Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a twenty-four-month prison sentence imposed upon revocation of supervised release. The court held that the district court did not commit plain error by failing to provide a specific oral justification for an upward variance and did not abuse its discretion in imposing a substantively unreasonable sentence.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's sentence for illegal reentry and the consecutive term of supervised release. The court found no plain error in the district court's explanation of its sentencing decision.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after a felony conviction. The court rejected the defendant's arguments regarding sentencing guidelines and constitutional challenges to the statute.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed on Edgar Julian Antunez-Perez for illegal reentry and the consecutive term following supervised release revocation. The court found no plain error in the district court's explanation for consecutive sentences or its imposition of supervised release on a deportable alien.
The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court denial of a preliminary injunction, ruling that a school board president violated the First Amendment by silencing a speaker. The court found the board engaged in viewpoint discrimination and ratified a heckler's veto by cutting off the speaker's microphone in response to crowd hostility.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a conviction for threatening a federal official, finding sufficient evidence that a voicemail constituted a true threat. The court also held that the district court's jury instructions on the required mental state were not plainly erroneous.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the Smiths' convictions and Amanda Smith's sentence, but vacated Joel Smith's sentence and remanded for resentencing. The court held that the aggravated-assault guideline was sufficiently analogous to Joel Smith's Oklahoma child-abuse-by-injury conviction and that the district court's contrary ruling was procedural error.
The Seventh Circuit vacated Frank Washington the Third's seventy-month felon-in-possession sentence on procedural grounds. The court held that the district court did not adequately explain why that sentence was appropriate under the defendant's individual circumstances.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the sentence of Joel Smith due to a procedural error in calculating his sentencing guidelines range. The court affirmed the convictions of both Joel Smith and his wife, Amanda Smith, while remanding for resentencing on the child abuse count.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal without prejudice of a pro se amended complaint as a shotgun pleading. The court also denied a motion to supplement the record and for judicial notice of an F.B.I. response letter.