Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion for compassionate release. The appellate court found no abuse of discretion in the lower court's determination that the defendant failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling reasons for early release.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted the Government's motion to dismiss an appeal. The court enforced an appeal waiver contained in the defendant's plea agreement.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a criminal judgment where a defendant challenged the substantive reasonableness of a below-Guidelines sentence. The court found the district court properly applied the abuse-of-discretion standard and adequately weighed the statutory factors.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the conviction of Duane Lee Johnsen for receiving and possessing child pornography. The court held that hash value matches alone can establish probable cause for a search warrant and that forensic analysis of seized devices is not a critical stage requiring counsel.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the defendant's convictions for assault resulting in serious bodily injury on a commercial aircraft. The court vacated two special conditions of supervised release because the district court failed to adequately explain them.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a consumer protection lawsuit alleging fraud in the honey industry. The appellate panel held that the plaintiffs failed to meet the heightened pleading requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure nine point B.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed in part and dismissed in part the appeal of a defendant convicted of Hobbs Act robbery. The court held that the defendant's appeal waiver was valid and that his guilty plea was entered knowingly and voluntarily.
The Fifth Circuit granted a motion by the Federal Public Defender to withdraw from representing the defendant. The court dismissed the appeal after finding no nonfrivolous issues for review.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal by a defendant challenging conditions of his supervised release. The court held that a plea agreement waiver barred the appeal because the challenge did not concern a sentence exceeding the statutory maximum.
The Fifth Circuit granted an unopposed motion to reform a district court judgment to correct clerical errors. The court clarified that the revocation judgment was based solely on violations alleged in specific petitions.
