Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed Elijah Chappell's conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, rejecting five challenges to his trial and sentence. The court found no error in the admission of 911 calls and body-camera footage, the sufficiency of the evidence, or the application of sentencing enhancements.
The Eleventh Circuit granted the Government's motion to dismiss an appeal because the defendant had entered a guilty plea and signed a valid sentence appeal waiver. The court enforced this waiver, ruling that it bars appeals even for difficult legal issues or potential errors, provided the waiver was made knowingly and voluntarily.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal regarding the revocation of supervised release because the appellant had already completed his sentence and was released from custody. The court held that without an additional term of supervised release imposed, the case presented no live controversy for adjudication.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, ruling that the district court did not abuse its discretion. The appellate court held that even if extraordinary and compelling reasons existed, the district court properly weighed the seriousness of the offenses against public safety concerns.
The Fifth Circuit granted the government's motion for summary affirmance of a conviction for illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326. The court held that the defendant's constitutional challenge to the statutory sentencing enhancement was foreclosed by Supreme Court precedent.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a federal sentence, holding that Louisiana's armed robbery statute qualifies as a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines. The court rejected the argument that the state law allows for reckless conduct, finding that the statutory elements inherently require the intentional use of force.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Asha Kisindja's conviction for conspiring to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, applying a plain error standard due to her failure to object in the district court. The court held that the record demonstrated she understood the nature of the charge and that a sufficient factual basis existed for her guilty plea under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.
The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representing Byron Tremaine Hawkins, Jr., finding no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. The court dismissed the appeal because the existing record was insufficient to fairly evaluate the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a mandatory minimum sentence for a drug conspirator, ruling that joint occupancy of a residence where a firearm was found constitutes constructive possession. This finding rendered the defendant ineligible for the statutory safety valve that would have otherwise allowed the court to disregard the mandatory minimum.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a convicted felon for possessing a firearm, rejecting constitutional challenges to the federal ban. The court held that recent binding precedent explicitly forecloses arguments under the Second Amendment and Commerce Clause.
