James Taylor

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RAFAEL SANCHEZ-DE LA ROSA

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.

DION KIRK HUMPHREY v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION; UNITED STATES BUREAU OF ALCOHOL TOBACCO FIREARMS & EXPLOSIVES

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. FRANCIS R. CASILDO

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.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ABEL AYALA-GARCIA

The Seventh Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant who sought to withdraw his guilty plea on direct appeal. The court held that the defendant failed to demonstrate his plea was involuntary or unintelligent despite his complaints about time pressure and counsel.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANTHONY E. IBEKIE

The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal on a wire fraud count, ruling that sufficient circumstantial evidence supported the conviction despite the victim's failure to testify. The court held that evidence linking the defendant to a shell company and his use of an alias was enough for a jury to infer intent and the use of interstate wires in the fraud scheme.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DERRELL D. ROMAN

The Eleventh Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw from a direct criminal appeal after an independent review found no arguable issues of merit. The court affirmed the defendant's convictions and sentences, concluding that the appeal lacked legal substance.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. PHILIP HENRY HOUK

The Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a magistrate judge's order finding the defendant incompetent to stand trial. The court ruled that the order was not final because the defendant had filed a pending motion to vacate it in the district court.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CALEB PRINCE

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a federal sentence of 24 months for supervised release violations, ruling that the district court properly ordered it to run consecutively to an existing state sentence. The court held that federal judges retain broad discretion to select consecutive sentences and that the Sentencing Guidelines explicitly favor this approach for release violations.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL STANTON, JR

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Christopher Stanton Jr.'s convictions for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and as a convicted felon. The court rejected Stanton's novel Second Amendment challenge, ruling that binding precedent forecloses the argument regarding felon possession while the drug trafficking enhancement argument failed to meet the plain error standard.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ARTHUR GENE YOUNG

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Arthur Young's 168-month sentence for felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting all five sentencing enhancement challenges. The court held that the district court properly applied the Sentencing Guidelines and that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the danger Young posed to society.