Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction of a convicted felon for possession of a firearm, rejecting his constitutional challenges to the federal statute. The court held that binding precedent foreclosed the defendant's Second Amendment claim and that he had conceded his Commerce Clause argument.
The Third Circuit affirmed Bryan Doreian's conviction and sentence for filing false tax returns, ruling that his appellate waiver in the plea agreement was valid and enforceable. The court rejected Doreian's arguments that the agreement lacked consideration or would cause a miscarriage of justice, noting the government provided valuable benefits in exchange for his guilty plea.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Richard Price's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting his Second Amendment challenge to the indictment. The court further held that Price's prior Arkansas convictions properly supported an enhanced base offense level under the sentencing guidelines.
The Sixth Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a felon-in-possession indictment because the lower court applied an incorrect legal standard for Second Amendment challenges. The appellate court instructed the district court to reconsider the motion under the current framework established in United States v. Williams.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed Adam Power's conviction and sixty-year sentence for thirty-four counts of child pornography offenses. The court rejected claims that the district court lacked a factual basis for the pleas and found the sentence substantively reasonable given the heinous nature of the crimes.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Fritz Lafontante's motion for compassionate release, ruling that the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) weighed against early release. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in prioritizing the seriousness of Lafontante's drug trafficking offense and the need for public safety over his medical conditions.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a defendant's motion to dismiss his criminal indictment for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Court held that the case was no longer pending for jurisdictional challenges because the mandate had already issued following the defendant's direct appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw from representing the defendant in a direct criminal appeal. The court affirmed the district court's judgment after an independent review found no arguable issues of merit.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a defendant's sentence, ruling that supervised release conditions requiring full-time employment, polygraph testing, and no contact with minors were not substantively unreasonable. The court clarified that such conditions need only be reasonably related to statutory factors rather than supported by each factor individually.
The First Circuit affirmed the federal convictions of three defendants for RICO and drug conspiracy, rejecting challenges to the admission of hearsay statements made by coconspirators. The court held that the district court properly found the statements were made during and in furtherance of the conspiracy, or that any error in their admission was harmless given the overwhelming evidence of guilt.