Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant convicted of firearm possession by a felon, rejecting Second Amendment challenges and finding any procedural error regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement harmless.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order denying a defendant's motion for sentencing credits. The court held that the authority to compute and apply such credits lies exclusively with the Bureau of Prisons.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Rami Mhana's convictions for money laundering and related crimes but reversed the district court's refusal to enter a forfeiture judgment. The appellate court held that forfeiture is mandatory under federal statute when the government meets specific prerequisites, regardless of restitution orders.
The First Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, rejecting his arguments that a justification defense should have been presented to the jury and that the statute was unconstitutional as applied to him.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that law enforcement did not violate due process by retaining seized motorcycles as evidence in a murder investigation. The court held that the Fourth Amendment defines the process due for property seizures in criminal cases, and no further notice or hearing was required while the investigation remained active.
The Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of a new trial for a defendant convicted of tax fraud due to the presence of a racially biased juror during deliberations. The court held that the district court applied the incorrect legal standard and that the government failed to rebut the presumption of prejudice.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded a veterans benefits case to the Veterans Court. The appellate court found the lower court erred by declining to review clear and unmistakable error claims without first determining if they were properly raised.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Antonio Davis. The court found the petition moot because the district court had recently entered an order denying Davis's underlying motion.
The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that denied qualified immunity to jail officials in a death-in-custody case. The court held that the pretrial detainee's medical needs were not obvious to a layperson, so the officials did not violate clearly established law.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment dismissing a plaintiff's diversity action against an insurance company. The appellate panel held that the district court properly exercised subject matter jurisdiction and granted judgment on the pleadings based on the insurance policy terms.
