Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Eleventh Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw after an independent review found no arguable issues for appeal. The court affirmed Lorenzo Heatrice's convictions and sentences without addressing specific legal standards or statutes.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Damion Hallmon's conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition, rejecting his challenges to the traffic stop, the search of his vehicle, and the exclusion of jail call evidence. The court held that the officers had probable cause for the stop and search, that Hallmon was not in custody during his initial statements, and that the evidence sufficiently proved the ammunition traveled in interstate commerce.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 36-month sentence for illegal re-entry, rejecting the defendant's claim that the district court abused its discretion by relying on his prior criminal history. The court held that sentencing judges possess broad authority to weigh § 3553(a) factors and may attach significant weight to a defendant's recidivism without presuming unreasonableness for variances.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 108-month sentence for a defendant convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine on a vessel. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in denying a minor-role reduction because the defendant's knowing participation as a crewmember constituted serious involvement in the criminal scheme.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Anthony Mackey's conviction for felon-in-possession, rejecting his claims that prosecutorial misconduct occurred and that the federal statute is unconstitutional. The court held that the government's closing arguments were reasonable inferences from the evidence and that binding precedent continues to uphold the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a prisoner's motion for compassionate release, ruling that the sentencing court lacked authority to reduce a sentence that had already been fully served. The court clarified that when consecutive sentences are imposed at different times for unrelated crimes, the first sentence commences upon imposition, not upon the completion of a subsequent sentence.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's findings regarding most supervised release violations but vacated the sentence due to procedural errors in admitting hearsay evidence. The court remanded the case for a new revocation hearing that strictly adheres to the *Frazier* balancing test for confrontation rights.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Dustin Jones's convictions for drug trafficking and felon-in-possession, ruling that his anchored boat qualified as a vehicle under the Fourth Amendment. The court further held that officers had reasonable belief the suspect was inside to justify the arrest warrant execution and that the felon-in-possession statute remains constitutional as applied to non-violent felons.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of Patrick Hall's § 2255 motion, ruling that the district court did not violate the *Clisby* mandate by resolving his ineffective assistance claim in a single sentence. The appellate court found that the district court's reliance on credibility findings and the lack of prejudice established a sufficient record for meaningful review.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Jeffery Lee Fitzhugh's Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit, ruling that his administrative claim was filed more than two years after the incident and lacked the necessary facts for equitable tolling. The court also upheld the district court's denial of leave to file a second amended complaint because Fitzhugh failed to cure identified deficiencies despite prior opportunities.
