Topic

Criminal

Every decision we've filed under Criminal.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LINWOOD DOUGLAS THORNE

The D.C. Circuit affirmed Linwood Thorne's convictions for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, ruling that law enforcement's good-faith reliance on a cell-site-simulator warrant precluded suppression of evidence. The court declined to decide whether the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction under Rule 41(b), holding instead that the officers' reasonable reliance on the warrant shielded the evidence from the exclusionary rule.

Criminal Drug Trafficking

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Mar 17 2026

4th Cir. 25-6762 Per Curiam

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MICHAEL JEROME ORR

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Michael Jerome Orr's motion for compassionate release, finding no abuse of discretion. The appellate court upheld the lower court's decision to deny relief after weighing the statutory sentencing factors, even though it previously acknowledged Orr met the threshold for extraordinary and compelling reasons.

Compassionate Release Criminal

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Mar 17 2026

11th Cir. 1:23-cr-20350-JEM-1 Per Curiam

United States v. Johanna Michely Garcia

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 240-month sentence for a defendant who orchestrated a $200 million Ponzi scheme, rejecting claims of sentencing guideline miscalculation and substantive unreasonableness. The court held that any potential error in applying victim enhancements was harmless because the statutory maximum sentence remained the same regardless.

Criminal Fraud Sentencing Guidelines

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Mar 17 2026

10th Cir. 1:21-CV-01222-KG-JMR Panel Decision

Salcido v. City of Las Vegas

The Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for law enforcement officers in a wrongful death case, ruling that their failure to intervene during a deadly standoff did not violate the victim's constitutional rights. The court held that the officers were not liable under federal civil rights law or state tort law because they did not create the danger and were physically prevented from acting by the shooter's active fire.

Criminal Qualified Immunity Sex Offenses

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Mar 17 2026

11th Cir. 1:19-cr-00157-JB-MU-1 Per Curiam

United States v. Coleman

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 24-month prison sentence imposed after the revocation of William Coleman's supervised release. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding that Coleman possessed a firearm during a shoplifting incident, despite conflicting witness testimony and low-quality video evidence.

Criminal Supervised Release

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Mar 17 2026

10th Cir. 1:24-CR-00112-PAB-1) Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KYLEAR WILLIAMS

The Tenth Circuit reversed a conviction, ruling that the Fourth Amendment does not permit a protective sweep of a vehicle based solely on a passenger's romantic relationship with an arrested driver. The court held that the government's reliance on this association constituted an impermissible criminality-by-association test rather than a valid totality-of-circumstances analysis for reasonable suspicion.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Fifth Amendment - Self-Incrimination Fourth Amendment - Search & Seizure

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Mar 17 2026

11th Cir. 6:23-cv-02471-JSS-LHP Per Curiam

Serian v. JetBlue Airways Corp.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for JetBlue Airways, holding that the plaintiff's ADA disability discrimination claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The court ruled that the denial of a mask accommodation in 2020 was a discrete act that started the clock, and the plaintiff's subsequent actions in 2022 did not restart the filing deadline.

Criminal Money Laundering Statute of Limitations Summary Judgment

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Mar 17 2026

5th Cir. 25-10868 Per Curiam

United States v. Sanchez

The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representing Berenice Sanchez after determining the appeal raised no nonfrivolous issues. The court dismissed the criminal appeal in accordance with the standards set forth in Anders v. California.

Anders Brief Criminal

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Mar 17 2026

11th Cir. 4:17-cr-00029-MW-MAF-1 Per Curiam

United States v. Walker

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the revocation of Elliot Walker's supervised release and his 36-month sentence, holding that circumstantial evidence was sufficient to prove he possessed fentanyl with intent to distribute. The court further ruled that any potential error in admitting hearsay testimony was harmless and that the district court did not plainly err by failing to exclude retributive factors from its sentencing reasoning.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Supervised Release

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Mar 17 2026

5th Cir. 25-10935 Per Curiam

United States v. Rubio-Castillo

The Fifth Circuit granted the government's unopposed motion for summary affirmance, rejecting an appellant's first-time constitutional challenges to a federal firearms statute. The court affirmed the conviction and sentence without addressing the merits of the Second Amendment or Commerce Clause arguments.

Criminal Firearms

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