Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Lorenzo Taylor Jr.'s appeal from a denial of compassionate release because the notice of appeal was filed after the strict 14-day deadline. Although the court initially treated the filing as a motion for an extension of time, the district court's subsequent denial of that motion rendered the appeal procedurally barred.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Lawrence Alexander's conviction for making false statements to Medicare but vacated his restitution order due to insufficient evidence of actual loss. The court held that while the false statement was material to the enrollment process, the government failed to prove that Medicare specifically relied on the 2019 form to pay the claims at issue.
The Fifth Circuit denied the petition for rehearing en banc, affirming that it remains bound by Supreme Court precedent allowing sentencing courts to consider conduct for which a defendant was acquitted. While the court expressed deep concern regarding the constitutional and fairness implications of this practice, it concluded that the specific facts of this case did not warrant a departure from binding authority.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the armed robbery convictions of Fredrick Eugene Carney and William John Ewing, rejecting challenges to the denial of severance, the admission of other-acts evidence, and the sufficiency of the evidence for a firearms conviction. The court also upheld the denial of Carney's motion to suppress, finding he lacked standing to challenge the seizure of his vehicle from a third party's residence.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the revocation of Maurice Bell's supervised release, ruling that the district court did not commit plain error by relying on public safety considerations. The court found the sentencing factors applied were permissible under the law.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a firearms trafficking sentencing enhancement, holding that the defendant need only have reason to believe the transferee was an unlawful possessor, not that the transferee was actually unlawful. The court rejected arguments relying on other criminal statutes, emphasizing that the plain text of the Sentencing Guidelines focuses on the defendant's subjective belief.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a 120-month sentence for firearm possession by a felon, ruling that any error in calculating the Sentencing Guidelines was harmless. The court held that the district court would have imposed the same sentence regardless of the Guidelines calculation and that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the defendant's conduct.
The Eleventh Circuit vacated an 18-month sentence because the district court failed to provide a specific explanation for imposing a significant upward variance from the Sentencing Guidelines. The court held that when a judge departs from the agreed-upon guidelines range, they must articulate the specific reasons for that departure on the record.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Anthony Ray Lawrence's conviction for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. The court held that under binding precedent, a jury is not required to unanimously agree on which specific underlying state offense supported the conviction when multiple predicate offenses are alleged.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Paul E. Senat's appeal from the denial of his compassionate release motion because his notice of appeal was filed more than a year after the district court's order. The court held that the filing exceeded the strict 14-day deadline under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and did not qualify for an extension of time.