Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Law enforcement authorities investigating a graduate student at a university for rape served a search warrant on a major electronic service provider seeking data linked to the student’s university email account. Along with the warrant, the authorities obtained a nondisclosure order (NDO) that prohibited the provider from disclosing the existence of the warrant or the investigation to the target, the university, or others for 90 days. The provider did not contest the restriction as it applied to the target, but sought to modify the NDO so it could inform a trusted contact at the university about the warrant, arguing that doing so would not compromise the investigation and was required under state law and the First Amendment.In the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the provider’s motion to modify the NDO was denied. The court based its decision on a sealed affidavit supporting the warrant and NDO, finding that several statutory criteria justifying nondisclosure were satisfied. The court also rejected the provider’s proposal to notify a university contact, expressing concern about its lack of jurisdiction over the university and the possibility of unauthorized disclosure. The NDO was later extended, but ultimately lifted after the student was arrested.The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Four, reviewed the provider’s petition for a writ of mandate. The court held that the trial court complied with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act by making the required findings before issuing the NDO, and that the NDO satisfied strict scrutiny under the First Amendment. The court reasoned that the NDO served a compelling governmental interest in protecting an ongoing criminal investigation and was narrowly tailored, as allowing disclosure to a university contact posed unacceptable risks. The petition for writ of mandate was denied, and each party was ordered to bear its own costs on appeal. View "Microsoft Corp. v. Superior Ct." on Justia Law

The case concerns a defendant who corresponded online with an undercover police officer posing as a girl under fifteen years old and offered or solicited sexual conduct. Based on this interaction, the defendant was indicted for luring a minor for sexual exploitation under Arizona law. The State sought an enhanced sentence under the Dangerous Crime Against Children (DCAC) statute, arguing that the enhancement applied even though the “minor” was fictitious.The Superior Court in Pima County granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the DCAC allegation, agreeing with the defendant that the sentencing enhancement required the victim to be an actual minor, not a fictitious one. The State sought review through a special action. The Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two, accepted jurisdiction and affirmed the superior court’s decision, holding that the DCAC enhancement under A.R.S. § 13-705 could not apply when the victim was not an actual minor.The Supreme Court of the State of Arizona reviewed the case to resolve whether a conviction for luring a minor for sexual exploitation qualifies for the DCAC sentencing enhancement when the victim is fictitious. The court held that neither A.R.S. § 13-3554(C) nor § 13-705 requires the victim to be an actual minor for the DCAC sentencing enhancement to apply. The court found that the relevant statutes make clear that it is not a defense that the “minor” is fictitious at either the prosecution or sentencing stage. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals’ opinion, reversed the superior court’s dismissal of the DCAC allegation, and remanded the case for resentencing. View "STATE OF ARIZONA v MARNER" on Justia Law

The defendant was originally convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and illegal reentry after deportation. He was sentenced to concurrent prison terms and supervised release. After serving his sentence, he was released and removed from the United States. Several years later, he was found in Virginia in possession of over six kilograms of cocaine and charged with a new federal drug offense, to which he pled guilty. The United States Probation Office filed a petition alleging violations of his supervised release: committing a new crime and reentering the country. At his sentencing and revocation hearing, the defendant admitted to both violations and argued that his actions had been influenced by fear of cartel reprisals, seeking a sentence within the advisory guideline range and concurrent with his new sentence.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia imposed a 36-month sentence for the supervised release violation, the statutory maximum, to run consecutively to the new sentence. The district court cited the defendant’s prior similar conviction and the large quantity of drugs but did not address the defendant’s arguments regarding coercion or mitigating circumstances.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reviewed the case. It held that the district court’s revocation sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the court failed to sufficiently explain its reasons for imposing the statutory maximum, particularly by not engaging with the defendant’s nonfrivolous argument that his conduct was influenced by coercion. The Fourth Circuit concluded that this error was not harmless and that the sentence was plainly unreasonable under clearly established law. Accordingly, the appellate court vacated the revocation sentence and remanded the case for resentencing. View "US v. Celedon" on Justia Law

Myelicia Rodgers, a clerk at a United States post office in Crestview, Florida, was accused of tampering with and stealing mail while working alone during early morning shifts. After suspicions arose due to complaints about opened mail, the Office of Inspector General conducted an investigation. Rodgers was observed via video and in person engaging in suspicious activities, including taking greeting cards into restricted areas, opening packages, and removing mail. Test letters with cash and gift cards were used in the investigation, some of which went missing, and Rodgers was caught taking and hiding one such letter. Upon being confronted, Rodgers admitted to opening some letters but denied stealing their contents.A grand jury indicted Rodgers on counts of mail tampering and theft by a postal employee. She waived her right to a jury and opted for a bench trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. At trial, the government presented multiple witnesses and video evidence. Rodgers did not testify or call any witnesses in her defense. After the prosecution rested, Rodgers moved for a judgment of acquittal, which the district court denied. The district court explicitly informed Rodgers of her right not to testify and assured her that her silence would not be considered in determining guilt. Rodgers’s counsel argued that her silence should not be taken as evidence against her, and the court reiterated that it would base its decision solely on the evidence presented.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed whether the district court drew an adverse inference from Rodgers's decision not to testify. The court held that the district court did not consider Rodgers’s silence as evidence of guilt and properly respected her Fifth Amendment rights. Therefore, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Rodgers’s conviction. View "USA v. Rodgers" on Justia Law

Law enforcement officers responded to a report of an open door at Chad Taylor’s townhouse in Boone County, Kentucky. Inside, they found signs of recently fired gunshots, including bullet holes and spent shell casings. After obtaining search warrants, officers found ammunition and methamphetamine in Taylor’s possession. Taylor admitted to using methamphetamine and exhibited paranoid, erratic behavior, claiming people were watching him. The following day, Taylor was found at his home with a loaded Glock 19, and ballistics matched it to the earlier gunfire. Taylor had prior felony convictions for drug trafficking, intimidation, and misdemeanor domestic battery.A grand jury indicted Taylor for being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky initially detained Taylor but later released him on conditions due to his history of substance abuse and the risk he posed. Taylor moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the statute was unconstitutional both facially and as applied. The district court denied the motion, finding Taylor dangerous based on his prior convictions, and subsequently sentenced him to 30 months’ imprisonment after he pled guilty but reserved his right to appeal the constitutional issue.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reviewed the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1) as applied to Taylor in light of recent circuit precedent. The appellate court held that the dangerousness assessment required for firearm disqualification is distinct from the assessment for pretrial detention. Applying the standard set forth in United States v. Williams, the court found that Taylor’s offense conduct and criminal history—including felony drug trafficking, intimidation, and domestic battery—demonstrated that he was dangerous. The court affirmed the district court’s judgment, holding that § 922(g)(1) is constitutional as applied to Taylor. View "United States v. Taylor" on Justia Law

An eighteen-year-old individual pleaded guilty in a Michigan court to a felony charge for carrying a concealed weapon. Rather than entering a judgment of conviction, the court placed him in a diversion program for youthful offenders under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which deferred both conviction and judgment. The program allowed the court to enter a conviction at any time if the individual failed to meet its requirements. While still participating in this program and on probation, the individual was arrested and admitted possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, leading to federal charges.The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan presided over the federal case. At sentencing, the court adopted the presentence report’s finding that the defendant’s offense level should be increased because he was a “prohibited person” under federal law at the time of the firearm offense, due to his pending felony charge in Michigan. The court concluded that the deferred status under the Michigan program meant the original felony information remained pending, qualifying him as being “under indictment” for purposes of federal firearms restrictions. The district court sentenced him to 48 months in prison.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit considered whether participation in Michigan’s diversion program constituted being “under indictment,” thereby justifying the sentencing enhancement as a “prohibited person.” The Sixth Circuit held that, under Michigan law, the original felony charge remains pending throughout the diversion program until successful completion or revocation, and no judgment of conviction is entered unless the program is revoked. Consequently, the court affirmed that the defendant was “under indictment” during the relevant period, and thus properly subject to the federal sentencing enhancement. The judgment of the district court was affirmed. View "United States v. Rolon" on Justia Law

The appellant in this case was the sole owner and operator of a clean energy startup. In order to attract investment, he provided prospective investors with forged business agreements, altered financial statements, and other documents that misrepresented the company’s assets, operational history, and business relationships. He also fabricated the signatures of various business partners and used personal information of others without authorization. Investors provided nearly $1 million based on these representations. The appellant then diverted a substantial portion of the funds for personal use, including the purchase of a residence, and obscured these transactions through rapid transfers among several accounts. He continued to mislead investors about the use of their funds and the status of the business. When questioned by federal agents, he made a series of false statements regarding his activities.A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania indicted the appellant on multiple counts, including wire fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, unlawful monetary transactions, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. After a nine-day jury trial, the jury found him guilty on all counts. The District Court sentenced him to 72 months’ imprisonment and ordered restitution of approximately $1.2 million, including attorneys’ fees incurred by victims.The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reviewed the case. On appeal, the appellant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the jury instructions, the constitutionality of the aggravated identity theft statute, denial of a good faith instruction, and the restitution order. The Court held that a general Rule 29 motion does not preserve all sufficiency arguments for appeal and found no plain error in the conviction. It also found the jury instructions and statute to be proper and the denial of the good faith instruction not to be an abuse of discretion. However, the Court held that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act does not authorize restitution for attorneys’ fees, vacated that portion of the restitution order, and remanded for entry of an amended judgment. All other aspects of the conviction and sentence were affirmed. View "United States v. Abrams" on Justia Law

After Volkswagen AG became the subject of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for its use of defeat device software to evade emissions standards—a scandal widely known as “Dieselgate”—the company agreed to a plea deal with the DOJ. As part of the investigation, Volkswagen, through its law firm Jones Day, produced approximately six million documents to federal prosecutors in response to a grand jury subpoena. Lawrence Kalbers, a university professor, subsequently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking all documents Volkswagen provided to the DOJ during the investigation, specifically referencing materials described in Volkswagen’s 2017 Annual Report.The DOJ denied the FOIA request, citing exemptions for law enforcement records and information protected by statute, including Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which safeguards grand jury materials. Kalbers challenged this denial in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The district court ordered the DOJ to produce all responsive documents and a Vaughn index, later appointing a special master due to the volume of records. The special master recommended disclosure, reasoning the documents did not clearly reveal grand jury deliberations. The district court overruled DOJ and Volkswagen’s objections and ordered disclosure, prompting both parties to appeal.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case de novo. It held that nearly all the requested documents are exempt from FOIA disclosure under Exemption 3 because they were obtained solely via a grand jury subpoena and their release would reveal matters occurring before the grand jury, thus compromising grand jury secrecy protected by Rule 6(e). The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s order requiring disclosure of these documents, but vacated and remanded as to four documents not marked as grand jury materials, instructing further review to determine their status. View "Kalbers v. Department of Justice" on Justia Law

The case involved a fatal shooting at a house in Junction City, Kansas, in May 2020. The defendant, an 18-year-old, was initially a guest at a barbeque where a 13-year-old girl and two men, Aaron Villarreal and Dylan Spencer, were present. After being told by Villarreal and Spencer to stop touching the girl, the defendant left but soon returned with an armed accomplice. Both men were armed when they re-entered the house. The confrontation escalated, and both the defendant and his accomplice fired multiple shots, resulting in the deaths of Spencer inside the house and Villarreal outside. Forensic evidence, eyewitness testimony, and physical evidence linked the defendant and his accomplice to the shootings.The District Court of Geary County charged the defendant with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. After a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for Villarreal’s death and the lesser included offense of second-degree intentional murder for Spencer’s death. The court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment without parole for 50 years, plus a consecutive term for the second conviction. The defendant directly appealed to the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, raising multiple claims, including erroneous jury instructions, improper response to a jury question, prosecutorial error, insufficient evidence, and cumulative error.The Supreme Court of the State of Kansas held that: foreseeability cannot establish accomplice liability for a specific intent crime like premeditated murder—the State must prove the defendant’s specific intent; the erroneous inclusion of foreseeability language in the aiding and abetting instruction was harmless and not clearly erroneous; the district court properly declined to give certain involuntary manslaughter instructions; the court’s response to the jury’s question was legally correct; the prosecutor’s statements were within permissible bounds; and sufficient evidence supported the convictions. The court affirmed the convictions, finding no cumulative error. View "State v. Wright " on Justia Law

The case involves a defendant who was charged with the first-degree premeditated murder of his former romantic partner, with whom he shared a child. The victim was found dead in their shared residence from a gunshot wound. Surveillance footage and testimony indicated the defendant had access to the residence and was present in the vicinity during the relevant time. He was interviewed by police on the day of the crime, during which he denied leaving his girlfriend’s hotel room the night before and denied owning any guns. The initial trial ended with a hung jury. Before a second trial, the defendant moved to suppress statements made during the police interview, arguing violations of his Fifth Amendment rights.In the Wyandotte District Court, the defendant’s motion to suppress was denied after a hearing. The court found that the pre-Miranda portion of the interview was not custodial and that the defendant’s post-Miranda statement did not constitute an unequivocal invocation of the right to silence. The second trial proceeded, and the jury found the defendant guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison, prompting this direct appeal.The Supreme Court of the State of Kansas reviewed the case. The court held that the defendant was subjected to a custodial interrogation prior to receiving Miranda warnings, making admission of his pre-Miranda statements erroneous. However, the court determined that the error was harmless because the same statements were properly admitted post-Miranda and supported by other evidence. The court further held that the defendant’s statement after receiving Miranda warnings (“No, ’cause I don’t know where this is going”) was ambiguous and did not clearly invoke his right to remain silent. Therefore, the admission of his post-Miranda statements was not error. The court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "State v. McCullough " on Justia Law