James Taylor

Correspondent

James Taylor

Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.

Criminal Justice

Decisions covered by James Taylor

1,506 decisions
Mar 16 2026
7th Cir. 25-1037 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. AARON STRONG

The Seventh Circuit affirmed Aaron Strong's conviction for witness tampering, ruling that evidence of routine federal-state collaboration on excessive force cases satisfied the statutory requirement for federal involvement. The court held that a defendant's false statements to a state investigator can constitute a federal crime when the underlying conduct is a common target of federal civil rights prosecutions.

Criminal Robbery & Extortion
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Mar 16 2026
5th Cir. 25-10429 Per Curiam

United States v. Muller

The Fifth Circuit affirmed Timothy Muller's conviction for transmitting threats and retaliating against a federal official, ruling that his voicemails and texts constituted true threats rather than protected political speech. The court further rejected Muller's challenges regarding jury instructions, judicial conduct during trial, and jury composition, finding no reversible error in the proceedings.

Criminal Supervised Release
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Mar 16 2026
6th Cir. 24-1442 Published

Reichert v. Kellogg Co.

The Sixth Circuit reversed the dismissal of ERISA claims alleging that pension plans used outdated mortality data to calculate benefits for married participants. The court held that the statutory requirement for actuarial equivalence prohibits the use of unreasonable, inapplicable actuarial assumptions that fail to reflect modern life expectancies.

Criminal ERISA / Employee Benefits Sentencing Guidelines
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Mar 16 2026
9th Cir. 3:20-cr-00085-AB-1 Unpublished

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. FRANCO ARMANDO MORENO, Jr

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a 12-month supervised release revocation sentence, finding no plain error in the district court's handling of the defendant's arguments regarding his original state detainer. The panel held that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the defendant's overall dishonesty and performance on supervision, not just a single relapse event.

Criminal Other Criminal Plain Error Review
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Mar 16 2026
9th Cir. 2:12-cr-00906-DGC-1 Unpublished

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROCKY DELGADO MARQUEZ

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a defendant's motion for compassionate release, ruling that the district court's reliance on sentencing factors was sufficient to deny relief. The court held that any potential error regarding the defendant's extraordinary and compelling circumstances was harmless because the sentence reduction would not reflect the seriousness of the offense.

Compassionate Release Criminal
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Mar 16 2026
10th Cir. 4:24-CR-00278-GKF-1) Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JACKEY WAYNE NUNAMAKER

The Tenth Circuit affirmed Jackey Wayne Nunamaker's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting his Second Amendment challenge to the statute. The panel held that its prior decision in Vincent v. Bondi controls and precludes such challenges, even for non-violent felony offenders.

Criminal Firearms
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Mar 16 2026
9th Cir. 2:21-cr-00547-FLA-1 Unpublished

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH ANTOUN

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a 12-month prison sentence imposed on Christopher Joseph Antoun following the second revocation of his supervised release. The court held that the district court provided sufficient reasons for varying above the Sentencing Guidelines and that the sentence was substantively reasonable under federal law.

Criminal Sentencing Guidelines Supervised Release
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