Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed Eddie Nailor's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting his constitutional challenges to the statute. The court held that Nailor's history of armed robbery and subsequent criminal conduct established he was dangerous under the controlling precedent of United States v. Williams.
The Eighth Circuit dismissed the appeal because the defendant's valid plea agreement waived her right to challenge the sentence. The court further held that she could not challenge the voluntariness of her guilty plea on direct appeal without first moving to withdraw the plea in the district court.
The Fourth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to Benjamin Forrest Carter, finding he failed to show that reasonable jurists could debate the district court's denial of his habeas relief. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal without oral argument.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's revocation of Cody Ray Leveke's supervised release and its imposition of a within-Guidelines prison term. The court held that the lower court did not clearly err in finding a mental health treatment violation and did not abuse its discretion in weighing sentencing factors.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the revocation of William Waters's supervised release but vacated his sentence due to a procedural error. The court held that the district court failed to adequately explain the imposition of discretionary conditions during the oral pronouncement of the sentence.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed an above-Guidelines sentence for a child pornography offense, rejecting the defendant's claim that the district court abused its discretion. The court held that the district judge properly prioritized its own past sentencing practices and the defendant's individual circumstances over general Judicial Sentencing Information data.
The Fifth Circuit vacated a certificate of appealability because it failed to indicate a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right as required by federal statute. The court dismissed the appeal because the petitioner's sole claim was for actual innocence, which is not cognizable under federal habeas corpus review.
The Fifth Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw and dismissed the criminal appeal after finding no nonfrivolous issues for review. The court concluded the appeal was frivolous under the Anders standard because the defendant failed to file a response and the record supported counsel's assessment.
The Fifth Circuit vacated three supervised release conditions imposed on a child pornography defendant because the district court failed to specify their duration or justify their necessity. The court held that location monitoring cannot include home detention without explicit order and that financial conditions require a finalized restitution award to be lawful.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal because the district court's order denying a motion for default judgment is not a final or appealable interlocutory order. Consequently, the appellate court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case under federal statutes governing appellate review.
