Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Kennedy was Sheila’s husband and Scarborough was her close friend. They solicited money for investment in Sheila’s alleged real estate deals and proceedings to obtain an inheritance purportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The multi-year scheme defrauded dozen of victims of more than three million dollars. Both Kennedy and Scarborough were convicted of mail and wire fraud. Scarborough was convicted on a separate money-laundering count. The district court subsequently sentenced Kennedy to 100 months of imprisonment and ordered him to pay more than $3 million in restitution. Scarborough was sentenced to 72 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in restitution. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences. View "United States v. Kennedy" on Justia Law

Washington was convicted of three carjackings that occurred during three days in 2010. Washington and his accomplice were apprehended with loaded weapons soon afterwards. The trial court denied a motion to suppress a victim’s identification as unduly suggestive and rejected a claim of insufficient evidence to prove that he had an “intent to cause death or serious bodily harm,” 18 U.S.C. 2119. The district court imposed sentences for the three carjackings under 18 U.S.C. 924(c) in the order in which they occurred. Because the defendant discharged his firearm during the first carjacking, he received 10 years for his first offense pursuant and two consecutive 25 year sentences for the second and third carjackings for a total mandatory minimum sentence of 60 years. If the district court had used its discretion to treat one of the brandishing counts as the first conviction, he would have received only seven years for his first offense, and his total mandatory minimum sentence would have been 57 years. The government later conceded that chronological ordering of offenses for sentencing purposes was erroneous, and requested limited remand, which was granted by the Sixth Circuit. The court otherwise affirmed. View "United States v. Washington" on Justia Law

Defendant had his girlfriend’s six-year-old sister pose nude in photographs and videos and touched the child’s genitalia. The girl’s parents alerted the police. Defendant confessed; police found sexually explicit pictures and videos of the girl on his cell phone and computer. Defense counsel sought (18 U.S.C. 4241) a government-paid examination regarding competency and cognitive function, asking that the results be provided only to him. Section 4241 allows either party to request a competency hearing, but requires the results to be filed with the court with copies provided to counsel. The district court granted an examination, but denied his request that only he receive the results. Staff informed defendant that the results would not be confidential. He conferred with his lawyer and went forward with the examination. The psychiatrist found him competent to stand trial but diagnosed him with pedophilia. Defendant pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a) and (e). He objected to inclusion of the psychiatric examination in his pre-sentence report, particularly the pedophilia diagnosis and that he fantasized about having sex with children. The guidelines range was 360 months to life. The district court sentenced him to 360 months, denying a requested downward variance. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Graham-Wright" on Justia Law

In 2006, Thompson pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C).The government dismissed two remaining counts and agreed not to oppose Thompson’s request for a downward departure or variance to result in a sentence of not less than 120 months.” Thompson would have had a base offense level of 24 under the crack guidelines, U.S.S.G. 2D1; because he was a career offender, Thompson’s actual base offense level was 32 under U.S.S.G. 4B1.1. The judge granted a downward departure to 29 to reflect acceptance of responsibility. The court found that the guidelines range was 151-188 months based on Thompson’s criminal history. After considering the18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors, the judge sentenced Thompson to 120 months of imprisonment. In 2012, Thompson moved for sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) based on Sentencing Guidelines Amendments. On remand, the district court again denied the motion, reasoning that a defendant may be eligible for a sentence reduction when the crack cocaine guidelines were part of the framework used when determining the original sentence, but that those guidelines were not relevant to Thompson’s sentence calculation, which was based on his status as a career offender. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Thompson" on Justia Law

In 2001, Johnson began communicating online with an FBI agent he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Johnson sent images of child pornography and arranged a meeting for sexual activity. Following his arrest, Johnson pled guilty to transmitting child pornography and using a facility in interstate commerce to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity. After completing his 63-month prison term and supervised release, Johnson began communicating online with another undercover agent he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and sent pornographic images featuring children. Johnson’s computer contained 500 images of child pornography. Johnson pled guilty to transporting child pornography in interstate commerce, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1); using a communication facility to transfer obscene material to a minor under age 16, 18 U.S.C. 1470; and possession of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5). Because of the prior conviction for transporting child pornography, he faced statutory sentences of 15 to 40 years on count one, up to 10 years on count two, and 10 to 20 years on count three. The presentence report recommended a term of 360 months to life. The district court sentenced Johnson to 320 months. On remand, the court applied the five-level increase, USSG 2G2.2(b)(5). Johnson was resentenced to 360 months imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Johnson" on Justia Law

In two trials, juries in Livingston County, Kentucky convicted Kraus of first-degree rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse involving two mentally delayed women. He is serving a prison sentence of 70 years with a life enhancement. After exhausting direct appeals and pursuing state court motions for post-conviction relief, Kraus filed two pro se petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. 2254. The district court denied the petitions. Although the district court declined to issue a certificate of appealability, a Rule 34 panel granted Kraus a COA to review a narrow selection of claimed errors. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded. Kraus’s petitions “highlight serious concerns about his ability to confront the key witnesses at his trials, the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, and the competency of his counsel at the sentencing phase.” But, despite court orders, the court was not provided with any records of Kraus’s two trials, precluding meaningful review of Kraus’s claims. View "Kraus v. KY Dep't of Corrs." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs allege that Greene performed as an exotic dancer at a 2002 party at Detroit’s mayoral residence and that Mayor Kilpatrick’s wife arrived unexpectedly and assaulted Greene. Months later, Greene was shot to death. Stevenson, initially leading the investigation, claims that rumors indicated that Greene’s death and the incident at the mansion were connected. Other officers told Stevenson that she “might get shot like Tammy.” There was some evidence of a coverup. The case was reassigned to the Cold Case squad, earlier than usual for such a transfer. Stevenson later testified that she was about to pursue leads that would have led to questioning people close to the mayor. Stevenson and others were allegedly transferred to inferior positions without credible explanation. Stevenson’s house was broken into twice, and she repeatedly observed officers near her residence. The Cold Case squad encountered many impediments and the investigation was inactive for years. Greene’s murder has not been solved. The minor children of Greene filed 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims of conspiracy to deny and denial of access to the courts. The district court entered summary judgment for the city and the mayor. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, upholding exclusion of evidence of the firing of a former deputy chief and of alleged interference with an investigation by the state, and jury instructions concerning the city’s destruction of evidence. View "Flagg v. City of Detroit" on Justia Law

In 2004 Wallace financed a home purchase with a $272,315 mortgage. He took a second mortgage of $164,500 for improvements and to pay down debt. In 2006, Wallace sought a refinance loan of $422,500. Midwest obtained an appraisal from Brock, through the now-defunct Accupraise. A former Accupraise employee explained that Midwest would send a requested appraisal value and Brock would return a tailor-made appraisal, often without seeing the property. Accupraise and Brock valued Wallace’s home at $500,000. Unbeknownst to Wallace, his refinance was an adjustable-rate mortgage that allows negative amortization; he had a teaser rate of two percent that quickly multiplied. For securing a high long-term interest rate, Midwest received a premium in excess of $14,000. The loan created insurmountable financial problems for Wallace. He learned that the true 2006 value of his home was $375,000. Wallace declared bankruptcy, surrendered the home, and sued alleging that he was the victim of a fraudulent scheme violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Kentucky conspiracy law. Mediation produced a settlement, under which Wallace prevailed on a RESPA claim. The district court granted defendants partial summary judgment. The Sixth Circuit reversed a finding that Wallace did not sufficiently demonstrate that the appraisal proximately caused his financial injuries, but otherwise affirmed. View "Wallace v. Midwest Fin. & Mortg. Servs., Inc." on Justia Law

Dotson was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a) and possession of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(4)(B). Prior to trial, the government sought to enter a redacted version of the statement Dotson gave to the authorities following his arrest. Although Dotson requested that the statement be admitted in its entirety, the district court ruled that the redacted portions were inadmissible. A jury convicted Dotson on both counts, and the district court sentenced him to a prison term of 22 years. The Sixth Circuit upheld the evidentiary ruling, stating that omitted statements, indicating that Dotson had a rough upbringing and had been sexually abused as a child; that he considered his girlfriend to be a “blessing” and had intended to marry her, and his concern that the victim knew he was exploiting her, did not make any fact of consequence related to the statutory offenses more or less probable than it would have been without them. The court vacated certain conditions of supervised release in the sentence, relating to computer use and drug testing, because the district court did not articulate a rationale for imposing some of the conditions. View "United States v. Dotson" on Justia Law

Forensic examination of Hargrove’s computer revealed more than 800 images and 16 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. “L.S.” appeared in eight of those images, “Amy” in three images, and “Vicky” in one video. He was indicted on two counts of transporting child pornography in interstate commerce, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(1) and (b)(1); receipt of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(2)(A) & (b)(1); and possession of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5)(B) and (b)(1). Hargrove pled guilty to the possession charge under a plea agreement with the government and then absconded. Upon return to federal custody, Hargrove pled guilty in a separate case to a charge of failure-to-appear, 18 U.S.C. 3146(a)(1). At sentencing the district court ordered Hargrove to pay restitution to the victims and imposed contingent joint and several liability on Hargrove in the event the victims are unable to acquire necessary resources to pay for their psychological treatment from defendants convicted in other cases who also viewed the images and videos. The Sixth Circuit vacated the restitution order and remanded for calculation of damages attributable to Hargrove. Courts may not apportion restitution by imposing joint and several liability. View "United States v. Hargrove" on Justia Law