Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by David Lozano-Cardenas due to a lack of jurisdiction. The court found that the district court had not entered a final order regarding a sentence reduction that could be appealed.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict finding that a commercial tenant and its newly formed subsidiary were alter egos engaged in a fraudulent conveyance to evade lease obligations. The court held that the subsidiary was not a bona fide third party and that the assignment violated the lease agreement and Maryland law.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a felon-in-possession sentence where the district court applied a sentencing enhancement for using a firearm in connection with drug trafficking. The court held that the factual finding of a connection between the firearm and drug sales was not clearly erroneous.
The Fifth Circuit summarily affirmed Francisco Rodriguez-Saldana's illegal-reentry conviction and sentence. The court held that his constitutional challenge to the Section 1326(b) sentencing enhancement is foreclosed by existing Supreme Court and circuit precedent.
The Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability in a state-prisoner habeas case dismissed as untimely. The court held that the petition was filed years after the federal one-year deadline and that neither statutory nor equitable tolling made the timeliness ruling reasonably debatable.
The Eighth Circuit dismissed Walter Thornton's challenge to his revocation sentence as moot because he had already been released from custody. The court nonetheless modified the written revocation judgment to match the district court's oral pronouncement.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the Smiths' convictions and Amanda Smith's sentence, but vacated Joel Smith's sentence and remanded for resentencing. The court held that the aggravated-assault guideline was sufficiently analogous to Joel Smith's Oklahoma child-abuse-by-injury conviction and that the district court's contrary ruling was procedural error.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Rayford Evans's conviction for attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. The court held that exigent circumstances justified the warrantless seizure of his phone and that the trial evidence was sufficient to support the verdict.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the sentence of Joel Smith due to a procedural error in calculating his sentencing guidelines range. The court affirmed the convictions of both Joel Smith and his wife, Amanda Smith, while remanding for resentencing on the child abuse count.
The Eighth Circuit rejected a facial Second Amendment challenge to the federal ban on firearm possession by unlawful drug users. The panel said existing circuit precedent controls and affirmed the district court's judgment.
