Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of Malik Javier McKenzie, rejecting arguments regarding the traffic stop, admission of prior drug sales evidence, sufficiency of evidence, and sentencing enhancements.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion by appointed counsel to withdraw from representing the defendant. The court dismissed the appeal after finding no nonfrivolous issues for appellate review.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release. The court held that non-retroactive changes in the law do not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for release.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a defendant's sentence for drug trafficking where the district court applied a sentencing enhancement for maintaining a premises for drug distribution. The court held that drug trafficking can be a primary use of a residence even when the defendant also lives there.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction of a defendant who pleaded guilty to smuggling ammunition into Mexico. The court held that the government is not required to prove the defendant knew an export license was needed for the charged conduct.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a supervised release condition requiring a defendant to notify third parties of a risk determined by a probation officer. The court held that the condition was unconstitutionally vague and that the defendant had preserved his legal arguments for appeal despite not objecting initially.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a defendant's motion for a sentence reduction under the Sentencing Guidelines. The court held that departures from the original guideline range are not included when calculating the amended guideline range for eligibility purposes.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of a defendant convicted of firearm and drug trafficking offenses. The court held that testimony regarding a confidential informant was not hearsay and that uncharged drug transactions constituted relevant conduct for sentencing.
The Eleventh Circuit granted counsel's motion to withdraw from representing the defendant in a direct criminal appeal. The court affirmed the conviction and sentence after an independent review found no arguable issues of merit.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court order prohibiting a convicted sex trafficker from contacting a victim. The appellate court found no abuse of discretion in the lower court's determination that the defendant's attempts to reach the victim served no legitimate purpose.
