Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
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 Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of a new trial for a defendant convicted of tax fraud due to the presence of a racially biased juror during deliberations. The court held that the district court applied the incorrect legal standard and that the government failed to rebut the presumption of prejudice.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded a veterans benefits case to the Veterans Court. The appellate court found the lower court erred by declining to review clear and unmistakable error claims without first determining if they were properly raised.
The Tenth Circuit dismissed the appeal of Antonio Colbert, finding no non-frivolous grounds for challenge after counsel filed an Anders brief.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by Jose Alberto Rodriguez-Guzman. The court granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw after determining the appeal was moot.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion for sentence reduction. The appellate court found no reversible error in the lower court's handling of the compassionate release request.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant convicted of firearm possession by a felon, rejecting Second Amendment challenges and finding any procedural error regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement harmless.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order denying a defendant's motion for sentencing credits. The court held that the authority to compute and apply such credits lies exclusively with the Bureau of Prisons.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Rami Mhana's convictions for money laundering and related crimes but reversed the district court's refusal to enter a forfeiture judgment. The appellate court held that forfeiture is mandatory under federal statute when the government meets specific prerequisites, regardless of restitution orders.
The First Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, rejecting his arguments that a justification defense should have been presented to the jury and that the statute was unconstitutional as applied to him.
