Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Petitioner challenged the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition, alleging that his guilty plea to attempted murder and a related firearm offense resulted from his trial counsel's disabling conflict of interest. Determining that the appeal was not moot, the Fourth Circuit held that the petition was timely. In this case, petitioner's limitations period commenced on December 12, 2008, when the judgment entered upon his November 2008 resentencing became final. Because his postconviction proceedings statutorily tolled the limitations period from at least January 20, 2009 through October 21, 2013, his petition was timely. Furthermore, under the exceptional circumstances presented by petitioner's case, neither procedural bar at issue was adequate to preclude federal review of petitioner's ineffective assistance of counsel claim; the Court of Special Appeals' application of Md. Code Ann., Crim. Proc. 7-106(b)(1)(i)(6) was inadequate to bar federal review of petitioner's claim; and the circuit court's reliance on section 7-106(b)(1)(i)(4) was inadequate to bar consideration of his ineffective assistance claim on federal habeas review. The court vacated the district court's judgment and remanded for further proceedings. View "Woodfolk v. Maynard" on Justia Law

Petitioner appealed the denial of his habeas corpus petition, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request an alibi instruction. The Fifth Circuit held that the post-conviction relief court's decision was a reasonable application of Strickland v. Washington. Although the parties accept for purposes of appeal that trial counsel's performance was deficient, even if the instruction had been given, there was no reasonable probability that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different. Therefore, because petitioner was not prejudiced by the error, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Maurice Hope v. Warden Cartledge" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for charges related to his involvement in a retail theft scheme. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that the evidence was sufficient to justify the district court's decision to give the jury a willful blindness instruction and to support the jury's finding that defendant knew the property at issue was stolen. In this case, there was ample evidence from which to find that defendant subjectively believed that there was a high probability that the goods he was buying and selling were stolen. The court rejected defendant's evidentiary challenges and challenges to the jury instructions; held that the evidence was sufficient to conclude that an individual who worked for defendant qualified as an employee, rather than a contractor; and rejected defendant's contention that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during his closing argument. View "United States v. Hale" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's classification of defendant as a career offender, holding that defendant's conviction of robbery with a dangerous weapon under Maryland law fits comfortably within the residual clause of the career offender guideline's definition of a "crime of violence." Under Maryland law, robbery entails the carrying away of another's property "from his person or in his presence . . . by violence or putting in fear." Furthermore, the commentary on USSG 4B1.2 expressly includes robbery in a list of offenses that qualify as crimes of violence. View "United States v. Riley" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit denied a petition for review of a final order of removal, concluding that Maryland third degree burglary qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii). The Fourth Circuit explained that Maryland's third degree burglary statute, breaking and entering a dwelling of another, with the intent to commit a crime, implicates moral values beyond the duty to obey the law and inherently is base, vile, or depraved. The act of breaking and entering a dwelling, with the intent to commit any crime, necessarily involves conduct that violates an individual's reasonable expectation that her personal living and sleeping space will remain private and secure. The Fourth Circuit reasoned that an individual's expectation that her dwelling will remain private, secure, and free from intruders intending to commit a crime is violated regardless whether the dwelling is occupied at the time of the burglary. View "Uribe v. Sessions" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of defendant's post-trial motions for judgment of acquittal and a new trial, and the district court's judicial notice of a portion of the USCIS website. Defendant was convicted on two counts of unlawful procurement of naturalization. In this case, the record contained sufficient evidence of defendant's knowing misstatements regarding his conviction of federal crimes, and the district court acted well within its discretion when it took judicial notice of the facts contained on the government website. View "United States v. Garcia" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of numerous charges stemming from her submission of fraudulent immigration and tax filings, concluding that the district court correctly admitted evidence obtained following a search of defendant's home pursuant to a validly issued warrant. In this case, the seizure of over $41,000 in cash did not exceed the scope of the warrant where the warrant and supporting affidavit made clear that investigators were authorized to seize evidence of perjury and marriage or immigration fraud during their search, and the seizure of the cash did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Defendant's contention that the government failed to meet its burden of proving the tax and wire fraud charges against defendant beyond a reasonable doubt lacked merit because defendant's argument misunderstands the nature of the government's charges and the evidence presented against her at trial. View "United States v. Kimble" on Justia Law

Social security survivors' benefits are a thing of value of the United States that can support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. 641. Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the Fourth Circuit concluded that substantial evidence supported defendant's conviction for theft of government property beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, the jury could reasonably infer from two denied benefits applications that defendant had a motive to file under a different benefits program to again attempt to obtain benefits to which he was not entitled. Finally, the district court's trial management was reasonable and far from an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Kiza" on Justia Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of defendant's motion to dismiss a charge under the murder-for-hire statute, 18 U.S.C. 1958, holding that the manufactured jurisdiction doctrine had no bearing in this case. The Fourth Circuit explained that each of defendant's voluntary acts was sufficient to support her criminal culpability under section 1958, and they were not somehow tainted or discounted by a government informer's initial text. Furthermore, the district court did not err in establishing and considering 120 months as the guidelines range. The district court considered the parties' sentencing arguments and provided a reasoned explanation for the sentence, with specific consideration of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and defendant's downward variance request. View "United States v. Davis" on Justia Law

Beckles v. United States held that the Sentencing Guidelines are not subject to vagueness challenges under the Due Process Clause and therefore that USSG 4B1.2(a)(2)'s residual clause is not void for vagueness. Based on Beckles, the Fourth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence, rejecting his vagueness challenge to USSG 4B1.2(a), and concluding that defendant's North Carolina conviction for attempting and conspiring to commit first-degree burglary qualifies as a crime of violence under USSG 4B1.2(a)(2). View "United States v. Mack" on Justia Law