Tag: appeal

Before the district court, Forde made a motion to suppress statements.  These included the physical evidence, his statement “that’s weed,” and statements made in response to officer’s questioning. The district court denied suppression in all respects. Forde appealed that decision to the Third Circuit. Forde was traveling to the Virgin Islands from the U.S. mainland. […]

The Fifth Circuit vacated a sentence based on a gun enhancement that was not clearly explained by the district court.

The Second Circuit considered and rejected a post-sentencing appeal of a sentence after allowing a 2255 motion to be filed because of United States vs. Davis.

In United States vs. Chew, the Ninth Circuit remanded a Fraud Sentence appeal to the District Court for an improper sentencing enhancement.

A New Case Before the Supreme Court:  Shular v. United States When legal conversation touches on the 'categorical approach', there is one federal criminal sentencing statute that has garnered more attention from the United States Supreme Court this term than any other. In fact, the ACCA statute is ‘the gift that keeps on giving’ because […]

While this is great news for many, I know that a lot of you have plenty of questions about Davis. I want to take this opportunity to discuss what exactly the holding in Davis means, how we got here, and what it might mean for your individual case.

Collins vs. Virginia, 584 U. S. ____ (2018), No. 16–1027. The Supreme Court handed down an important search and seizure case in Collins.   Officers from the Albemarle County Police Department observed the same motorcycle driver commit a traffic infraction in two separate incidents.  In both situations, the cyclist got away from the officers. In both […]

The Sentencing Reform Act requires a district court to calculate and consider a defendant’s Guidelines range in every case. Hughes v. United States, No. 17–155, 584 U. S. ____ (2018)   Eric Hughes accepted a plea deal in 2013 after being accused of four charges related to drug conspiracy. He pled guilty to conspiracy to […]

In US vs. Ballard, the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a case for a new trial after prosecutor used improper argument in summation.

United States of America v. Jose Prisciliano Gracia-Cantu, No. 15-40227, 2018 WL 2068684 Gracia-Cantu pled guilty to being an alien unlawfully present in the United States after previously being deported. He also had a prior conviction for Assault Family Violence under Texas Penal Code 22.01(a)(1) and 22.01(b)(2). The presentence report recommended an eight level increase […]