Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court's revocation of supervised release and imposition of an eighteen-month prison term. The court held that the district court did not impermissibly rely on retributive factors when sentencing the defendant for violating her supervised release.
The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court order requiring restitution in a child sex trafficking case. The court held that the government failed to prove the victims suffered losses that would not have occurred but for the defendant's specific conduct.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed Lennie Perry's conviction, ruling that the district court properly denied his midtrial request for a sixth appointed attorney after he had twice validly waived his right to counsel. The court held that once a defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives the Sixth Amendment right to self-representation, the judge may hold him to that decision without reassessing his motives or the potential for delay.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed this appeal sua sponte for lack of jurisdiction. The court found that the petitioner's notice of appeal was filed well past the statutory deadline.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of David Antoine Luster's motion for compassionate release, ruling that his claim of an unusually long sentence did not constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason for relief. The court held that the district court properly weighed the severity of Luster's bank robbery convictions and firearm offenses against the non-retroactive changes in law under the First Step Act.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of a new trial motion but vacated a sentence enhanced based on the defendant's status as a police officer. The court held that professional status is not a valid statutory factor for upward sentencing adjustments under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
The Tenth Circuit dismissed the direct appeal of a mail fraud defendant who had signed an appeal waiver, ruling that no valid claims fell outside the waiver's scope. The court found that enforcing the waiver would not result in a miscarriage of justice and directed any ineffective assistance claims to be raised in a collateral proceeding.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of James Nemeth's motions to suppress evidence and dismiss charges, ruling that his Fourth Amendment argument was procedurally waived and his Second Amendment challenge is foreclosed by binding precedent. The court held that Nemeth failed to preserve the specific claim that a dog sniff at his motel door violated his privacy interest inside the room, and his challenge to the felon-in-possession statute is barred by the circuit's recent decision in Vincent v. Bondi.
The Tenth Circuit granted counsel's motion to withdraw and dismissed the appeal after a de novo review confirmed that any potential arguments were frivolous. The court held that the guilty plea was valid and the ten-year sentence for firearm possession lacked procedural or substantive error.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, ruling that challenges to sentencing guideline calculations must be brought via habeas corpus rather than compassionate release proceedings. The court held that the defendant's argument effectively attacked the validity of his plea agreement and sentence, which falls outside the scope of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
