Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the convictions and mandatory minimum sentence of Shabnam Dawn Pilisuk. The court also narrowed the scope of a supervised release condition to align with First Amendment protections.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a federal sentence requiring mandatory consecutive terms for firearm offenses under Section nine hundred twenty-four of Title eighteen. The court held that the district court properly clarified an ambiguity in the oral sentencing order to comply with statutory mandates.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed Victor Manuel Chavarria's conviction and sentence while dismissing the remainder of his appeal. The panel concluded that Chavarria's plea was voluntary and that his appeal waiver was enforceable.
The Sixth Circuit vacated a substantially below-Guidelines sentence for a defendant who traveled to Syria to fight for ISIS. The court held that the district court erred by minimizing the seriousness of the defendant's conduct and relying too heavily on national sentencing statistics.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the conviction of Joshua Ian Celnik for distribution and possession of child pornography. The court rejected challenges to the admission of computer logs and expert testimony, finding no violation of the Confrontation Clause or evidentiary rules.
The Sixth Circuit vacated a terrorism defendant's sentence, ruling it was substantively unreasonable. The court held that the district court erred by minimizing the brutality of ISIS and relying too heavily on national sentencing statistics.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the conviction of Jaime Perez for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court held that Perez's Second Amendment challenge to the federal statute is foreclosed by existing precedent.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal after appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw under Anders v. California. The court agreed that the appeal presented no nonfrivolous issues for review.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment revoking supervised release and imposing a twenty-four-month sentence. The panel granted counsel's motion to withdraw after an independent review found no non-frivolous arguments for appeal.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court's revocation of supervised release and thirty-month prison sentence. The court held that the categorical approach does not apply when determining the grade of a supervised release violation.
