Wednesday, October 01, 2025

Court Affirms Abuse-of-Trust Enhancement Where Defendant Lied About Qualifications to Victims

›
US v. Brewer : Brewer pleaded guilty to wire fraud for his part in a scheme in which he defrauded victims by promising to invest funds give...

Second Amendment Doesn’t Allow for Possession of Firearm While Under Indictment

›
US v. Jackson : In 2020, Jackson was charged in Arizona with (essentially) unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle. After an initial ...
Friday, August 29, 2025

Court Affirms Wire Fraud Convictions

›
US v. Golestan : Golestan (a naturalized United States citizen) was founder and CEO of Micfo, a company that provided Internet services. Sta...

State Court’s Unreasonable Factual Conclusions About Use of Attorney/Client Privileged Material Required Remand

›
Kaur v. Warden : In October 2013 a woman was shot and killed outside her home in Maryland. Arrested shortly thereafter in Tennessee (where t...

Career Offender Predicate Comparisons Made at Time of Sentencing, Not Time of Original Conduct

›
US v. Nelson : Nelson pleaded guilty to a drug offense and being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, the district court clas...

Officers Searching for Subject of Arrest Warrant Were Able to Detain Defendant Who Was Not That Person

›
US v. Morillo-Lopez : Members of a state-federal task force had a warrant to arrest a person suspected of armed robbery and information tha...

District Court’s Noting of “Exceptions” by Defense Counsel at Suppression Hearing Did Not Restart Speedy Trial Act Clock

›
US v. Myrick : Myrick fled from a traffic stop, eventually crashing into a tree before running away. In the car, officers found drugs and g...

Defendant Could Not Withdraw First Two Guilty Pleas After Third Case Uncovers Search Warrant Anomaly

›
US v. Milam : First, Milam, “the leader of the Aryan Kings” gang, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after the execu...

Court Vacates Prison Contraband Conviction on Jurisdictional Grounds

›
US v. Perez : Perez was incarcerated at FCI Petersburg for possessing child sex abuse material when he was found in possession of images he...

Defendant Did Not “Use Fire” During Domestic Violence Case By Attempting to Burn Dead Victim’s Body

›
US v. Florentine : Florentine kidnapped his wife, taking her from North Carolina to South Carolina before killing her. After she was dead, ...

No Fourth Amendment Search in Drug Dog Sniff of Common Hallway Outside Apartment

›
US v. Johnson : Police suspected Johnson was selling drugs from his apartment in Maryland, but didn’t feel confident they had enough evidenc...

Defendant “Used” Firearm that Was Visible in Vehicle During Kidnapping

›
US v. Faulls : Faulls kidnapped his “intimate partner,” following previous incidents of domestic violence, some of which involved a gun. As ...

Reversing Motion to Dismiss Based on Equal Protection Violation in Traffic Stop

›
US v. Moore : One evening in Richmond, police officers stopped three different vehicles that all had the same license plate number. The firs...

Court Affirms Denial of Compassionate Release in Carjacking Case

›
US v. Burleigh : In 2010, Burleigh (and another person) carjacked and kidnapped a driver of a recently-parked car, forcing him to withdraw ...

Facial Challenge to §944(g)(4) Fails

›
US v. Gould : Between 2016 and 2019 Gould was (temporarily) committed to mental health facilities four times. In 2022, officers found a sho...
Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Same Result on Remand for SORNA Registrant Who Frequently Changed Residence

›
US v. Kokinda : Due to a pair of state convictions in the 2000s, Kokinda was required to register as a sex offender. He effectively disappe...

Divided Court Affirms Supervised Release Revocation Where Defendant Proceeded Pro Se

›
US v. Walton : In 1994, Walton was convicted of multiple counts related to a conspiracy to distribute marijuana and sentenced to life in pr...

Evidence of Ineffectiveness Not Sufficient to Prevail on Direct Appeal

›
US v. Richardson : Richardson was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine. After a traffic stop, police went to his home to execute ...

Delays in Warrant Executions Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment in CSAM Case

›
US v. Krueger : Police detected an IP address uploading and downloading child sexual abuse material (“CASM”) that they tracked to Krueger i...

Jury Instruction Allowing Intent to Be Inferred from How Fraudulent Transactions Are Carried Out Appropriate

›
US v. Sanders : Sanders owned a company that contracted with the Government to provide IT equipment and services, but did so fraudulently. ...

Yearslong Delay In State Post-Trial Proceedings Moot Because of Decisions During Pendency of Appeal

›
Hicks v. Frame : Hicks was convicted of first-degree murder in West Virginia and sentenced to life in prison in 1988. While his direct appea...

District Court’s Statement It Considered All Sentencing Factors Satisfies Need to Explain Basis of Sentence

›
US v. Solis-Rodriguez : S-R was involved in two incidents with a gun, the first when he was just in possession of it, the second when he sh...

Court Affirms Medicaid Fraud Convictions and Sentence

›
US v. Booker : Booker ran two companies, one that provided substance abuse treatment and another that provided drug testing services, for wh...

Court Reinstates Guilty Verdicts In Healthcare Fraud Case

›
US v. Elfenbein : Elfenbein was a doctor who ran an urgent-care clinic in Maryland. When COVID hit he reconfigured the business into a driv...

Court Reverses Mortgage Fraud Conviction for Insufficient Proof of Venue

›
US v. Mosby : Mosby, the former State’s Attorney for Baltimore, was preparing for retirement and looking to purchase homes in Florida. As p...

Sentencing Disparity Can Be “Extraordinary and Compelling” Reason for Sentence Reduction

›
US v. Johnson : In the 1990s, Johnson was part of a drug trafficking scheme during which he was involved with the killing of two people. He ...

Non-NFA Weapons Not Relevant Conduct for NFA Violation Offense

›
US v. Simmons : Police executed a search warrant at Simmons’ home, where they found 10 unregistered firearms covered by the National Firearm...

Pennsylvania Drug Offense Fits Within Definition of “Controlled Substance Offense”

›
US v. Suncar : Suncar pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl. The probation officer classified him as a career offender based on two pr...
Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Divided Court Affirms Drug Convictions, Rejecting Competency Concerns

›
US v. Cabrera-Rivas : Cabrera-Rivas, who “likely has a learning disability . . . doesn’t speak fluent English” and has a third-grade educati...

Government Breaches Plea Agreement by Seeking Guideline Enhancements

›
US v. Craig : Craig pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, part of a plea agreement in which the Government agreed to d...

Court Rejects Challenge to Illegal Reentry Removal Proceedings

›
US v. Castro-Aleman : Castro-Aleman fled political violence in El Salvador in 1973, when he was eight years old, entering the United States...

Court Rejects Ineffective Assistance Claim Related to Additional Offense

›
US v. Yelizarov : Y was charged with multiple offenses arising from a robbery and was presented with a plea bargain in which the Government...

Court Affirms Gang Convictions Arising from Murder of Alleged Informant

›
US v. Ordonez-Zometa : Ordonez-Zometa and his codefendants, Hernandez-Garcia* and Ortega-Ayala, were charged with being a part of MS-13 and...

Rapport-Building Section of Sex Abuse Victim Video Admissible

›
US v. Fergusson : While Fergusson was station in Japan working for the Department of Defense, his 11-year-old stepdaughter, JD, sent at tex...

Court Clarifies Recent Guideline Amendments Involving “Extraordinary and Compelling” Basis for Sentence Reduction

›
US v. Crawley : In 2016, Crawley was sentenced to 188 months following a drug trafficking conviction, having been designated as a career of...

Statement Taken by Prison Guard Beating Was Not Involuntary

›
US v. Purks : Purks was serving a sentence in Florida state prison when he was investigated, and eventually charged, in the Western Distric...

Misstatement In Oral Jury Instructions Does Not Lead to Constructive Amendment

›
US v. Contreras-Avalos : Castro-Aleman and two codefendants were charged with “various crimes related to their involvement in the transnat...