Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion to vacate his sentence. The court held that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to file a notice of appeal and that counsel was not deficient for failing to object to a supervised release term that did not exceed the statutory maximum.
The Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded a district court order turning over bank accounts to the government to satisfy criminal restitution. The court found the district court violated due process by failing to notify the defendant's adult children who may have claims to the funds held in a custodial account.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a supervised release revocation sentence despite a district court error in considering retribution. The appellate court found the error did not affect the defendant's substantial rights given other valid reasons for the sentence.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a one hundred ninety month sentence for carjacking and firearm use. The court held the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing mitigating factors against the defendant's violent history.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a district court dismissal of a fraud and conspiracy complaint against a hospital. The appellate court held that Maryland's general three-year statute of limitations applies to these claims rather than the five-year medical malpractice period.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress a firearm found during a traffic stop but vacated the defendant's sentence. The court held that the district court erred in applying the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement because two of the four predicate convictions did not qualify as violent felonies.
The First Circuit affirmed the revocation of supervised release where the defendant received notice of the violations in the probation officer's motion, even though the motion did not explicitly list every specific instance of drug use.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction of a defendant charged with possessing a firearm after a felony conviction. The court held that the defendant's history of evading arrest in a motor vehicle demonstrated a credible threat to public safety, justifying the disarmament under the Second Amendment.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal after the appointed public defender filed a brief asserting the case presented no nonfrivolous issues. The court granted the motion to withdraw and excused counsel from further responsibilities.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of Malik McKenzie, rejecting arguments regarding the traffic stop, admission of prior drug sales evidence, sufficiency of evidence, and sentencing enhancements.
