Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
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 petition for a writ of error coram nobis filed by a former federal prisoner. The court held that the petitioner failed to provide sound reasons for delaying his claims for over thirty years.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction of a defendant for possessing a firearm after a felony conviction. The court held that the defendant's constitutional challenges to the federal statute were foreclosed by existing circuit precedent.
The Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court injunction that had halted a Florida statute requiring bond money to pay criminal fines. The appellate court held that the nonprofit bail fund lacked third-party standing to assert the Eighth Amendment excessive bail rights of its future clients.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a revocation sentence for supervised release, finding no abuse of discretion in the district court's application of sentencing factors. The court also granted the defendant's counsel's motion to withdraw from the appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a conviction for escape from federal custody where state officials erroneously released the defendant. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to prove the defendant knew he was leaving confinement without permission.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the convictions of Kelvin Elias-Ramirez for human smuggling and conspiracy. The court held that any evidentiary errors regarding witness testimony and business records were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that district courts possess inherent authority to set and enforce deadlines for the government to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The court further ruled that territorial offenses from the Virgin Islands qualify as predicate crimes of violence under federal firearm statutes.
The Ninth Circuit held that the Tax Injunction Act deprived the district court of subject matter jurisdiction over a challenge to Anchorage tax policies. The court affirmed the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and vacated the dismissal on the merits, remanding with instructions to dismiss without prejudice.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing the defendant's medical conditions against the seriousness of her criminal conduct.
