Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Defendant was convicted with possession with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of methamphetamine and conspiracy to do the same. Defendant transported four pounds of methamphetamine that was secreted within a cooler. A jury reasonably found that he conspired to distribute the drugs, and the government permissibly used financial documents to undermine his alibi. Because he was not a minor participant in the conspiracy and obstructed justice when he testified, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Perez-Solis" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction under 18 U.S.C. 2422(b) for attempting to persuade, induce, or entice individuals whom he believed were eleven and thirteen years old to engage in sexual activity for which a person could be criminally charged under a Texas aggravated sexual assault statute. The court held that the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment where defendant demonstrated sufficient intent to persuade, induce, or entice a minor in violation of section 2422(b) in his emails to the undercover police officer. View "United States v. Caudill" on Justia Law

Plaintiff appealed the district court's sua sponte dismissal of his civil rights complaint as frivolous and for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The court held that the district court abused its discretion in dismissing the claim against one corrections officer at the initial screening stage and before the filing of any responsive pleadings. The district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's denial of medical care claim where the officers did not show deliberate indifference regarding plaintiff's denial of medical treatment and because the officers took plaintiff to see a V.A. hospital physician after the incident at issue and transported him subsequently to the prison medical department for treatment. In regards to the claim regarding plaintiff's injury in the van, the issue was moot. As for the denial of medical care claim, allowing plaintiff to amend his complaint would have been futile and the district court did not err in declining to provide leave to file an amended complaint. Accordingly, the court reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Rogers v. Boatright, et al" on Justia Law

Defendants Heard and Lambert were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States by failing to pay and impeding the IRS's collection of employment taxes. Heard was convicted of additional offenses. Both defendants raised a number of challenges to their convictions and sentences. The court held that there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to convict Heard of bribery of a public official; the district court did not err in admitting lay testimony of one of Heard's former employees; Heard's sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable; the district court did not err in instructing the jury on Lambert's withdrawal defense based on a six-year statute of limitations; the district court did not err in denying Lambert's motion for judgment of acquittal based on his withdrawal from the conspiracy; any error in finding sufficient notice for Rule 404(b) evidence was harmless; Lambert's Confrontation Clause rights were not violated when the district court refused to allow him to cross-examine an IRS revenue agent; the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding testimony of two witnesses concerning Lambert's history of ensuring that their payroll taxes were paid; and Lambert's sentence was substantively reasonable. Accordingly, the court affirmed both defendants' convictions and sentences. View "United States v. Heard, Jr., et al" on Justia Law

Defendant was found not guilty of second degree murder by reason of insanity and was committed to the Attorney General's custody under 18 U.S.C. 4243(e). Defendant was subsequently found to no longer be a substantial risk to others if he followed a strict treatment regimen and was conditionally released. The district court then later found that defendant failed to comply with the conditions of his release and that he posed a substantial risk of bodily injury to others. Consequently, the district court revoked the release and placed him back into the custody of the Attorney General. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in not calling for a competency hearing; defendant failed to raise a valid Sixth Amendment complaint and the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to replace counsel; and the district court committed no error in its finding underlying the conclusion to revoke the conditional release. Accordingly, the court affirmed the order. View "United States v. Mitchell" on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. After the district court denied defendant's motion for relief from judgment under Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, defendant filed a notice of appeal and the district court denied him a certificate of appealability (COA). The court then granted a COA, in relevant part on the issue of whether defendant's Rule 60(b) motion presented a successive habeas petition within the meaning of Gonzalez v. Crosby. The court concluded that it did, and thus the district court was not permitted to consider the motion. Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal. View "United States v. Hernandes" on Justia Law

Defendant conditionally pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's partial denial of his motion to suppress. The district court found that defendant voluntarily consented to the search of the house containing marijuana. His consent was not automatically involuntary merely because his Miranda rights were violated. And even if government agents violated Edwards v. Arizona when they sought his consent, the Edwards violation would not suffice to justify suppression of the marijuana. Therefore, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Gonzalez-Garcia" on Justia Law

Defendants Mathew Dean Moore and Melvin Williams, former New Orleans Police Officers (NOPD), appealed their convictions and sentences arising from an incident that resulted in the death of an individual. The court concluded that a jury could reasonably conclude from the evidence that the individual's death was proximately caused by and the foreseeable result of being kicked in the chest by Williams; the district court did not err by basing Williams' sentence on the base offense of voluntary manslaughter; the evidence was sufficient to sustain Moore's conviction for aiding and abetting the submission of a false incident report and by obstructing a federal investigation through the submission of a false NOPD incident report and aiding and abetting each other; the evidence was sufficient to sustain Moore's conviction for making false, material statements to the FBI; and the district court did not err in determining Moore's sentence. Accordingly, the court affirmed the convictions and sentences. View "United States v. Moore, et al" on Justia Law

Petitioner sought federal habeas relief raising Batson v. Kentucky claims. The court subsequently granted petitioner a Certificate of Appealability (COA) on the limited issue of comparative juror analysis required by Miller-El v. Dretke. After the COA was granted, the Supreme Court decided Cullen v. Pinholster, which called in question whether the district court could properly grant petitioner an evidentiary hearing on his Batson claim. The court held that Pinholster's restriction did not bar the federal evidentiary hearing conducted in this case because the district court first concluded, solely on the basis of the state court record, that the state courts committed legal error, as required under 28 U.S.C. 2254(d)(1), through the state courts' "unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law." After reviewing the record, the court held that petitioner failed to carry his burden of proving that the prosecutor's race-neutral explanations for striking the two black panelists at issue were a pretext for purposeful discrimination and affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "Smith v. Cain" on Justia Law

Christopher Sepulvado appealed an order transferring his second-in-time petition for writ of habeas corpus, amended motion to appoint counsel, and a motion to stay his execution. He also requested a certificate of appealability (COA). In 1993, Sepulvado was convicted and sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of his six-year-old stepson. On appeal, the court concluded that it had jurisdiction over both the district court's order and the motions it transferred thereby; Sepulvado's second-in-time habeas petition was an abuse of the writ and was therefore successive; because the petition was successive, the district court did not have jurisdiction to consider it in light of the fact that Sepulvado did not obtain the court's prior authorization pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(A); because the court lacked jurisdiction, there was no basis for a stay of execution; and Sepulvado did not request a COA from the district court and therefore, the court was without jurisdiction to consider the appeal. Accordingly, the court affirmed the order of transfer; dismissed the petition for writ of habeas corpus for want of jurisdiction; dismissed the amended motion to appoint counsel for want of jurisdiction; denied the motion for stay of execution; and dismissed the COA. View "In re: Christopher Sepulvado" on Justia Law