Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a pro se plaintiff's Rule 60 motion, ruling that her allegations of fraud on the court were patently frivolous and unsupported by evidence. The court applied the law of the case doctrine, noting it had previously rejected identical claims in a prior appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 36-month prison sentence for a supervised release violation, rejecting the defendant's claim that the sentence was substantively unreasonable. The court held that the district court properly weighed the severity of the defendant's drug violations and his lack of candor regarding his treatment plan.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 600-month sentence for child pornography production and distribution, rejecting the defendant's claim that the district court failed to weigh his voluntary cessation of conduct. The court held that the permanence of the images and the need for deterrence justified the sentence within the Guidelines range.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed Leiloni Blake Smith's conviction for sexual abuse and exploitation of her minor children, ruling that alleged evidentiary errors and prosecutorial misconduct did not prejudice her duress defense. The court held that the overwhelming video evidence of the abuse rendered any trial errors harmless under both the plain error and harmless error standards.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed Mackenzie Becker's convictions for firearms and drug offenses, rejecting his argument that the search warrant affidavit failed to establish probable cause linking a road-rage incident to his residence. The court also dismissed Becker's Second Amendment challenge as foreclosed by existing Tenth Circuit precedent.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a district court's denial of a discovery order in a federal habeas proceeding, ruling that such orders are generally not appealable. The court also denied the defendant's motion to proceed in forma pauperis as moot due to the dismissal.
The Third Circuit granted counsel's motion to withdraw under Anders v. California, finding that Dayakar Mallu's appeal presented no nonfrivolous issues. The court affirmed Mallu's conviction and downward-varied sentence based on the enforceability of his valid appellate waiver.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of Federal Claims' jurisdiction to hear Ligado Networks' takings claim but vacated rulings on whether the company holds a protected property right in its radio spectrum license. The court remanded the case because the parties presented arguments at too high a level of generality, requiring a more specific analysis of the Communications Act and FCC actions.
The Third Circuit affirmed Brandyn Allen Seabreeze's conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, ruling that the traffic stop and subsequent search did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The court further held that Seabreeze had knowingly waived his right to appeal the sentencing calculation in his plea agreement.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a default judgment against absent e-commerce vendors, ruling that the district court lacked personal jurisdiction due to insufficient evidence of actual sales in Illinois. The court clarified that merely operating an accessible website is not enough to establish jurisdiction under the Lanham Act without proof of forum-specific transactions.
