Topic
Every decision we've filed under Mandatory Minimum.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the convictions and mandatory minimum sentence of Shabnam Dawn Pilisuk. The court also narrowed the scope of a supervised release condition to align with First Amendment protections.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant convicted of firearm possession by a felon, rejecting Second Amendment challenges and finding any procedural error regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement harmless.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, finding no abuse of discretion in the lower court's weighing of sentencing factors.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a restitution order of twenty-five thousand dollars imposed on a defendant convicted of possessing child pornography. The court held that binding precedent forecloses arguments that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments require jury findings for restitution amounts or disaggregation of victim losses.
The First Circuit affirmed the sex trafficking and obstruction convictions of Ricardo Middleton, rejecting challenges to expert testimony on trauma and memory. The court dismissed an ineffective assistance of counsel claim as premature, directing the defendant to raise it in a collateral proceeding.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a defendant's third motion for compassionate release. The court held that neither an unusually long sentence following a change in law nor the Bureau of Prisons' refusal to retroactively designate a state prison constituted extraordinary and compelling circumstances.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a 120-month mandatory minimum sentence imposed on Philip Anthony Maheia for a drug offense. The court held that the district court correctly applied a two-level aggravating-role enhancement, which precluded Maheia from receiving safety-valve relief.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed Glenn Wooden's conviction and sentence, rejecting his novel argument that the Controlled Substances Act criminalizes only specific optical isomers of methamphetamine. The court held that federal law prohibits all forms of the drug regardless of molecular composition, rendering the government's expert testimony on purity sufficient.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the drug conspiracy and possession convictions of Philip Beck, Florence Beck, and Joshua Martinez, rejecting challenges to the admission of evidence and sentencing determinations. The court held that inconsistencies in Florence Beck's post-arrest statements were credibility issues for the jury, not grounds for reversal, and that the district court properly applied Rule 404(b) and safety-valve standards.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of Philip Beck, Florence Beck, and Joshua Martinez in a drug conspiracy and possession case involving a five-pound shipment of methamphetamine.