Topic
Every decision we've filed under Supervised Release.
The Sixth Circuit vacated the district court's denial of early termination of supervised release, ruling that a rigid fifty-percent completion custom violates statutory requirements. The court held that judges must conduct an individualized assessment of statutory factors rather than relying on a blanket time-served rule.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the denial of Deenvaughn Rowe's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, ruling that he failed to prove prejudice under the Strickland standard. The court held that even if trial counsel had pursued additional witnesses or investigated further, the overwhelming evidence of Rowe's guilt would likely have resulted in the same conviction.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a defendant's sentence because the written judgment imposed a warrantless-search condition that was materially broader than the condition orally announced at sentencing. The court held that the oral pronouncement controls and that the discrepancy required resentencing to ensure the defendant was not bound by unannounced terms.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of three defendants involved in a large-scale credit card fraud scheme. The court rejected challenges regarding evidence sufficiency, the reasonableness of sentences, and a sentencing enhancement for managerial roles.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a federal sentence of 24 months for supervised release violations, ruling that the district court properly ordered it to run consecutively to an existing state sentence. The court held that federal judges retain broad discretion to select consecutive sentences and that the Sentencing Guidelines explicitly favor this approach for release violations.
The First Circuit affirmed a fifty-seven-month sentence for conspiracy to traffic firearms, rejecting the appellant's argument that the district court erred by applying a sentencing enhancement based on a co-conspirator's out-of-court statements. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining the reliability of the co-conspirator's testimony regarding the defendant's role in the scheme.
The Tenth Circuit enforced a defendant's appeal waiver, dismissing his challenges to a criminal contempt conviction and sentence. The court held that the defendant failed to prove the government breached the plea agreement or that enforcing the waiver would result in a miscarriage of justice.
The Tenth Circuit dismissed this appeal as moot because the underlying criminal proceedings had concluded, leaving the court with no power to grant effective relief. The panel declined to transfer the case for appellate review under the All Writs Act since no live controversy remained to support jurisdiction.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a supervised release revocation, ruling that any constitutional error in admitting a witness's video statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The court held that the district court would have reached the same conclusion based on independent evidence, including the victim's identification and the defendant's own admissions.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Elijah Brown's bank fraud sentence while vacating and remanding the restitution order for recalculation. The court rejected challenges to the vulnerable victim and role enhancement adjustments, finding the district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines plausible and supported by the record.