Topic
Every decision we've filed under Violent Crimes.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the Smiths' convictions and Amanda Smith's sentence, but vacated Joel Smith's sentence and remanded for resentencing. The court held that the aggravated-assault guideline was sufficiently analogous to Joel Smith's Oklahoma child-abuse-by-injury conviction and that the district court's contrary ruling was procedural error.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the sentence of Joel Smith due to a procedural error in calculating his sentencing guidelines range. The court affirmed the convictions of both Joel Smith and his wife, Amanda Smith, while remanding for resentencing on the child abuse count.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that denied qualified immunity to police officers in a civil rights suit. The court held that the right to familial association was not clearly established at the time of the alleged misconduct in the early nineteen nineties.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a conviction for assaulting federal officers. The court held that the defendant waived the challenge to his conviction by limiting his appeal to his sentence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court order denying pretrial release to a defendant charged with assaulting a federal officer. The appellate court found the evidence supported the lower court's conclusion that the defendant posed a substantial risk of flight.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the defendant's convictions for assault resulting in serious bodily injury on a commercial aircraft. The court vacated two special conditions of supervised release because the district court failed to adequately explain them.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release. The court held that non-retroactive changes in the law do not constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for release.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of Samuel Sweeley in an unpublished per curiam opinion. The court declined to address a potential error regarding a drug testing payment condition because the defendant did not challenge that specific aspect of his sentence.
The Sixth Circuit vacated a substantially below-Guidelines sentence for a defendant who traveled to Syria to fight for ISIS. The court held that the district court erred by minimizing the seriousness of the defendant's conduct and relying too heavily on national sentencing statistics.
The Sixth Circuit vacated a terrorism defendant's sentence, ruling it was substantively unreasonable. The court held that the district court erred by minimizing the brutality of ISIS and relying too heavily on national sentencing statistics.