Category: Appeals

On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court decided the case of United States v. Davis.  The decision was a major decision because, in a 5-4 vote, the Court found that a criminal statute was unenforceable as unconstitutionally vague.  Specifically, it held that the federal definition of a “crime of violence” contained in 18 U.S.C. § […]

In a recent decision, the Third Circuit held that the loss enhancement under the federal sentencing guidelines does not include the intended loss. The court's ruling could have significant implications for defendants convicted of fraud crimes. In particular, it could lead to significantly lower sentences. The decision is sure to be welcomed by defendants, who […]

United States v. Clark, No. 21-14473 (11th Cir. 2022) In November 2019, a grand jury convicted Clark and 32 codefendants of various controlled substance offenses. Clark eventually entered into a plea agreement with the government which included a broad appeal waiver. However, the parties were notified that the district court would reject the plea agreement […]

District Court Holds that Possession of Destructive Device in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence is Invalid for Arson United States v. Mujera Lung’aho, No. 4:20-cr-288-1 (Order) (E.D. AR, October 18, 2022) 924(c)(1)(B) has a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence. That provision is violated when persons use a “destructive device” during a crime of violence. The […]

Facts: Moore pleads to a drug case but challenged the method of finding of drug weight. Moore plead guilty to crimes involving 21 U.S.C. 841.  One of those counts involved meth in his home. Before sentencing, the probation officer consulted a lab report from the DEA. The DEA report had an amount of the weight […]

Facts:  Repeat Offender Challenges Enhancement due to Overbroad State Statute. Owen was enhanced at sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act, or ACCA.  In the past he pled guilty to committing the third-degree offense of selling cocaine twice in Minnesota.  These were used in his ACCA enhancement. (Note: The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) sets […]

Government’s Breach of Plea Leads to Vacatur of Sentence on Plain Error: Malone Facts:  Malone Plead Guilty to Charges After Alleged Bond Violations Malone was charged with charges of Fraud, transportation and sale of a stolen motor vehicle.  He was arrested and placed on bond with a condition that he not violate the law again. […]

Second Amendment Rights Challenged Post Bruen In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, through the New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen case (142 S. Ct. 2111, 2022), altered the legal landscape regarding the evaluation of restrictions on Second Amendment rights. This change has sparked a wave of challenges nationwide, the constitutionality […]

United States v. Swain, No. 21-6167 (4th Cir. 2022) Swain was eligible for a sentence reduction under section 404(b) of the First Step Act. After filing his motion, U.S. Probation determined that Swain’s Guidelines dropped from 324 to 405 months down to 262 to 327 months. Swain further argued that his Guidelines should be 210 […]

Facts: Sheperd's defense counsel also represented government's star witness. Sheperd was convicted in the district court for Medicare fraud. On appeal before the Fifth Circuit, Sheperd argued her Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel had been violated after it was discovered Sheperd’s pretrial counsel also represented one of the government’s star witnesses. The […]