Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Gail Manney's conviction for making false statements on a federal firearm purchase form, ruling that the Second Amendment does not protect the act of lying to a dealer. The court further held that such misrepresentations are legally material regardless of whether the actual purchaser is legally eligible to own a gun.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of Tahawwur Hussain Rana's habeas petition challenging his extradition to India. The court held that the extradition treaty's double jeopardy exception applies to charged crimes with distinct elements, not underlying acts, allowing extradition despite Rana's prior U.S. acquittal.
The D.C. Circuit held that the Fourth Amendment requires the continued retention of personal property seized incident to a lawful arrest to remain reasonable, even after the arrestee has been released. The court reversed the district court's dismissal of claims alleging that the District of Columbia unreasonably retained plaintiffs' property for months or years without justification.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the FBI, holding its search for Freedom of Information Act records was adequate and its withholdings justified. The court rejected the appellant's challenges to the search methodology and his claims of agency misconduct due to a lack of evidentiary support.
The First Circuit vacated and remanded a sentencing decision because the district court's explanation for an upward variance was ambiguous. The appellate court could not determine the meaning of the judge's reference to the defendant's association with convicted felons.
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of an indictment charging defendants with violating the Anti-Riot Act, holding that they failed to satisfy the rigorous two-prong selective prosecution standard. The panel found no similarly situated individuals were unpunished because the lower court improperly compared collective far-left groups to specific defendants and determined that timing and other government actions did not prove impermissible motive.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed summary judgment for federal law enforcement agencies in two Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, ruling that their searches for records regarding death row inmate Daniel Troya were adequate. The court further held that the agencies properly withheld documents under multiple FOIA exemptions to protect privacy, confidential sources, and law enforcement techniques.
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review, holding that a Nevada conviction for attempted lewdness with a child under 14 constitutes an aggravated felony of attempted sexual abuse of a minor. The court reaffirmed that its precedent defining the generic elements of this crime remains consistent with the Supreme Court's narrow ruling in Esquivel-Quintana.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed a below-guidelines sentence for bank fraud, holding that the defendant forfeited his challenge to the loss calculation by failing to object when the district court confirmed the guideline range. The court found no plain error in calculating loss as the total amount stolen rather than the net amount remaining after recovery.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the government's suit to compel registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act because the alleged agent ceased his activities years before the lawsuit was filed. The court held that FARA registration obligations are prospective and expire when an individual stops acting on behalf of a foreign principal.
