Correspondent
Capitol Hill correspondent, covers legislative and political stories.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of three defendants involved in a large-scale credit card fraud scheme. The court rejected challenges regarding evidence sufficiency, the reasonableness of sentences, and a sentencing enhancement for managerial roles.
The Eleventh Circuit summarily affirmed Tavio McNeary's conviction for felon-in-possession, rejecting his challenge to the sentencing enhancement based on a prior marijuana conviction. The court held that binding precedent requires applying state law to define a controlled substance offense, even when the substance is no longer controlled under federal law.
The Eleventh Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw from representing Davey Green after an independent review found no arguable issues of merit in his appeal. Consequently, the court affirmed Green's conviction and sentence for distributing a controlled substance without addressing specific legal arguments.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of Leoncio Perez's motion for compassionate release, ruling that his advanced age and medical conditions did not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence reduction. The court held that the district court properly weighed the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and found Perez's history and the nature of his offenses precluded leniency.
The Eleventh Circuit lacks jurisdiction to review a district court's order remanding a case to state court when the removal was not based on federal officer or civil rights statutes. The court granted the motion to dismiss the appeal regarding the May 14 remand order but carried the jurisdictional issue regarding the June 11 reconsideration denial forward for the merits panel.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed Fei Xie's conviction and 120-month sentence, ruling that the district court properly admitted witness testimony and an organizational chart under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The court further held that Xie's role in financing and managing the drug trafficking organization justified the application of the organizer/leader sentencing enhancement.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the denial of Deenvaughn Rowe's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, ruling that he failed to prove prejudice under the Strickland standard. The court held that even if trial counsel had pursued additional witnesses or investigated further, the overwhelming evidence of Rowe's guilt would likely have resulted in the same conviction.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 46-month prison sentence for illegal reentry after removal, rejecting arguments that a sentencing enhancement for a post-removal DUI was applied in error. The court held that the enhancement was proper under the Sentencing Guidelines and that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the defendant's history of impaired driving.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a federal prisoner's habeas motion, excusing procedural default due to ineffective assistance of counsel. The panel held that the defendant's prior Nevada conviction was not a qualifying controlled substance offense under the Sentencing Guidelines, necessitating resentencing without the career offender enhancement.
