the scope of his plea agreement and did not exceed the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range. The court rejected the defendant's pro se arguments regarding the voluntariness of his plea and the nature of the offense, finding no miscarriage of justice.

Criminal Sentencing Guidelines
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Mar 24 2026
3rd Cir. 2:21-cr-00247-002) Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CARLTON REMBERT

The Third Circuit affirmed Carlton Rembert's conviction for defrauding incapacitated persons, rejecting his challenges to venue, evidence suppression, and the sufficiency of the evidence. The court held that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Rembert's pretrial motions and that the jury's guilty verdict was supported by sufficient evidence despite the defendant's legal blindness.

Criminal Fraud
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Mar 24 2026
3rd Cir. 25-1620 Panel Decision

JAMES L. GLOVER v. LT. BARRY JACOBS, #97 Philadelphia Police Officer; DOUGLAS K. MORRISON JR., #7099; RUSSELL CROTTS; SHEA SKINNER; FEIGE M. GRUNDMAN; UNKNOWN CITY EMPLOYEES OR...

The Third Circuit affirmed the District Court's grant of summary judgment in a civil rights case brought by a Philadelphia activist against police officers and the city. The court held that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate personal involvement by the defendants in his arrest or any violation of his First Amendment rights.

Antitrust (Criminal) Criminal Summary Judgment
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Mar 24 2026
11th Cir. 8:22-cv-00935-SDM-AEP Per Curiam

Atraqchi v. United States

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to reopen a civil case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). The court held that the plaintiffs' motion was untimely because it was filed more than one year after the original judgment.

Civil Other Civil
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Mar 24 2026
11th Cir. 8:24-cr-00234-VMC-TGW-1 Per Curiam

United States v. Switlyk

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Christopher Switlyk's conviction for removing property to prevent government seizure, rejecting his challenges to evidentiary rulings regarding prior bad acts and alleged prosecutorial threats. The court held that evidence of Switlyk's prior concealment of assets was probative of his intent and that statements made by prosecutors after the alleged crime were irrelevant to his state of mind at the time of the offense.

Criminal Obstruction of Justice
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Mar 24 2026
11th Cir. 2:24-cr-00427-ECM-JTA-1 Per Curiam

United States v. Mock

The Eleventh Circuit granted the Government's motion to dismiss an appeal filed by a defendant who had signed a plea agreement containing an appeal waiver. The court held that the waiver was enforceable because it was made knowingly and voluntarily, barring the defendant from challenging the conviction or sentence.

Criminal Other Criminal
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Mar 24 2026
11th Cir. 0:21-cr-60253-KMM-2 Published

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LAWRENCE ALEXANDER

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Lawrence Alexander's conviction for making false statements to Medicare but vacated his restitution order due to insufficient evidence of actual loss. The court held that while the false statement was material to the enrollment process, the government failed to prove that Medicare specifically relied on the 2019 form to pay the claims at issue.

Criminal Forfeiture / Penalty Supervised Release
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