Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a drug trafficking conviction, ruling that the government acted in good faith when using a cell-site simulator warrant authorized under the Pen Register Act. The court also held that specific drug quantities are sentencing factors rather than elements of the crime, so juries need not find them to convict.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a 480-month sentence for drug distribution offenses, ruling that any error in classifying protonitazene as fentanyl under the Sentencing Guidelines was harmless. The court held that the district court explicitly stated it would have imposed the same sentence regardless of the drug classification and that the sentence remained substantively reasonable.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's Section 1983 complaint, holding that private contractors monitoring inmate calls did not engage in unconstitutional retaliation. The court found that the reporting of a call discussing a prison murder did not deter a prisoner of ordinary firmness from filing consumer complaints.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Charlie Holley's convictions for assaulting a federal employee and firearm offenses, rejecting challenges to the admission of body-worn camera footage and a 911 call. The court also upheld the 192-month sentence, finding the district court properly considered Holley's mental health history under the sentencing guidelines.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an errata sheet to correct the caption and clarify the representation of the government in a criminal appeal. The amendment clarifies that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico litigated the case while an attorney from the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice presented the appeal.
The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an employment discrimination lawsuit after finding the plaintiff committed witness tampering on the eve of trial. The court held that conditioning a custody agreement on a witness's refusal to testify constituted a fraud on the court warranting the severe sanction of dismissal.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Myelicia Rodgers' conviction for mail tampering and theft, ruling that the district judge did not impermissibly draw an adverse inference from her decision not to testify. The court held that the judge's neutral reference to the lack of testimony merely explained that the prosecution's evidence remained uncontradicted, rather than punishing Rodgers for exercising her Fifth Amendment right.
The First Circuit affirmed Hassan Abbas's 87-month sentence and restitution order, rejecting his claims of procedural error in sentencing calculations. The court held that the district judge correctly applied the Sentencing Guidelines and acted within discretion given Abbas's history of fraud.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a defendant's sentence, ruling that an attempt to commit New York second-degree robbery qualifies as a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines. This decision relies on a 2023 amendment that explicitly includes inchoate offenses within the definition of a crime of violence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the conviction of Willie Richard Minor for possessing a firearm after a prior misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, rejecting Second Amendment challenges and upholding the exclusion of evidence regarding his subjective belief about firearm possession rights.