Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction but remanded the case to correct a clerical error in the written judgment. The court held that the written judgment must align with the district court's oral pronouncement regarding concurrent sentencing.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a compassionate release motion, finding no abuse of discretion in the determination that the defendant remained a danger to the community.
The First Circuit vacated a supervised release revocation sentence because the district court relied on extra-record evidence to find the defendant knowingly possessed a machine gun.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted a writ of mandamus to restore a jury trial right for a pharmacy benefit manager. The court held that the public nuisance remedy sought by local governments included legal damages rather than purely equitable relief. The Seventh Amendment therefore entitles the defendant to a jury trial.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's revocation sentence where the defendant argued the court failed to orally pronounce certain discretionary conditions of supervised release. The court held that the district court sufficiently adopted the conditions by reference to the original judgment, leaving no error.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a federal sentence of consecutive imprisonment for a defendant who committed murder while on supervised release. The court held the sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable and did not violate the Eighth Amendment.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Jonathan Shane Stamper. The court found the petition moot because the district court had recently ruled on the underlying motion for reconsideration.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion for early termination of supervised release. The panel found no abuse of discretion in the lower court's decision.
The First Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of a former mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, for conspiracy to commit federal-program bribery, federal-program bribery, and extortion under color of official right.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a twenty-three-five month prison sentence for a defendant convicted of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. The court vacated the district court's order permanently denying the defendant federal benefits, finding the statutory application was plain error.
