Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

In February 2020, Thomas Daniels was convicted of carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, brandishing and discharging a firearm during the carjacking, and being a felon in possession of ammunition. The incident occurred when Daniels entered a tow yard, threatened two individuals with a gun, shot them both, and then stole their possessions and vehicle. Daniels appealed his convictions, challenging on evidentiary and suppression grounds.Daniels argued that the district court erred in excluding a defense expert who was offered to testify on the reliability of eyewitness identification, and in admitting the victim’s out-of-court identification testimony. He also objected to a detective’s testimony identifying him in the tow yard surveillance footage, and the failure to suppress photographs taken of him after the crime. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit found no error in the district court's decisions and affirmed Daniels’ convictions.The court held that given the detective's familiarity with Daniels, his identification of Daniels in the surveillance footage was indeed helpful to the jury. In addition, the court found that the photo array shown to one of the victims was not unduly suggestive, and even if it were, the victim's identification of Daniels was nonetheless reliable. Finally, the court found no constitutional violation in the encounter between the detective and Daniels as there was probable cause to arrest Daniels, and thus the photos taken during that encounter were not the "fruit" of an unlawful seizure. View "USA v. Thomas Daniels" on Justia Law

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions of sisters Tierzah, Charis, and Elisa Mapson in connection with a shooting incident. The victims were Joshua Thornton, the father of Tierzah's daughter, and his wife. The government charged the sisters with interstate domestic violence, interstate stalking, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to commit these offenses. The jury found that the shooting was part of a scheme by the sisters to kill Mr. Thornton over a child custody dispute.In their appeal, the sisters argued that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdicts. Charis also challenged the admission of testimony that she once owned a firearm, claiming it was prejudicial hearsay. Elisa and Charis contested the admissibility of data obtained from automated license plate readers (ALPRs), arguing that its acquisition constituted a warrantless search in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.The court of appeals found sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdicts. The court also rejected Charis's challenge to the hearsay evidence, ruling it was admissible as an admission by a party opponent. The court further concluded that the ALPR data was admissible because the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule applied, and its introduction did not require expert testimony. View "United States v. Mapson" on Justia Law

In a case heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the defendant, Adam Joseph Owens, was arrested as part of a federal-state task force's investigation into a large drug ring. Owens was initially charged with multiple crimes but pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The district court imposed a 120-month prison sentence, double the 60-month recommendation by the Sentencing Guidelines. The court argued this upward variance was due to Owens planning to sell drugs while in jail awaiting sentencing and his involvement in the overdose death of one of his customers.Owens appealed against these findings. The appellate court, however, affirmed the district court's sentence, concluding that the findings were not clearly erroneous. The court relied on the testimony of the warden of the detention center where Owens was held and a police sergeant who testified about the victim's death. It was found that Owens was involved in drug dealing in jail and was responsible for selling drugs that led to the victim's death. The court noted that the district court's factual findings at sentencing were not clearly erroneous and thus upheld Owens's sentence. View "United States v. Owens" on Justia Law

The case is about an appeal by Jayson Wright against his conviction for producing child pornography. Wright had pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography by a parent or legal guardian and one count of producing child pornography, both in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(b) and (e), and 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e) respectively, and was sentenced to a total of 720-months’ imprisonment. Wright appealed his conviction on the grounds that the district court violated Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in taking his guilty plea on the § 2251(a) charge. He argued that there was not an adequate factual basis supporting his guilty plea and that the district court did not adequately explain the nature of his charge.Wright argued that the minor needed to have volitionally participated in the sexual act to sustain his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e). He contended that he was prejudiced and his conviction should be reversed because the district court did not mention a volitional requirement during the plea colloquy, and he would not have pleaded guilty had he known about what he contends is the volitional requirement.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court. The appellate court held that 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) does not require the minor to volitionally participate in the sexual act. Therefore, the district court did not commit plain error in taking Wright’s guilty plea without finding that the minor volitionally participated in the sexual act. View "United States v. Wright" on Justia Law

The case involved an appeal by two brothers, Jonathan and Daniel Markovich, who were convicted for operating fraudulent drug rehabilitation clinics in Florida. They were found guilty of various charges, including health-care fraud, wire fraud, kickbacks, money laundering, and bank fraud, resulting in fraudulent claims of over $100 million.The brothers appealed their convictions on several grounds. They argued that the district court violated their constitutional rights by denying their motion to compel the prosecution to obtain and disclose confidential medical records possessed by third parties. They also claimed that the court violated Federal Rules of Evidence by admitting unreliable and confusing expert testimony about the clinics' medical and billing practices. Additionally, they argued that the court abused its discretion by admitting lay summary testimony about medical and billing records.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions. The court ruled that the prosecution had no duty to seek out potentially exculpatory evidence not in its possession. It also determined that the expert testimony was clear and reliable, and the summary testimony was proper. The court found that any challenge to bank-fraud counts was forfeited due to a lack of explanation or supporting legal authority. Finally, the court ruled that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying the brothers' motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. View "United States v. Markovich" on Justia Law

The case pertains to Thomas Ukoshovbera A. Gbenedio, a licensed pharmacist, who was charged with 72 counts of unlawful drug dispensing and one count of refusing an inspection of his pharmacy, essentially operating a "pill mill." The district court sentenced Gbenedio to 188 months of imprisonment and imposed a $200,000 fine.Gbenedio appealed, arguing that the lower court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment due to insufficient notice of the charges against him, and in making certain evidentiary rulings. He also contested the fine imposed, stating he was unable to pay.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's decision. The court found that the indictment provided enough facts for Gbenedio to understand the charges against him. It also deemed the district court's evidentiary rulings as non-abusive and found that Gbenedio failed to prove his inability to pay the fine. View "USA v. Gbenedio" on Justia Law

The case involves Andre Dubois, who was convicted on several federal firearm offenses. These offenses arose when Dubois attempted to ship a box containing firearms from Georgia to Dominica. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit was asked to address five issues on appeal.Firstly, the court dismissed Dubois's argument that a recent Supreme Court case overturned the precedent upholding a ban on felons possessing firearms. The court held that the Supreme Court case did not abrogate the precedent, and therefore Dubois's argument failed.Secondly, the court affirmed that there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that Dubois knew he was in possession of a firearm.Thirdly, the court found that Dubois's prior conviction for possession with intent to distribute marijuana under Georgia law qualified as a "controlled substance offense" under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, triggering a higher base offense level.Fourthly, the court rejected Dubois's argument that the application of a sentencing enhancement for possession of a stolen gun violated his due process rights.Finally, the court held that the district court had not erred in imposing a $25,000 fine on Dubois, as there was sufficient evidence to suggest that he could afford to pay the fine.Therefore, Dubois's convictions and sentence were affirmed. View "USA v. Dubois" on Justia Law

In 2002, Michael David Carruth was convicted and sentenced to death for four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, first-degree burglary, and first-degree robbery in Alabama. Carruth appealed the denial of his habeas corpus petition, which raised six main issues. These included allegations of ineffective trial counsel for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of his trial, and ineffective appellate counsel for failing to notify him of further available appellate proceedings and to argue that the prosecution engaged in prosecutorial misconduct. Carruth also argued that he was deprived of his right to an impartial jury and due process of law due to premature jury deliberations.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit examined all the issues and affirmed the district court's denial of Carruth's habeas corpus petition. The circuit court determined that Carruth's claims did not survive deference under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, as the state court's adjudications were not contrary to federal law, nor did they involve an unreasonable determination of the facts. The court also held that Carruth's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was procedurally barred because it was not properly raised and preserved at the state level. The circuit court concluded that the nature of the crimes and the strength of the evidence against Carruth outweighed any potential mitigating evidence that may have been presented. View "Michael David Carruth v. Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections" on Justia Law

In this case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Raquan Emahl Gray was convicted of conspiracy to commit a controlled-substances offense, after helping transport a car filled with drugs to a state prison. Gray appealed his conviction, arguing that the government failed to prove that he knowingly possessed a Schedule II controlled substance, namely methamphetamine, rather than a controlled substance generally. The appeals court affirmed Gray's conviction, holding that the government only needed to prove general knowledge to obtain a controlled-substances conviction, which it did. Gray also argued that the district court erred when it denied his renewed motion for judgment of acquittal due to his failure to timely renew the motion at the conclusion of the evidence. The appeals court acknowledged that Gray's renewed motion was timely, but deemed the district court's error as harmless because enough evidence supported Gray's conviction. View "United States v. Gray" on Justia Law

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reviewed the case of Everett Tripodis, who had appealed his sentence from the Northern District of Georgia. Tripodis was involved in a scheme of stealing and reselling luxury vehicles. After being indicted on multiple counts, he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy offense under a negotiated plea agreement. As per the agreement, the government was to recommend a 60-month prison sentence, but the agreement did not make explicit mention of supervised release. At sentencing, a three-year term of supervised release was imposed, and Tripodis appealed, arguing that this was not part of the plea agreement.The court, however, affirmed the sentence. It found that the plea agreement was unambiguous and only committed the government to recommend a 60-month custodial sentence. There was no mention of supervised release, and the agreement’s silence on this issue did not bind the government to any promise regarding it. The court also noted that during the plea hearing, Tripodis was informed that he could be subject to a term of supervised release and he affirmed his understanding of this. Therefore, the court concluded that the government did not breach the plea agreement by recommending supervised release, and the district court did not err in imposing it. The court did, however, advise the government to be clearer in future plea agreements about what it is promising and what it is not. View "USA v. Tripodis" on Justia Law