Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree felony murder but reversed and vacated his conviction for second-degree murder, holding that it was error to convict Defendant of first-degree murder as well as the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder.After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of both first-degree felony murder and second-degree intentional murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after thirty years. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by prohibiting Defendant from asserting his entrapment defense at trial and denying his request for jury instructions on the lesser-included offenses; (2) the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's guilty verdicts; but (3) the district court erred by entering convictions for both first-degree felony murder and second-degree intentional murder after the jury returned the guilty verdicts. View "State v. Cruz" on Justia Law

Eli Richter appealed an order deferring imposition of a sentence imposed after a jury found him guilty of the unlawful use of an operator's license. The State charged Richter with the unlawful use of the license, alleging he showed a counterfeit Minnesota driver's license to a police officer in Grand Forks, North Dakota. At trial, the officer testified the "license was nonexistent or it was never issued through any state." At the close of the State's case, Richter moved to acquittal, arguing "the definition [of operator's license] stats an operator's license is issued or granted by the laws of this state. The ID that was taken from Mr. Richter is not issued under the laws of this state. It does not meet the definition, Your Honor." The district court denied the motion and the jury ultimately found Richter guilty. The North Dakota Supreme Court concurred: N.D.C.C. § 39-06-40 made it a crime to display a fictitious license. View "North Dakota v. Richter" on Justia Law

Danial Curtis was convicted of the unauthorized use of personal identifying information. At trial, a bank teller testified Curtis entered the bank where she worked producing a check for cashing. The teller noticed several "red flags" on the check; her manager testified to noticing the same red flags. The manager contacted the account holder to inquire if the check was authorized; the account holder testified she had thrown out any checks she had remaining once she closed the account. Representing himself, Curtis called a friend who testified Curtis was not attempting to cash the check, but was only attempting to see if the check was valid. Based on the evidence presented, the district court found beyond a reasonable doubt Curtis willfully presented the check to cash, and found Curtis guilty of the unauthorized use of personal identifying information "to obtain money without the authorization of consent of the holder of the account, and the value of the money exceeded $1,000." On appeal, Curtis argued there was insufficient information presented to support his conviction. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed Curtis' conviction. View "North Dakota v. Curtis" on Justia Law

David Geiger was convicted by jury of stalking. The victim testified she was an employee at a bank where Geiger was a customer. The victim, in conjunction with other bank employees, decided to close out Geiger’s account after what the victim described as abusive conduct by Geiger towards bank employees. Geiger was informed of the closure and instructed to collect the remaining funds in his account through the drive-up window. The victim and other employees then observed Geiger sitting in his car across the street. Due to concerns surrounding this behavior, bank staff contacted law enforcement to escort staff from the building to their vehicles at closing. Later that same night, the victim received a phone call to her personal phone, verified by law enforcement as having been placed from a phone belonging to Geiger. Upon answering the call, the victim’s husband said “hello” several times, but there was no response. These incidents served as grounds for the stalking charge. On appeal, Geiger argued the district court failed to make a mandatory determination regarding whether the conduct he was alleged to have engaged in was constitutionally protected. He further argued the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict of guilty. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Geiger" on Justia Law

Ashton Steele appealed after conditionally pleading guilty to delivery of a controlled substance and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance. The plea reserved the right to appeal the denial of a motion to suppress evidence. After review of the trial court record, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded Steele had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the rented bedroom and a reasonable officer would not have believed the homeowner could consent to a search of the bedroom. Accordingly, the judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings. View "North Dakota v. Steele" on Justia Law

Charles Brame pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault. On appeal, Brame sought to withdraw his guilty pleas because the district court failed to explicitly ask him whether he was entering his plea voluntarily or whether his plea resulted from force, threats, or promises. "A Rule 11 error does not automatically lead to reversal." The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded that a defendant who failed to first raise the alleged error at the district court must show a Rule 11 violation’s impact on substantial rights before the Court will undo a guilty plea. Because Brame did not show the alleged violation had an impact on his substantial rights, the Court affirmed the judgment. View "North Dakota v. Brame" on Justia Law

Carolyn Nelson appealed her conviction from a bench trial for the crime of accomplice to theft. Nelson was the president of the Oberon School Board. Laura Schnieber-Bruns and her business, Victim Survivor the Voice, LLC, were engaged to perform services for the school. The exact nature of the services was disputed, but an agreement signed by Nelson and Schnieber-Bruns described the work as “investigate, research, compile and deliver ongoing actions request of the Oberon School Board.” The agreement specified a “set-up fee” of $7,500, an “on-going management” fee of $7,500, and a $200 hourly rate for “services outside the scope of this Agreement.” Schnieber-Bruns was later charged with class A felony theft for taking more than $150,000 from the Oberon School “through a deceptive scheme pursuant to” the agreement. She pleaded guilty by an Alford plea. Nelson challenged her conviction as an accomplice. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction. The Court declined to address issues Nelson did not raise at the district court or brief on appeal under the obvious error standard of review. View "North Dakota v. Nelson" on Justia Law

Brown created a driver’s license with his photo and someone else’s identity and made credit cards using that identity, pulling account numbers from the dark web. Brown used those fraudulent documents to purchase 25 firearms, which he sold. Brown subsequently walked into a gun store, picked out a firearm, and presented a fraudulent license and credit card. The store employee recognized Brown and called the police. As police arrived, Brown drove away in a rented U-Haul. During the ensuing traffic stop, officers found Brown’s fraudulent license and false credit cards in a wallet on the passenger seat; a gun that had been reported stolen was between the front seats. After being arrested, Brown recruited a friend to continue his scheme. The friend used fraudulent cards to purchase 39 firearms. The two fraudulently purchased $56,000 in guns over three months.Brown pled guilty to aggravated identity theft, using a false ID during the purchase of a firearm, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(6), 1028A(a)(1), 1343, 1349. The court enhanced Brown’s sentencing range based on the stolen firearm in the U-Haul, U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(b)(4)(A), and imposed a 120-month sentence. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, noting that the enhancement would apply even without the stolen firearm in the U-Haul. Fraudulently purchased firearms are “stolen” for purposes of the enhancement. View "United States v. Brown" on Justia Law

While representing a client, Jane Roe , Appellant attorney John Doe engaged in settlement negotiations with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). The negotiations between Doe and UMMS proceeded poorly. Among other things, Doe also made any settlement between Roe and UMMS contingent on his personal receipt of an additional $25 million that would effectuate his retention by UMMS as a private consultant of sorts. A grand jury indicted Doe, charging him with attempted extortion in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sections 1951 and 1952. Shortly thereafter—at the government’s request—the grand jury issued multiple subpoenas duces tecum to the lawyers and firms that assisted in Doe’s representation of Roe—and in the formation of the alleged extortion scheme. Doe and Roe moved to quash the subpoenas. That court then granted in part a subsequent motion filed by the government to compel production. Doe and Roe now appealed asking the court to reverse the district court’s orders first denying their motions to quash and then compelling production.The Fourth Circuit dismissed the appeal as to Doe for lack of appellate jurisdiction and otherwise affirmed. The court held that it lacks jurisdiction to consider Doe’s arguments given the Supreme Court’s effective narrowing of the Perlman doctrine. The court otherwise affirmed discerning no reversible error and ordered the parties must proceed to comply with the disputed subpoenas duces tecum in accordance with the district court’s order compelling production and this opinion. View "In re: Grand Jury 2021 Subpoenas" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for one count of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay testimony and improper opinion testimony and that his sentence was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not abuse its discretion in admitting the hearsay statements under the excited utterance exception; (2) did not abuse its discretion in admitting the opinion testimony; and (3) did not err in sentencing Defendant to 235 months' imprisonment because the sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Irizarry-Sisco" on Justia Law