Topic
Every decision we've filed under Habeas Corpus - Federal Prisoner (28 USC 2255).
The Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed the appeal because the petitioner failed to demonstrate that jurists of reason would find the district court's ruling debatable. The court held that the petitioner lacked the required state custody to maintain a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The Sixth Circuit vacated the district court's denial of a defendant's motion to withdraw a guilty plea, ruling that the sudden resignation of counsel due to pending disciplinary action created a presumption of ineffective assistance requiring an evidentiary hearing. The court held that the district court abused its discretion by relying solely on the plea colloquy without resolving factual disputes regarding the voluntariness of the plea.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal prisoner's motion to reopen as an unauthorized successive habeas petition. The court held that the filing sought relief on the merits and thus required pre-filing authorization under AEDPA.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights claim alleging that police officers violated victims' substantive due process rights by sharing child pornography images with an untrained auxiliary officer. The court held that no fundamental liberty interest exists under the Due Process Clause protecting against such disclosure during an ongoing criminal investigation.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Mackie James Walker, Jr. The court found the petition moot because the district court had recently denied relief on his underlying motions.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a substantive due process claim against law enforcement officers who shared child pornography images with an untrained auxiliary officer. The court held that no fundamental liberty interest exists in preventing the sharing of such images during an investigation, even when the recipient retains them without authority.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process claim against law enforcement officials. The court held that no fundamental liberty interest exists protecting minors from police sharing sexually explicit images with an untrained auxiliary officer during an investigation.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed this appeal sua sponte for lack of jurisdiction. The court found that the petitioner's notice of appeal was filed well past the statutory deadline.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of a new trial motion but vacated a sentence enhanced based on the defendant's status as a police officer. The court held that professional status is not a valid statutory factor for upward sentencing adjustments under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, ruling that challenges to sentencing guideline calculations must be brought via habeas corpus rather than compassionate release proceedings. The court held that the defendant's argument effectively attacked the validity of his plea agreement and sentence, which falls outside the scope of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).