Topic
Every decision we've filed under Sentencing Guidelines.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Xavier Holley's 40-year sentence for a failed pawn shop robbery that resulted in a clerk's death. The court rejected Holley's challenges regarding sentencing guidelines grouping, consecutive sentence authority, and ineffective assistance of counsel.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court order allowing the involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication to a defendant found incompetent to stand trial. The court held that the government met its burden under the Sell standard by showing that medication was medically appropriate and necessary to restore the defendant's competency.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a sentence of eighty-seven months for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court also remanded the case to correct a clerical error in the judgment that incorrectly cited the Armed Career Criminal Act.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 180-month sentence for attempted coercion of a minor, ruling that the district court did not commit plain error by failing to expressly recite the Sentencing Guideline range. The court held that judges retain discretion to weigh statutory factors and are not required to explicitly discuss each factor or the specific guideline calculation on the record.
The Eleventh Circuit vacated Jason Edward Lopez's sentence because the district court miscalculated his advisory guideline range by applying only a one-level acceptance-of-responsibility reduction when he was entitled to two. The court held that this miscalculation was reversible error rather than harmless because the district court failed to clearly state it would have imposed the same sentence regardless of the error.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed Douglas Wilmurth's federal conviction and sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court plainly erred in ordering his term consecutive to undischarged state imprisonment. The court further held that the written judgment's search condition for supervised release was substantially identical to the oral pronouncement, leaving no discrepancy to correct.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Willie Junior Lilly's conviction and sentence, holding that his Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is foreclosed by binding circuit precedent. The court further rejected his sentencing argument, ruling that the district court correctly applied the Sentencing Guidelines to count his prior drug convictions.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed convictions under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, holding that binding precedent forecloses constitutional challenges regarding the statute's validity and the lack of a U.S. nexus. The court further ruled that recent Sentencing Guidelines amendments are substantive and do not apply retroactively to alter the defendants' sentences.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentence of Hector Caballero for drug trafficking aboard a vessel. The court rejected constitutional challenges to the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and upheld the district court's application of a captain role enhancement under the sentencing guidelines.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 42-month prison sentence for a federal inmate who stabbed a fellow prisoner with a shank, rejecting claims that the sentence was unreasonably high. The court held that the district judge properly weighed the statutory factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and the Guidelines' recommendation of ten to sixteen months against the defendant's violent conduct.