Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed consecutive sentences for federal escape and supervised release revocation, finding the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing sentencing factors. The court also granted counsel's motion to withdraw after an independent review found no non-frivolous issues for appeal.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed an 18-month prison sentence imposed after revoking Macy Renee Patterson's supervised release. The court held the sentence was substantively reasonable because the district court properly weighed sentencing factors without clear error.
The Eighth Circuit certified a novel question of law to the Minnesota Supreme Court regarding whether Amazon is strictly liable for defective products sold by third parties under its Fulfillment by Amazon program. The court determined that state law requires the highest state court to resolve this issue rather than allowing the federal court to make an Erie guess.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Damion Hallmon's conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition, rejecting his challenges to the traffic stop, the search of his vehicle, and the exclusion of jail call evidence. The court held that the officers had probable cause for the stop and search, that Hallmon was not in custody during his initial statements, and that the evidence sufficiently proved the ammunition traveled in interstate commerce.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the conviction of a defendant accused of sexually abusing a child in Indian country. The court held that excluding polygraph test references from an FBI interview did not violate the defendant's right to present a complete defense.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an as-applied First Amendment challenge to Iowa's trespass-surveillance statute, ruling that the law is narrowly tailored to protect private property rights. The court held that property owners who request a trespasser to leave implicitly retain the right to prohibit recording on their premises, even if they do not explicitly demand the cessation of filming.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Matthew Keirans's 144-month prison sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court abused its discretion by weighing the unique harm of his identity theft. The court held that the lower court properly imposed special conditions of supervised release based on Keirans's decades-long pattern of deception and history of mental health and substance abuse issues.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of a motion to reopen removal proceedings and a motion to remand based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The court held that the motion to reopen was properly denied as speculative due to the lack of a USCIS Notice of Action at the time of filing, and that the petitioner failed to demonstrate prejudice from alleged counsel delays.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed on Gerardo Morales-Ramirez for illegal reentry as a felon. The court found no abuse of discretion in the district court's sentencing decision.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court order denying a request for an accounting and approving the sale of trust property. The court found no basis for reversal after reviewing the record and the parties' arguments.