Apr 24 2026
8th Cir. 25-1434 Panel Decision

United States of America v. Oscar Hudspeth, Sr

The Eighth Circuit affirmed Oscar Hudspeth's conviction for sex abuse in Indian country, ruling that excluding polygraph evidence did not violate his constitutional right to present a complete defense. The court held that while the defendant sought to explain his incriminating statements as reactions to a failed polygraph, the exclusion of the test results was proper and did not prevent him from presenting his overall defense strategy.

Apr 24 2026
1st Cir. 25-1146 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES v. RAHIM SHAFA

The First Circuit affirmed Rahim Shafa's convictions for money laundering and drug offenses but vacated his sentence for misdemeanor misbranding due to the District Court's failure to clarify why the fraud guideline applied. The court remanded the case for resentencing on that specific count to resolve ambiguities regarding the acquitted-conduct amendment.

Apr 24 2026
5th Cir. 25-50866 Per Curiam

United States v. Marquez

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, finding the district court properly exercised its discretion. The appellate court also issued a stern warning regarding the appellant's submission of fabricated case law and misquotes in his brief.

Apr 24 2026
5th Cir. 25-50136 Per Curiam

United States v. Vaughn

The Fifth Circuit affirmed Vickiel Vincent Vaughn's conviction and sentence for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, ruling that text messages used as evidence were non-testimonial under the Confrontation Clause. The court further held that the district court did not commit plain error by failing to make individualized sentencing findings for a within-Guidelines sentence.

Apr 24 2026
4th Cir. 24-4266 Per Curiam

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KHRIY SHERROD SIMON

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Khriy Sherrod Simon's conviction for impersonating a federal agent, ruling that a rational jury could find he claimed to be a DEA agent to detain and search victims. The court also held that any error in excluding hearsay testimony regarding Simon's bail enforcement work was harmless given the overwhelming evidence of his federal impersonation.

Apr 23 2026
10th Cir. 1:20-CV-00612-RB-DLM Panel Decision

Vasquez v. Jones, et al.

The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment supervisory liability claim against the Secretary of Corrections. The court held that generalized allegations of understaffing and poor training were insufficient to prove the official knew or should have known these conditions would specifically cause the plaintiff's injuries.