Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Eleventh Circuit remanded a civil case to the district court to determine if diversity jurisdiction existed at the time of removal. The appellate court found the defendants failed to provide admissible evidence establishing the citizenship of the limited liability company.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to withdraw counsel and dismissed an appeal filed by Patrick Javon Hardy. The court found the appointed attorney's Anders brief demonstrated that the appeal presented no nonfrivolous issues for review.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a criminal sentence despite a challenge to the denial of a sentencing reduction. The court held that any error in declining the reduction was harmless because the district court would have imposed the same sentence regardless.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress methamphetamine found during a pat-down search. The court vacated the defendant's sentence and remanded the case for resentencing due to an erroneous application of the career-offender enhancement.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights action brought by a pro se appellant challenging a probation revocation. The court held that the named defendants were protected by absolute immunity and that the appellant failed to adequately brief his claims.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a drug and firearm conviction where the district court applied a sentencing enhancement for maintaining a premises for distribution. The court held that the evidence supported the enhancement despite minor factual inaccuracies in the district court's reasoning.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a sentence of one hundred eighty months in prison for a defendant convicted of receiving and distributing child pornography. The court rejected arguments regarding a sentencing enhancement and the substantive reasonableness of the term.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court's decision to revoke supervised release and impose an eighteen-month prison sentence. The appellate court held that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in weighing the defendant's history of sexual assault against her continued drug trafficking.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a twenty-three-month sentence for drug distribution. The court rejected the defendant's claim that the district court acted unreasonably by considering his deportation status.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal regarding a habeas corpus petition. The court denied a certificate of appealability because the petitioner failed to show that the district court's procedural ruling was debatable.
