Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Upon reconsideration, the Eleventh Circuit sua sponte vacated its prior opinion and substituted the following opinion.The court held that defendant's private, person-to-person text messages asking an individual he thought was a minor to send him sexually explicit pictures of herself cannot support a conviction for making a "notice" to receive child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251(d)(1). The court also held that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to find that defendant believed the victim was thirteen years old, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the detective's challenged testimony. Therefore, the court reversed defendant's conviction under section 2251(d)(1) and affirmed his convictions under sections 2422(b) and 2251(a). View "United States v. Caniff" on Justia Law

The Eleventh Circuit vacated its prior opinion and substituted the following opinion.The court held that a conviction for making terroristic threats under O.C.G.A. 16-11-37(a) is indivisible and overbroad under Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243, 2249 (2016), and therefore a violation of that statute categorically does not constitute a predicate offense under the elements clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). Therefore, the court held that defendant did not have three qualifying predicate offenses, as required to support the application of an enhancement under the ACCA. The court remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Oliver" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his convictions for conspiring to defraud the United States by committing mail fraud; wire fraud; and receiving, concealing, and retaining money of the United States, as well as receiving, concealing, and retaining money of the United States. Defendant's charges stemmed from his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain federal grant money.The Eleventh Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for conspiracy because he does not dispute that he committed two of the three alternative objectives of the conspiracy within the limitation period. The court also affirmed defendant's conviction for receiving, concealing, and retaining government money on the ground it is a continuing offense for which he was timely indicted. View "United States v. Maher" on Justia Law

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed appellants' convictions and sentences for narcotics trafficking and firearms possession. The court held that the district court did not plainly err in allowing appellants to be shackled during trial; the district court did not abuse its discretion in addressing the jury note and declining to conduct a Remmer hearing; although the indictment omitted the mens rea element for appellants' 18 U.S.C. 922(g) charges, this error did not deprive the district court of jurisdiction, requiring vacatur under Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019); and the government's failure to prove the now-requisite mens element did not constitute a plain error. Finally, the court held that appellants' remaining claims were without merit and did not warrant discussion. View "United States v. Moore" on Justia Law

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254. The court held that the state habeas court's decision as to petitioner's ineffective-assistance-of-trial-counsel claim was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of federal law nor based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. The court rejected petitioner's claim that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective under Strickland v. Washington when counsel failed to investigate mitigating evidence at sentencing.Petitioner also alleged that he was denied due process and a fair trial when his request for a one day continuance was denied, that the jury's verdict was unconstitutional, and that he was denied a right to self-representation under Faretta v. California. The court concluded that it was barred from considering petitioner's claims because he failed to raise them on direct appeal, and cannot show cause and prejudice to overcome the default. View "Sealey v. Warden, Georgia Diagnostic Prison" on Justia Law

Petitioner petitioned the Eleventh Circuit a second time to review the BIA's final order of removal. The court had granted in part petitioner's first petition challenging the classification of his prior conviction for aggravated battery with a firearm as an aggravated felony under the residual clause definition of a crime of violence. The court held that the residual clause was void for vagueness under Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S. Ct. 1204, 1210 (2018), and granted the petition. On remand, the BIA classified petitioner's prior conviction as an aggravated felony under the elements clause of the definition of a crime of violence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 16(a).The court denied in part and dismissed in part the second petition, holding that petitioner's arguments -- that the Florida statute defining aggravated battery is indivisible and that the offense does not constitute a crime of violence -- are foreclosed by precedent. The court also held that it lacked jurisdiction over petitioner's argument that the BIA should review his application for deferral of removal, because petitioner failed to challenge the denial of his application in his appeal to the BIA. View "Lukaj v. U.S. Attorney General" on Justia Law

Plaintiff petitioned the district court for the grand jury transcripts related to the Ford Lynching—a horrific event involving the murders of two African American couples for which no one has ever been charged—to be used in his book about the lynching. The district court granted the petition, finding that the historical significance of the grand jury's investigation, and the critical role the records of that investigation would play in enhancing the historical record on this tragic event, amounted to "exceptional circumstances" that justified the use of the court's inherent power to order disclosure. A panel of the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.After rehearing en banc, the en banc court held that Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is exhaustive, and that district courts do not possess inherent, supervisory power to authorize the disclosure of grand jury records outside of Rule 6(e)(3)'s enumerated exceptions. Therefore, the en banc court overruled In re Petition to Inspect & Copy Grand Jury Materials (Hastings), 735 F.2d 1261 (11th Cir. 1984), which held to the contrary. The en banc court reversed the district court's judgment. View "Pitch v. United States" on Justia Law

The Eleventh Circuit granted a petition for review of the BIA's ruling that petitioner's conviction for sexual misconduct, N.Y. Penal Law 130.20, qualifies, under the modified categorical approach, as the aggravated felony of rape, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(A), and a crime involving moral turpitude.Because the record of conviction does not make clear whether petitioner pleaded guilty to forcible or statutory rape, the court need not decide whether the New York statute is divisible as between those two different kinds of rape or whether the criminal complaint is a valid Shepard document. The court explained that, even if it were to resolve both issues in the department's favor, the criminal complaint would still fail to establish that petitioner pleaded guilty to forcible rape. Furthermore, the board failed to address whether statutory rape is a crime involving moral turpitude, so the court does not address that issue. Nor does the court need to address petitioner's alternative argument that he is eligible for a discretionary waiver of deportation even if he is removable. The court vacated and remanded for further proceedings. View "George v. U.S. Attorney General" on Justia Law

Where, as here, the loss is a unique artifact for which market value cannot fully compensate, courts must use replacement costs in determining restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA). The Eleventh Circuit wrote that, while absolute precision is not required under the MVRA, the district court must base its restitution order on evidence. Furthermore, that evidence must show that the restitution will make the victim whole—nothing more and nothing less.The court affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and theft of major artwork. Defendant's conviction stemmed from his role in stealing Gold Bar 27, a gold ingot recovered from an undersea wreckage site. The court remanded for the district court to ascertain the amount of restitution. In this case, the district court did not ascertain replacement value when it determined market value was insufficient and then imposed restitution. View "United States v. Goldman" on Justia Law

In consolidated criminal appeals, the Eleventh Circuit held that a conviction for Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify as a "crime of violence" under the Sentencing Guidelines, U.S.S.G. 4B1.2(a). The court agreed with its sister circuits and defendants, holding that because the offense can be committed by a threat to person or property, the statute is too broad to qualify as a crime of violence either under the elements clause or as an enumerated robbery or extortion offense. Therefore, Hobbs Act robbery cannot serve as a predicate for a career offender sentencing enhancement. Accordingly, the court vacated each defendant's sentence and remanded for further proceedings. View "United States v. Eason" on Justia Law