Category: Blog

United States v. Bethea, Seventh Circuit, No. 17-3468, 2018 WL 1959638 Bethea was charged with using fraudulently obtained credit cards to purchase merchandise at retailers. He had a combined guilty plea and sentencing hearing. The judge was in his courtroom in Madison, WI. Bethea was in Milwaukee because of his health issues and limited mobility. The […]

McCalla pled guilty to conspiracy to possess at least five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute. The Mandatory minimum, in that case, was ten years. His range of punishment was 136 to 168 months. He was sentenced to 126 moths and the court found that a sentence below the advisory guideline range would be sufficient […]

The Tenth Circuit recently reversed in United States v. Dahda. Dahda was convicted on a drug conspiracy for over 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. On appeal, Dahda alleged seven grounds for relief, including that the district court erred in applying Dahda’s base offense level by miscalculating the amount of marijuana attributed to Dahda. While […]

In United States v. Evans, Nos. 16-10310, 16-10311, the Ninth Circuit vacated terms of supervised release handed down by the Northern District of California because they were unconstitutionally vague. Evans was charged with a probation violation as well as felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Evans was sentenced to two years for the […]

United States v. Wheeler, __F.3d__, 2018 WL 1514418 (4th Cir. 2018) The Fourth Circuit recently handed down a very important and precedential decision on the applicability of the savings clause to the legality of a petitioner’s sentence. Appellant Gerald Wheeler was charged in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina […]

In United States v. Jacinto-Gonzalez, 2018 WL 1378021, the Eleventh Circuit vacated a sentence in order for an inmate to be credited with the time that he spent in a federal facility. Jacinto- Gonzalez was arrested and charged with being in the United States after being previously deported. He pled guilty on June 23 and […]

In United States v. Bell, 2018 WL 1432956, the Third Circuit vacated an improperly assigned sentence. Bell pled guilty to the offense of felon in possession of a firearm. He was enhanced at sentencing due to the ACCA and his priors. Bell’s first ground for appeal, that his priors did not meet the standard for the […]

The Ninth Circuit in United States v. Ocampo-Estrada has vacated a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence with no prior drug offense.

In Hicks v. United States, No. 11-50608, the Fifth Circuit remanded a sentence where the defendant’s alleged conduct was before the enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act but his sentencing was after the enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act. Hicks was arrested on April 8 and a search revealed 80 grams of crack cocaine.  His […]

In Higdon v. United States, No. 17-5027, the Sixth Circuit held that an inmate’s prior conviction for discharging a firearm into an occupied structure was not a crime of violence. Higdon pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court found that Higdon was an Armed Career Criminal based, in […]