Topic
Every decision we've filed under Criminal.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed a criminal appeal as moot because the defendant had been released from custody and completed any term of supervised release. The court granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw under Anders v. California while resolving the appeal.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed Daniel Thomason Smith's appeal as frivolous because he had not yet served the ten-year minimum sentence required for compassionate release under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(6). The court further held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying relief based on the nature of the offenses and the defendant's criminal history.
The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representing the defendant on appeal. The court dismissed the criminal appeal after concluding the record contained no nonfrivolous issues for review.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a 114-month prison sentence for a convicted felon convicted of conspiracy to provide a firearm and possession of a firearm. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by ordering consecutive sentences despite probation recommendations for concurrent terms.
The Fifth Circuit granted the government's motion for summary affirmance, rejecting a constitutional challenge to the sentencing enhancement for illegal reentry. The court held that the appellant's argument is foreclosed by the Supreme Court's decision in Almendarez-Torres v. United States.
The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representing Jesus Cristo Lopez after finding no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. The court dismissed the defendant's criminal appeal in accordance with the Anders procedure.
The First Circuit affirmed Jacob Parlin's conviction for drug distribution and conspiracy, ruling that any error in admitting a police officer's lay testimony regarding drug quantities was harmless. The court held that wiretapped conversations and the sheer volume of methamphetamine provided sufficient evidence of intent to distribute independent of the officer's testimony.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed Vijaya Shetty's conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, finding no plain error in the district court's acceptance of his guilty plea. The court held that Shetty failed to demonstrate that his plea was not knowing, intelligent, or voluntary despite his claims of misunderstanding and duress.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the convictions of Tevye Jones for drug trafficking and firearm offenses, rejecting claims that jury misconduct and evidence handling errors warranted a new trial. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion when replacing a juror who refused to follow the law and found the government's evidence of possession sufficient despite administrative discrepancies.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 144-month prison sentence for drug trafficking and felon-in-possession offenses, rejecting the defendant's claim that the sentence was substantively unreasonable. The court held that the district court properly weighed the defendant's extensive history of domestic violence and drug recidivism under the abuse-of-discretion standard.