Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The First Circuit vacated a defendant's enhanced sentence, ruling that his prior Massachusetts carjacking conviction did not qualify as a crime of violence under the federal sentencing guidelines.
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.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of Malik Javier McKenzie, rejecting arguments regarding the traffic stop, admission of prior drug sales evidence, sufficiency of evidence, and sentencing enhancements.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion by appointed counsel to withdraw from representing the defendant. The court dismissed the appeal after finding no nonfrivolous issues for appellate review.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release. The court held that non-retroactive changes in the law do not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for release.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction of a defendant who pleaded guilty to smuggling ammunition into Mexico. The court held that the government is not required to prove the defendant knew an export license was needed for the charged conduct.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a supervised release condition requiring a defendant to notify third parties of a risk determined by a probation officer. The court held that the condition was unconstitutionally vague and that the defendant had preserved his legal arguments for appeal despite not objecting initially.
