Topic
Every decision we've filed under Supervised Release.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the procedural reasonableness of Curtis J. Phillips's 360-month sentence, rejecting his challenges to drug weight calculations and firearm enhancements. The court held that the district court's findings were supported by a preponderance of the evidence and were not clearly erroneous.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Matthew Keirans's 144-month prison sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court abused its discretion by weighing the unique harm of his identity theft. The court held that the lower court properly imposed special conditions of supervised release based on Keirans's decades-long pattern of deception and history of mental health and substance abuse issues.
The Eleventh Circuit held that while a district judge erred by determining ACCA predicate offenses occurred on different occasions without a jury, the mistake was harmless. The court affirmed the sentence because the eighteen-year gaps between crimes made it inconceivable a jury would have reached a different conclusion.
The Eleventh Circuit held that while a judge's determination of ACCA predicate offenses violated the defendant's right to a jury trial under Erlinger, the error was harmless. The court affirmed the sentence because the eighteen-year gaps between the crimes made it impossible for them to have occurred on the same occasion.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the revocation of Gregory Largent's supervised release and his 18-month prison sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court erred by modifying a contact condition without a separate hearing. The court held that Largent failed to demonstrate plain error, as he had counsel and an opportunity to present evidence during the proceeding.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Saleem Naazir Hakim's tax convictions, ruling that admitting probation testimony did not violate his Fifth Amendment rights. The court found no plain error because Hakim failed to unambiguously invoke his privilege against self-incrimination and the government demonstrated its evidence derived from independent sources.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Maxon Alsenat's conviction for possessing a machinegun conversion device, ruling that such weapons fall outside Second Amendment protection. The court held that machineguns are dangerous and unusual weapons not in common use for lawful purposes.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed Adam Joseph King's conviction for sexual offenses in Indian Country, ruling that the evidence was sufficient to prove the victim's Indian status and the defendant's non-Indian status. The court further held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by allowing alternate charges under two different federal statutes, provided the jury was instructed to convict on only one theory.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a defendant's resentencing, rejecting her claim that the increased sentence resulted from judicial vindictiveness. The court held that because a different judge imposed the new sentence, the presumption of retaliatory motivation does not apply, and the defendant failed to prove actual animus.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Vinson Thompson's Armed Career Criminal Act sentence because his challenge regarding the lack of a jury finding was procedurally barred by the plain error standard. The court concluded that while the district court erred by not advising Thompson of his right to a jury on the 'different occasions' element, the error did not affect his substantial rights given the overwhelming evidence of his criminal history.