James Taylor

Correspondent

James Taylor

Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.

Criminal Justice

Decisions covered by James Taylor

2,485 decisions
Apr 1 2026
6th Cir. 25-5257 Published

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MICHAEL WILLIAMS

The Sixth Circuit affirmed Michael Williams's within-Guidelines sentence for violating his supervised release, rejecting his claim that the district court impermissibly relied on retributive factors. The court held that the district court properly considered the breach of trust and the need for deterrence when imposing consecutive sentences for the new offense and the revocation.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Sentencing Guidelines Supervised Release
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Apr 1 2026
10th Cir. 5:24-CV-00743-J Panel Decision

DERRICK DEWAYNE PARKER v. JUDGE PERRY HUDSON; BENJAMIN HARTMAN; TIARA MCMINN; PHILLIP MARTIN; ELIAS RIVERA; TANNER FERRELL; JUSTIN HATCHER; TYLER HEAD; JERMAINE MCCULLUM; CHARLE...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Derrick Dewayne Parker's civil rights lawsuit, ruling that his claims challenging his criminal conviction were barred because the conviction remained valid. The court further held that judges and prosecutors were protected by absolute immunity, and other allegations failed to state a plausible constitutional violation.

Civil Rights - Section 1983 Criminal Drug Trafficking Sixth Amendment - Speedy Trial
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Apr 1 2026
5th Cir. 24-60277 Per Curiam

United States of America Plaintiff— v. Toshemie Wilson Defendant—

The Fifth Circuit affirmed Toshemie Wilson's conviction for sexually exploiting children, rejecting arguments that a lay witness improperly offered expert testimony and that the evidence was insufficient. The court held that Agent Blythe's testimony regarding device origins and data extraction fell within permissible lay knowledge under Federal Rule of Evidence 701.

Criminal Supervised Release
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Apr 1 2026
11th Cir. 8:18-cr-00064-SDM-TGW-1 Per Curiam

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOSHUA WILLIAMS

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the revocation of Joshua Williams's supervised release, ruling that the district court properly admitted hearsay evidence and that the record contained sufficient proof of the alleged violations. The court held that the defense's failure to object to the evidence waived the right to challenge the admission under the *Frazier* balancing test.

Criminal Firearms Supervised Release
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Mar 31 2026
11th Cir. 7:24-cr-00008-WLS-ALS-1 Per Curiam

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. TAVIO JAVON MCNEARY, JR

The Eleventh Circuit summarily affirmed Tavio McNeary's conviction for felon-in-possession, rejecting his challenge to the sentencing enhancement based on a prior marijuana conviction. The court held that binding precedent requires applying state law to define a controlled substance offense, even when the substance is no longer controlled under federal law.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Sentencing Guidelines
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Mar 31 2026
11th Cir. 5:21-cr-00002-LGW-BWC-2 Per Curiam

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DAVEY GREEN

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of Davey Green for distributing a controlled substance. The court granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw after an independent review found no arguable issues of merit.

Anders Brief Criminal
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