Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Eighth Circuit dismissed the appeal because the defendant's valid plea agreement waived her right to challenge the sentence. The court further held that she could not challenge the voluntariness of her guilty plea on direct appeal without first moving to withdraw the plea in the district court.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's revocation of Cody Ray Leveke's supervised release and its imposition of a within-Guidelines prison term. The court held that the lower court did not clearly err in finding a mental health treatment violation and did not abuse its discretion in weighing sentencing factors.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), ruling that the federal ban on firearm possession by domestic violence misdemeanants is constitutional under the Second Amendment. The court held that the statute aligns with historical traditions of disarming dangerous classes and does not require individualized findings of future dangerousness for each offender.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed an above-Guidelines sentence for a child pornography offense, rejecting the defendant's claim that the district court abused its discretion. The court held that the district judge properly prioritized its own past sentencing practices and the defendant's individual circumstances over general Judicial Sentencing Information data.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Jalen Craig McMillan's convictions for bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The court rejected McMillan's challenges to the admission of non-expert witness testimony and the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal, finding no reversible error.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed Tayseer Yousef's conviction and 109-month sentence for interstate transportation of stolen goods and conspiracy. The court held that Yousef was accountable for the armed robberies committed by his coconspirators because the violence was within the scope of their jointly undertaken criminal activity.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a 60-month prison sentence for a defendant convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, rejecting claims that the district court erred in denying a mitigating role reduction. The court further held that the within-guidelines sentence was substantively reasonable and that general arguments regarding deterrence or historical disparities were insufficient to warrant reversal.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of a sentence reduction for a defendant whose criminal history category was lowered by a Sentencing Guidelines amendment. The court held that a statutory mandatory minimum sentence prevented any further reduction of the term already being served.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a 360-month sentence for child pornography production, ruling that the defendant failed to prove the government's gender-based comments at sentencing constituted plain or structural error. The court held that the district court's reliance on the nature of the crime and abuse of trust, rather than the defendant's sex, meant the defendant's substantial rights were not affected.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of Alvis Damon Williams's third motion for compassionate release and his request for a sentence reduction under Amendment 821. The court found no abuse of discretion in the district court's determination that Williams failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling reasons for release and that statutory mandatory minimums precluded a sentence reduction.