Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the defendant's sentence for drug and firearm offenses, finding no substantive unreasonableness under an abuse of discretion standard. The court independently reviewed the record and found no non-frivolous issues to support the appeal, granting counsel leave to withdraw.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of three defendants involved in a methamphetamine conspiracy.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon. The court found no meritorious grounds for appeal and upheld the district court's determination that the sentence was substantively reasonable.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a felon-in-possession sentence but vacated part of the judgment due to a discrepancy between the oral pronouncement and written judgment. The court held that the realistic probability test remains applicable to state drug convictions despite recent Supreme Court rulings.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed on Melvin Navarro Morgan for drug and firearm offenses. The court granted counsel leave to withdraw after finding no non-frivolous issues for appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the drug conspiracy and possession convictions of Philip Beck, Florence Beck, and Joshua Martinez, rejecting challenges to evidence admission and sentencing. The court held that the defendants' confrontation and evidentiary objections were either unpreserved or lacked merit under controlling precedent.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Corey Deandra Thomas's substantive sentence, ruling that the district court did not abuse its discretion by imposing an upward variance. The appellate court found the judge properly weighed all statutory sentencing factors through an individualized assessment of the offense and the defendant's history.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a sentence for bank fraud conspiracy where the district court applied vulnerable victim enhancements. The appellate court found the lower court's determination that older bank customers were unusually vulnerable was not clearly erroneous.
The Fifth Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw, finding no nonfrivolous issues for direct appeal. However, the court dismissed the appeal without prejudice because the record was insufficient to fairly evaluate the defendant's ineffective assistance claims.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a 48-month above-guidelines sentence for a defendant who facilitated a straw purchase that led to the death of a police officer. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion to reject the standard sentencing guidelines for straw purchasers based on the specific, violent consequences of the defendant's conduct.