Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a habeas corpus appeal due to lack of jurisdiction. The court found the notice of appeal was filed after the statutory deadline.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a default judgment entered against a pro se litigant who failed to comply with discovery orders in a conversion and defamation dispute. The court rejected five appellate arguments challenging the judgment, including claims regarding standing, due process, and judicial bias.
The Fifth Circuit denied a motion by appointed counsel to withdraw from representing a defendant who waived his right to appeal. The court found a non-frivolous argument existed regarding a financial disclosure condition on supervised release.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to reduce a sentence under the compassionate release statute. The court granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw after an independent review found no arguable issues of merit in the appeal.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of a habeas corpus petition filed by a state prisoner. The court held that the Minnesota Supreme Court did not unreasonably apply federal law when it found the admission of an improperly obtained confession to be harmless error.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a conviction for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. The court held that police had probable cause to stop the defendant for traffic violations and to search his vehicle based on a canine alert and the smell of marijuana.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the loss amount calculation and role enhancements but vacated the sophisticated laundering enhancement due to a misapplication of the Sentencing Guidelines. The court remanded the case for a limited resentencing to correct the guideline computation.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a sentence for drug trafficking on a vessel, rejecting the defendant's claim of entitlement to a minor-role reduction. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding the defendant's role in transporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine was not minor.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed sentences for defendants involved in a Target gift card money laundering scheme but vacated a portion of the sentencing enhancement. The court held that the district court improperly applied a sophisticated laundering enhancement without first applying a required conviction-based enhancement.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a twenty-month prison sentence for illegal reentry following a felony removal. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing sentencing factors or in rejecting the defendant's claimed purpose for reentry.
