Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a 217-month sentence for a carjacking that left a victim permanently injured, rejecting the appellant's claim that he deserved a sentencing reduction for accepting responsibility. The court held that the defendant's repeated assertions that the shooting was accidental contradicted his guilty plea and demonstrated a lack of sincere remorse.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Mitchell McNeil's 300-month sentence, ruling that the government did not breach its plea agreement by seeking a dangerous weapon enhancement. The court held that contract law principles limit the government to only those promises explicitly made in the agreement, and the agreement here reserved the right to present evidence on sentencing factors not stipulated by the parties.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal prisoner's habeas petition because his appeal brief failed to challenge the underlying dismissal order. By exclusively arguing against the denial of a motion for reconsideration without filing a separate notice of appeal, the petitioner abandoned his substantive claims.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by Ronald Satish Emrit for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was filed before any final or appealable order existed in the district court. The court held that without a final judgment or specific statutory exception, it lacks the authority to review the case at this stage.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Sharmaine Jackson's sentence, ruling that the district court did not clearly err in applying a sentencing enhancement for vulnerable victims. The court held that targeting older customers with large balances who rarely checked their accounts rendered them unusually vulnerable under federal sentencing guidelines.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Latosha Ward's civil claims against her family members and mortgage entities. The court found no reversible error in the lower court's ruling and denied Ward's ancillary motions as moot.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, ruling that the lower court properly weighed statutory sentencing factors. The appellate court held that the defendant's criminal history and non-compliance with medical instructions justified maintaining his sentence despite his chronic kidney disease.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed Olee Wonzo Robinson's appeal because the district court's order reopening his habeas case was not a final judgment or an appealable interlocutory order. The appellate court held it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to review the order granting reconsideration.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Ana Romero's appeal of her wire fraud conspiracy sentence because she knowingly and voluntarily waived her right to appeal in her plea agreement. The court found the waiver enforceable under Bushert standards and determined that Romero's arguments did not fall within any of the waiver's narrow exceptions.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Julius Augillard's 70-month sentence for felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting his challenges to the sentencing guidelines' application of the realistic probability test and the firearm enhancement. However, the court vacated the judgment in part because the district court failed to orally pronounce a discretionary supervised release condition that was later added to the written judgment.
