Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
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.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for a sentence reduction under eighteen U.S.C. Section three thousand five hundred eighty-two subsection C two. The court held that Amendment eight hundred twenty-one of the Sentencing Guidelines does not apply to tax offenses or the specific enhancements used in this case.
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 Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of a prisoner's motion for sentence reduction. The court held that the district judge applied the correct legal standard despite quoting language from a different statutory context.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a federal firearms offender's prison sentence but vacated two conditions of supervised release. The court held that the district court erred by imposing a GED requirement and a computer search condition without pronouncing them at the sentencing hearing.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a drug trafficking defendant's sentence, rejecting claims that the government suppressed evidence regarding his leadership role. The court also upheld a sentencing enhancement for maintaining a drug premises, distinguishing the case from recent precedents based on the defendant's ownership and control.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court's refusal to rule on a motion to terminate supervised release while a separate appeal regarding the sentence remained pending in another circuit. The court held that the district court lacked jurisdiction to act on the motion during the pendency of the appeal to ensure judicial economy and fairness.
