Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a conviction for illegal reentry under federal law. The court held that the defendant's constitutional challenge to the recidivism enhancement was foreclosed by existing Supreme Court precedent.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a substantive reasonableness challenge to a defendant's sentence for child pornography offenses. The court held that the district court properly weighed sentencing factors and did not abuse its discretion in imposing a downward variance.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction of Christopher Obaze for drug trafficking and tax fraud offenses. The court rejected Obaze's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and his assertion that his guilty plea was involuntary.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representing the defendant. The court dismissed the appeal after finding no nonfrivolous issues for review.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a conviction for possessing a short-barreled rifle and receiving ammunition while under felony indictment. The court held that the district court properly struck closing arguments suggesting police return of firearms justified acquittal regardless of the defendant's knowledge.
The Fifth Circuit granted a pro se plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis and vacated a dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court remanded the case to the district court to consider whether the plaintiff should be permitted to amend his complaint.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion to vacate his sentence. The court held that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to file a notice of appeal and that counsel was not deficient for failing to object to a supervised release term that did not exceed the statutory maximum.
The Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded a district court order turning over bank accounts to the government to satisfy criminal restitution. The court found the district court violated due process by failing to notify the defendant's adult children who may have claims to the funds held in a custodial account.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a supervised release revocation sentence despite a district court error in considering retribution. The appellate court found the error did not affect the defendant's substantial rights given other valid reasons for the sentence.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a one hundred ninety month sentence for carjacking and firearm use. The court held the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing mitigating factors against the defendant's violent history.
