Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Four appellants were jointly tried and convicted of conspiring to import cocaine and heroin into the United States and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Two of those appellants were additionally convicted of illegally reentering the United States. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Appellants were not entitled to reversal of their conspiracy convictions because they were afforded a fair trial and certain expert testimony was proper; (2) the trial court did not err in denying Appellants’ motions for judgments of acquittal because the evidence of their guilt was sufficient to support the jury’s verdicts; and (3) one appellant's challenge to the reasonableness of his sentence failed. View "United States v. Pena-Santo" on Justia Law

In federal court, Appellant entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in a multi-defendant drug conspiracy case. Pending sentencing in his federal case, Appellant pled guilty to three state law murder and weapons violations. Appellant was sentenced to 204 months’ imprisonment in state court. The federal district court subsequently sentenced Appellant to 280 months’ imprisonment, to be served concurrently with the 204-month sentence imposed in his state criminal case. Appellant appealed, arguing that the district court’s sentence was procedurally unsound and substantively unreasonable. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the sentence was procedurally sound and substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Velez-Soto" on Justia Law