Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a conviction and sentence for a defendant who pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy. The court held that the plea was knowing and voluntary and that the defendant waived his right to appeal the denial of his motion to withdraw the plea.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by Jerry Simpson challenging the timeliness of his habeas corpus petition. The court denied a certificate of appealability because the petitioner failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order reimposing a sentence after granting a motion for reconsideration of a compassionate release. The appellate court held that a defendant's youth at the time of the offense and rehabilitation while in custody do not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for release.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied a petitioner's amended motion to reconsider a prior dismissal. The court found it lacked jurisdiction over the underlying district court judgment.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a defendant's supervised release revocation and sentence. The court rejected the defendant's claims that the sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a career-criminal sentence enhancement despite the defendant's claim that prior convictions were invalid due to the lack of an interpreter. The court held that the absence of an interpreter does not constitute a complete denial of counsel and is therefore barred as a collateral attack under Supreme Court precedent.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a state prisoner's habeas corpus petition. The court held that the state court's application of the custody test for Miranda warnings and the voluntariness of the defendant's statements was not objectively unreasonable.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to a federal prisoner challenging his sentence. The court found that the prisoner failed to show that reasonable jurists could debate the district court's ruling on his constitutional claims.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions of three defendants involved with a criminal organization known as Killers with Aggression. The court rejected challenges regarding jury instructions on firearms charges and the sufficiency of evidence for a RICO conviction.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion for compassionate release filed by a defendant convicted of firebombing. The court held that the defendant's youth at the time of the offense and his rehabilitation while incarcerated did not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence reduction.
