Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
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.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed John Howald's convictions for a federal hate crime and firearm discharge, rejecting his constitutional challenges to the statute's Commerce Clause reach. The court further held that an attempt to kill under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act constitutes a crime of violence, satisfying the elements required for the firearm enhancement.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the fraud convictions and sentences of Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani, ruling that while some lay witness testimony improperly encroached on expert testimony under Rule 702, any error was harmless. The court further rejected arguments regarding the admissibility of a CMS report and other evidentiary challenges, finding no reversible error in the district court's decisions.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed Stephen Bannon's conviction for contempt of Congress, rejecting his argument that the statute requires bad faith or that advice of counsel is a valid defense. The court held that the statutory term 'willfully' is satisfied by a deliberate and intentional refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena, regardless of the defendant's subjective belief in their legal justification.
The Second Circuit held that periodic reviews of a Connecticut prisoner's administrative segregation status satisfied due process even while he was incarcerated in Virginia. However, the court found a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether Virginia Department of Corrections administrative remedies were available to the plaintiff, rendering summary judgment on his First, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment claims inappropriate.
The Second Circuit affirmed Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction and sentence for sex trafficking and related offenses involving minors. The court rejected Maxwell's arguments that a prior non-prosecution agreement barred her prosecution, that the indictment was untimely, and that jury misconduct or improper instructions warranted a new trial.
The Ninth Circuit granted a petition for review and remanded an immigration case where the agency failed to properly evaluate documentary evidence supporting a claim of past persecution. Although the court found substantial evidence supported the agency's adverse credibility determination, the agency's misreading of key documents required a new evaluation of the petitioner's asylum claim.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Thomas Creech's third federal habeas petition as a barred second or successive claim. The court held that Creech's Eighth Amendment argument regarding evolving standards of decency was ripe years ago and could have been raised in his prior proceedings.
The D.C. Circuit certified a critical question of District of Columbia tort law to the D.C. Court of Appeals regarding whether a passenger who involuntarily falls from a platform ledge becomes a trespasser. Because no controlling precedent exists to determine the transit authority's duty of care in this specific scenario, the case is remanded pending the higher court's decision.
