Topic
Every decision we've filed under Guidelines Departure.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict awarding compensatory damages and attorney fees to an employee who suffered severe sexual harassment. The court rejected the employer's arguments that the damages were unsupported by evidence or that the fee award was excessive.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict awarding a former employee compensatory damages and back pay for a hostile work environment. The court rejected the employer's arguments that the damages were unsupported by evidence or that the attorney fees were excessive.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a fraud conviction and sentence for a defendant who orchestrated a prison-based phone scam targeting medical professionals. The court rejected challenges to sentencing enhancements for sophisticated means and the defendant's leadership role in the conspiracy.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging the reasonableness of a below-guideline sentence. The court held that the defendant had knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal in his plea agreement.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a defendant challenging his sentence for drug conspiracy and money laundering. The court held that the defendant had knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal under his plea agreement, and none of the waiver's exceptions applied to his claims.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a 96-month sentence for a felon in possession of a firearm, rejecting claims that the district court committed procedural errors by departing from sentencing guidelines. The court held that judges are not required to incrementally move through criminal history categories and that such factors are properly considered within the ultimate reasonableness analysis.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of Joseph Bourabah's motions to substitute counsel and withdraw his guilty plea, finding no abuse of discretion in the district court's handling of the requests. The court upheld a 100-month sentence for a severe cyberstalking campaign, ruling that the district court properly applied upward departures for the extreme psychological injury inflicted on the victims.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion for sentence reduction, holding that Amendment 821 did not apply to a defendant whose original sentence included an upward departure based on specific conduct. The court found the district court properly weighed sentencing factors, concluding that the severity of the armed robbery and victim impact outweighed claims of rehabilitation.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a motion for sentence reduction filed by a defendant convicted of armed bank robbery. The court held that the district court properly weighed sentencing factors and did not abuse its discretion in maintaining an upward variance based on the use of a weapon.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a forty-eight-month prison sentence for a defendant convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion by imposing an upward variance based on the defendant's defiance of federal court orders and his central role in a large-scale tax fraud scheme.