Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

The Missoula Police Department received information from a reliable source that Shayden Bradley Westfall had recently received a distributable quantity of drugs at a Missoula hotel room. After corroborating the information, officers obtained a search warrant for the room, where they found methamphetamine, fentanyl, and a firearm. Based on this seizure and Westfall’s statements, officers obtained another warrant for Westfall’s Facebook records stored in California. Westfall was indicted for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.The United States District Court for the District of Montana denied Westfall’s motion to suppress the evidence seized from the searches of his hotel room, vehicles, and phones. The court found that each search warrant was valid based on ample probable cause and that the issuing state court was authorized to issue a warrant for subscriber information outside Montana. Westfall entered a conditional guilty plea and was sentenced to 88 months of imprisonment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s denial of Westfall’s motion to suppress. The court held that law enforcement’s independent corroboration of information from a reliable source provided a substantial basis for the issuing judge to conclude there was sufficient probable cause for the hotel room search warrant. Additionally, the court held that a Montana district court judge has jurisdiction under the federal Stored Communications Act and Montana law to issue a search warrant for retrieving electronic records stored out-of-state. View "USA V. WESTFALL" on Justia Law

Defendants James Vlha and Travis Schlotterbeck were convicted for conspiring to manufacture firearms for sale without a federal license and for selling a firearm to a felon, respectively. They engaged in manufacturing and selling semiautomatic AR-15 firearms without a license in Bellflower, California, and sold these firearms to undercover agents and a confidential informant believed to be a felon. They were charged under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A) and § 922(d)(1). Defendants moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing the statutes violated the Second Amendment, but the district court denied their motion. They entered conditional pleas and appealed the decision.The United States District Court for the Central District of California denied the defendants' motion to dismiss the indictment. The defendants then entered conditional pleas, preserving their right to appeal the district court's decision. They timely appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the convictions. The court held that the Second Amendment does not protect the conduct regulated by 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A) because requiring commercial firearm manufacturers to obtain licenses does not meaningfully constrain would-be purchasers from obtaining firearms. The court also held that Schlotterbeck’s facial and as-applied challenges to 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(1) fail because the prohibition on selling firearms to felons does not meaningfully constrain the possessory rights of felons, who do not have possessory rights under the Second Amendment. The court concluded that the text of the Second Amendment does not cover the conduct regulated by these statutes, and thus, the defendants' constitutional challenges fail. The convictions were affirmed. View "USA V. VLHA" on Justia Law

Wardy Alfonso Liberato, a Dominican national previously removed from the United States in 2007, was arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in January 2023. He was part of a group of suspected noncitizens. A jury convicted him of entering and being found in the United States after removal, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Liberato appealed, arguing that the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was free from official restraint before his apprehension.The United States District Court for the District of Arizona denied Liberato’s motion for judgment of acquittal and entered a judgment of conviction. Liberato then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.The Ninth Circuit reversed Liberato’s conviction, holding that the government’s evidence was insufficient to establish that Liberato was free from official restraint at any point before his apprehension. The court emphasized that for a conviction under § 1326(a), the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was free from official restraint after physically entering U.S. territory. The court found that there was no evidence that Liberato’s group was ever anywhere other than immediately next to the border fence, and no testimony about where Liberato was or what he was doing when first observed in the United States. The court concluded that no rational jury could have inferred beyond a reasonable doubt that Liberato was at any point free from official restraint. Consequently, the court reversed the conviction and remanded for entry of a judgment of acquittal. View "USA V. LIBERATO" on Justia Law

In 2002, Tracy Allen Hampton was convicted of killing Charles Findley, Tanya Ramsdell, and Ramsdell’s unborn child. A jury sentenced him to death. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed Hampton’s convictions and sentences on direct appeal and denied his petition for state post-conviction relief. Hampton then filed a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which the district court denied.Hampton raised four certified claims on appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that each lacked merit. The court found that the State did not violate Brady v. Maryland or Napue v. Illinois in connection with the testimony of a jailhouse informant, George Ridley. Hampton was not prejudiced by his trial counsel’s alleged failure to obtain evidence that could have been used to impeach Ridley. The court also held that Hampton’s defense counsel were not constitutionally ineffective at the guilt or sentencing phases of his trial. Additionally, the district court acted within its discretion in denying Hampton’s request for evidentiary development on his Brady, Napue, and ineffective assistance of counsel claims. The court declined to expand the certificate of appealability to include Hampton’s uncertified claims.The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Hampton’s federal habeas petition. The court found that the state court’s decision was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law, nor was it based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. The court also denied Hampton’s motion for reconsideration as moot. View "HAMPTON V. SHINN" on Justia Law

Thomas Keller, a physician specializing in pain management, was convicted of prescribing controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice. Keller was known for prescribing large quantities of opioids, which led to a federal investigation. During the investigation, agents seized a journal from Keller's residence, which contained patient information and medical notes. Keller was subsequently indicted on federal charges, including unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and health care fraud. He was convicted on four counts of distributing controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice.The United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied Keller's motion to suppress the journal, finding it fell within the scope of the search warrant and was supported by probable cause. The court also declined to hold an evidentiary hearing on the suppression motion, ruling that Keller's allegations did not establish contested issues of fact. Additionally, the court rejected Keller's argument that the charges violated the nondelegation doctrine, holding that the Attorney General's regulations were within the scope of authority delegated by Congress. Keller was sentenced to 30 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed Keller's conviction and sentence. The court held that the district court did not err in denying the motion to suppress the journal, as it was properly seized under the search warrant. The court also found no abuse of discretion in the district court's decision not to hold an evidentiary hearing. The court upheld the constitutionality of the nondelegation doctrine as applied to Keller's charges. Finally, the court ruled that the district court correctly calculated Keller's sentencing range using the drug conversion ratio found in the Sentencing Guidelines commentary, as it was properly incorporated into the Guidelines. View "United States v. Keller" on Justia Law

Hector Cervantes-Torres was convicted in 2014 of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm as an alien unlawfully present in the United States, and being an alien found unlawfully present in the United States following deportation. Five years later, the Supreme Court ruled in Rehaif v. United States that a defendant’s knowledge of their status as a person barred from possessing a firearm is a necessary element of a § 922(g) conviction. Cervantes-Torres filed a coram nobis petition in 2021 to vacate his § 922(g)(1) and § 922(g)(5) convictions due to the lack of a Rehaif instruction at his trial.The district court granted the petition for the § 922(g)(1) conviction but denied it for the § 922(g)(5) conviction. The court found that there was a reasonable probability that the jury could have reached a different verdict regarding the § 922(g)(1) conviction due to the expungement of Cervantes-Torres’s felony drug conviction. However, for the § 922(g)(5) conviction, the court concluded that no reasonable jury could find that Cervantes-Torres was unaware of his unlawful status, given his deportation, false statements on his green card application, and a letter from USCIS informing him of his lack of lawful status.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s partial denial of Cervantes-Torres’s petition. The panel held that even under the standard of review for a direct appeal, Cervantes-Torres could not prevail. The court found that there was no reasonable probability that the jury would have reached a different result even if a Rehaif instruction had been given, due to the overwhelming evidence that Cervantes-Torres was aware of his unlawful status. Therefore, any error from the lack of a Rehaif instruction was not of the most fundamental character, and the district court’s decision was affirmed. View "Cervantes-Torres v. United States" on Justia Law

Island Industries, Inc. filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act (FCA) against Sigma Corporation, alleging that Sigma made false statements on customs forms to avoid paying antidumping duties on welded outlets imported from China. Island claimed that Sigma falsely declared that the products were not subject to antidumping duties and misrepresented the products as steel couplings instead of welded outlets. The jury found in favor of Island, concluding that Sigma was liable under the FCA.The United States District Court for the Central District of California presided over the case. Sigma requested a scope ruling from the Department of Commerce, which determined that Sigma’s welded outlets fell within the scope of the antidumping duty order on certain carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from China. The Court of International Trade and the Federal Circuit affirmed this ruling. Sigma’s appeal was stayed pending the Federal Circuit’s decision, which ultimately affirmed the scope ruling.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s judgment. The Ninth Circuit held that it had jurisdiction over the case and that the action did not need to be initiated in the Court of International Trade. The court also held that 19 U.S.C. § 1592, which provides a mechanism for the United States to recover fraudulently avoided customs duties, does not displace the FCA. The court rejected Sigma’s argument that it lacked an “obligation to pay” antidumping duties under the FCA and concluded that Island’s theory that Sigma violated the FCA by knowingly falsely declaring that no antidumping duties were owed was legally valid and supported by sufficient evidence. The court also found that the evidence at trial was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict under either of Island’s theories of liability. View "ISLAND INDUSTRIES, INC. V. SIGMA CORPORATION" on Justia Law

The defendant, Eliel Nunez Sanchez, was charged with illegal reentry after removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Nunez, a Mexican citizen, had entered the United States illegally as a child. In 2006, he was convicted of possession of methamphetamine while armed. In 2010, he was arrested again for possession of methamphetamine for sale, leading to removal proceedings. During these proceedings, Nunez waived his right to appeal and was deported. He reentered the U.S. illegally multiple times and was deported each time based on the original removal order.The United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Nunez's motion to dismiss the indictment, finding that he had not exhausted his administrative remedies because his waiver of the right to appeal was valid. Nunez then entered a conditional guilty plea, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that Nunez did not meet any of the three requirements under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d) to collaterally attack the removal order. First, Nunez did not exhaust his administrative remedies, as his waiver of appeal was considered and intelligent. Second, he was not deprived of the opportunity for judicial review because his waiver was valid. Third, the entry of the removal order was not fundamentally unfair, as Nunez's waiver of counsel was knowing and voluntary, and he was not prejudiced by the denial of voluntary departure.The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Nunez's motion to dismiss the indictment. View "United States v. Sanchez" on Justia Law

Jeremiah Banks, a state prisoner, filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in January 2021, alleging nine claims. Two of these claims were exhausted, while the remaining seven were unexhausted. Banks also moved for a stay and abeyance under Rhines v. Weber to return to state court and exhaust the unexhausted claims. However, after filing his federal petition, Banks took no action to exhaust his seven unexhausted claims for over a year.The United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Banks’s motion for a Rhines stay in April 2022, citing his failure to show good cause for his post-filing lack of diligence and intentional delay in reviewing his federal petition. The district court dismissed Banks’s two exhausted claims with prejudice and his seven unexhausted claims without prejudice.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case and held that a district court does not abuse its discretion by considering a petitioner’s diligence in pursuing state court remedies after filing a federal petition when evaluating good cause under Rhines. The court emphasized that the district court must consider a petitioner’s post-filing diligence in pursuing state court remedies. The Ninth Circuit found that Banks failed to demonstrate good cause excusing his lack of diligence and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the Rhines stay and abeyance.Additionally, the Ninth Circuit rejected Banks’s argument that the district court contravened Rose v. Lundy by not offering him the choice of withdrawing his entire mixed habeas petition. The court explained that Banks did not have such a choice because the district court dismissed his two exhausted claims with prejudice. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the Rhines stay and dismissal of Banks’s habeas petition. View "Banks v. Allison" on Justia Law

Ryan Barry, a probationer subject to warrantless search conditions, was implicated in drug trafficking by an anonymous tipster who reported that a person named "Ryan" was selling drugs from an apartment in Van Nuys, California. The tipster also mentioned that "Ryan" drove a red convertible Ford Mustang. Officer Giovanni Espinoza of the LAPD investigated and found Barry, who matched the description and was on post-release community supervision for felony convictions. Barry was observed driving a red Mustang near the apartment. During a subsequent encounter, Barry was found with drugs and did not deny living at the apartment when informed of the impending search. Barry's possession of a key to the apartment further supported the officers' belief that he resided there.The United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Barry's motion to suppress the evidence found in the warrantless search of the apartment, as well as his request for an evidentiary hearing. Barry entered a conditional plea agreement, reserving the right to appeal the suppression motion, and was sentenced to 180 months' imprisonment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's decision. The Ninth Circuit held that the search was consistent with the Fourth Amendment and the standard articulated in United States v. Grandberry, which requires probable cause to believe that a parolee resides at the location to be searched. The court found that the totality of the circumstances, including Barry's responses to Officer Espinoza, the anonymous tip, and Barry's possession of a key, established probable cause that Barry resided at the apartment. The court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to hold an evidentiary hearing. View "USA V. BARRY" on Justia Law