James Taylor

Correspondent

James Taylor

Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.

Criminal Justice

Decisions covered by James Taylor

2,517 decisions
Apr 15 2026
9th Cir. 3:23-cr-00202- 2-1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HIGINIO ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ-REYES

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to dismiss an illegal reentry charge, holding that a California rape conviction categorically matches the federal definition of rape as an aggravated felony. Because the state offense qualifies as an aggravated felony, the defendant could not satisfy the fundamental unfairness requirement necessary to collaterally attack his removal order.

Criminal Immigration (Criminal) Sentencing Guidelines
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Apr 15 2026
9th Cir. 3:22-cv-01306-JR Published

SHERRY H. DETWILER v. MID-COLUMBIA MEDICAL CENTER; CHERI MCCALL, an individual; DOES, 1 through 50

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Title VII religious accommodation claim because the plaintiff failed to plead a bona fide religious belief sufficiently distinct from secular medical concerns. The court held that general prayer and broad religious tenets, without a clear nexus to specific religious doctrine, cannot elevate personal medical judgments to the level of protected religious conviction.

Criminal Embezzlement & Forgery Summary Judgment
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Apr 15 2026
9th Cir. 3:22-cv-00193-SLG Unpublished

Dion Kirk Humphrey v. Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that prohibited Dion Kirk Humphrey from possessing firearms due to a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. The court rejected Humphrey's constitutional challenges regarding the ex post facto clause, Second Amendment rights, and due process.

Criminal Firearms Summary Judgment
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Apr 15 2026
8th Cir. 25-3017 Panel Decision

United States of America v. Raheam D. McLean

The Eighth Circuit affirmed Raheam McLean's supervised release revocation sentence, finding no plain error in the district court's explanation or alleged Tapia violation due to a failure to preserve objections. The court modified the written judgment to remove an erroneous reference to a mandatory condition that did not match the oral pronouncement.

Criminal Supervised Release
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Apr 15 2026
7th Cir. 25-1904 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. OMARI ANDREWS, JR

The Seventh Circuit affirmed Omari Andrews's conviction for possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, finding the evidence sufficient based on his own admission of four guns during a jail call. The court also upheld the district court's decision to admit fingerprint expert testimony, ruling that the defendant's late objection was untimely and that the expert's methodology was reliable.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Firearms
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Apr 14 2026
4th Cir. 24-4624 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. NAEEM DEONTE JONES

The Fourth Circuit vacated a supervised release revocation sentence because the district court misclassified a drug-testing violation as a Grade B offense instead of the correct Grade C classification. The court remanded the case for resentencing to apply the proper sentencing guidelines and address potential statutory limits on the term of supervised release.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Sentencing Guidelines Supervised Release
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Apr 14 2026
Fed. Cir. 26-1031 Panel Decision

AHMAD JAMALEDDIN ALJINDI v. UNITED STATES

The Federal Circuit dismissed Dr. Ahmad Aljindi's appeal as frivolous after the Claims Court certified that no appeal would be taken in good faith. The court affirmed the lower court's denial of a Rule 60(b) motion and its anti-filing injunction, leaving the prohibition on future filings without counsel or permission in full force.

Anders Brief Criminal
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