Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
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.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Anthony Lee Daniels' Armed Career Criminal Act sentence, ruling that while the district court erred by determining predicate offenses occurred on different occasions without a jury, the mistake was harmless. The court found that Daniels would have admitted to the different occasions facts during his guilty plea had he been properly advised of his right to a jury determination.
The Eleventh Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw from representation after an independent review found no arguable issues for appeal. The court affirmed the defendant's convictions and sentences, concluding the record revealed a complete lack of merit in his challenges.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Vernell Woodard's conviction and sentence for firearm brandishing and aiding and abetting a crime of violence. The court held that any failure by the district court to warn Woodard about restitution authority was harmless error because he could not show he would have rejected his plea had he received the warning.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Christian Archer's motion for compassionate release, finding he failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling reasons for a sentence reduction. The court granted counsel's motion to withdraw and left Archer subject to his original sentence.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal sua sponte because the district court's order was not a final judgment. The appellate court lacks jurisdiction to review partial dismissals that leave other claims pending without proper certification.
The Fifth Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw, finding no nonfrivolous issues for direct appeal. However, the court dismissed the appeal without prejudice because the record was insufficient to fairly evaluate the defendant's ineffective assistance claims.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed consecutive sentences for federal escape and supervised release revocation, finding the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing sentencing factors. The court also granted counsel's motion to withdraw after an independent review found no non-frivolous issues for appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed convictions under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act for drug trafficking occurring within a foreign nation's Exclusive Economic Zone. The court held that Congress possesses authority under the Felonies Clause to prosecute such conduct and that a vessel becomes subject to U.S. jurisdiction when its master fails to claim nationality.
