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Criminal Law

Fourth Circuit Blog

Case summaries and commentary by a federal defender in the 4th Circuit.
By Jonathan Byrne

Post Frequency: 3.6/day

Last Entry: October 14, 2020 at 11:09:00

Stop & Search By Private Security Guards Not Subject to Fourth, Fifth Amendments

Posted on January 11, 2010
US v. Day: Day was at an apartment complex when he was confronted by two "armed security officers," whom the commonwealth of Virginia has blessed with the power to arrest. The officers saw Day and another man standing outside an apartment, apparently arguing with someone inside...

Inadequate Explanation of Loss Calculations Require Resentencing

Posted on January 11, 2010
US v. Wilkinson: Wilkinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the US, mail fraud, and conspiracy to steal trade secrets stemming from a scheme in which he acquired confidential bid information from his company's competitor (via a bribe from someone in that company) in order to secure contracts with the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC)...

Inventory Search Allows Search of Closed Containers In Trunk

Posted on January 11, 2010
US v. Mathews: Mathews was pulled over after an officer noticed his obscured license plate. Before the car was stopped, the officer recognized Mathews and confirmed his believe that Mathews had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The car was stopped and Mathews arrested...

Joinder Improper & Prejudicial In Trial for Carjacking and Later Felon In Possession

Posted on January 11, 2010
US v. Hawkins: Hawkins was a suspect in the carjacking of a cab in Baltimore, during which it was alleged he threatened to shoot the driver. When authorities tracked down Hawkins at a convenience store, he made movements indicating he might be armed...

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Face to Face "Man With Gun" Tip = Reasonable Suspicion

Posted on December 18, 2009
US v. Griffin: Griffin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The gun at issue was recovered from Griffin's car following a traffic stop. Since the relevant facts are few, I'll just reprint them here from the court's opinion:The evidence presented during the suppression hearing establishes that the Value-Lodge Motel in Charlotte, North Carolina, was well known to officers of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as a location for violent crime and drug trafficking...

Court Rejects "Reverse 404(b)" Testimony; Affirms "de facto" Career Offender Sentence

Posted on December 18, 2009
US v. Myers: Myers was convicted of several drug charges after trial and sentenced to 360 months in prison. At trial, Count Five involved an alleged sale of cocaine to a confidential informant who was "working off" an earlier charge for selling cocaine...

Restitution Not Appropriate for Accessories After the Fact Without Proximate Cause

Posted on December 18, 2009
US v. Squirrel: Squirrel and Slee pleaded guilty to being accessories after the fact to murder. At sentencing, the district court ordered the two (along with another codefendant) to pay more than $5000 restitution for funeral expenses incurred by the victim's family, but indicated it would also order the defendants to pay restitution "for the use and benefit" of the victim's daughter...

Plain View Provides for Seizure of Pistol in Car

Posted on December 08, 2009
US v. Rumley: Rumley was driving a truck that was stopped because its taillights were not working. Once the officer discovered that Rumley was driving on a suspended license, he arrested him and placed him in the back of his patrol car. The officer then went back to the truck to ask the passenger to get out...

Broad Consent to Search Allows Seizure of Gun Stuffed Under Mattress at Crime Scene

Posted on December 08, 2009
US v. Coleman: Coleman lived with his girlfriend. One night, as he came home, he asked her to open the garage door for him. Unbeknownst to either, two men had earlier broken into the house and hid away in the garage. When Coleman's girlfriend went to open the garage door, she was attacked...

Government Breach of Plea Agreement is Plain Error Requiring Reversal

Posted on December 08, 2009
US v. Dawson: Dawson was charged with conspiracy to distribute crack and powder cocaine. He entered into a plea agreement in which the Government agreed to recommend that Dawson receive a two-level offense level reduction for his minor role in the conspiracy...

Court Affirms Drug Conspiracy Conivctions

Posted on December 08, 2009
US v. Johnson: Johnson and her codefendants, Martin and Scott, were convicted of conspiracy and other offenses related to a drug distribution scheme that operated across several states. They raised several issues on appeal, but jointly and severally, seeking the reversal of their convictions...

Begay Has No Impact on ACCA Listed Offenses

Posted on December 08, 2009
US v. Thompson: Thompson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, the Government argued that his six prior North Carolina convictions for "breaking or entering" were crimes of violence and thus Thompson should be sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal...

Items Not Specifically Mentioned in Search Warrant Still Within Its Scope

Posted on November 25, 2009
US v. Phillips: Phillips was charged with and convicted of numerous fraud counts related to the fraudulent use of credit cards and businesses called Phydea (and it's associated website, Phydea.com) and Phydea Equity Fund. After an investigation, postal inspectors executed a search warrant at Phillips's home, which specifically authorized the seizure of documents related to Phydea...

Court Can't Consult Statement from Related Case to Determine ACCA Applicability

Posted on November 25, 2009
US v. Harcum: Harcum pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, the main issue was whether Harcum was an Armed Career Criminal, with particular focus on a prior Maryland conviction for second degree assault and whether it was a "crime of violence" under the ACCA...

16-Level Enhancement Requires Actual Trafficking in Prior Offense

Posted on November 10, 2009
US v. Maroquin-Bran: Maroquin-Bran was deported following a 1989 conviction in California for "the crime of SALE OR TRANSPORTATION OF MARIJUANA" (yelling in original statute). He reentered the country illegally in 2002 and was charged with illegal reentry in 2007...

Consideration of Uncharged Conduct at Sentecing OK

Posted on November 09, 2009
US v. Grubbs: Grubbs pleaded guilty to six counts of transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity and six counts of travelling interstate to engage in sexual activity with a minor. Those charges involved two victims. In the PSR, the probation officer set forth allegations from nine other victims of similar conduct by Grubbs in the past...

Forced Medication Requries Clear and Convincing Evidence

Posted on October 30, 2009
US v. Bush: Barbara Bush (no, not that one) was charged with two counts of threatening a federal judge. She suffers from "Delusional Disorder, Persecutory Type," which manifests itself in "extreme litigiousness" - she filed more than 100 civil suits since 1995, one of which exploded into this case...

Sex-Related SR Conditions Vacated in Threats Case

Posted on October 20, 2009
US v. Armel: Armel called a local FBI office in Virginia, claiming that the Bureau tried to kill him and owed him money. He called back shortly thereafter and claimed that if he didn't get "paid" the people in the office were "gonna' lose you're [sic] genitalia," that "God promised me he would curse you," and that if "[y]ou come and try to pull on me ...

Good Faith Saves Search Based on Anticipatory Warrant

Posted on August 18, 2009
US v. Andrews: Andrews was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm after officers recovered a gun during the search of his home pursuant to a warrant. The warrant was issued after a package was intercepted at the local FedEx depot that contained marijuana...

Jurisdiction Proper in North Carolina to Prosecute Assault in Afghanistan

Posted on August 18, 2009
US v. Passaro: This case arises from an "interrogation" Passaro, a former special forces medic (apparently a civilian contractor at the time of the incident), inflicted upon an Afghan detainee at a small US base in Afghanistan in 2003. The interrogation consisted mostly of beating and kicking (the suspect died shortly thereafter), which led to Passaro being charged and convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury (two counts of each) and being sentenced to a 100-month term of imprisonment...

DC Use of Presumption of Reasonableness Requires Resentencing

Posted on August 18, 2009
US v. Raby: Raby pleaded guilty to possession of child porn and faced a Guideline range of 210-262 months. Over the course of several sentencing hearings, during which Raby argued for a variance and the Government sang from the Guideline hymnal, the district court judge repeatedly stated that he didn't see how he could impose anything other than a Guideline sentence without getting reversed on appeal...

Maker of Fake Money Not Necessarily a "Leader" of Operation

Posted on July 22, 2009
US v. Cameron: Cameron was caught trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a store in Dunbar. Police who responded secured a second fake $20 and an admission from Cameron that he intended to pass it. Searches of Cameron's grandmother's home and his sister's home follow, uncovering various implements and equipment that could be used for making counterfeit bills...

Failure to Give Justification Defense Requires Reversal of Felon-in-Possession Conviction

Posted on July 21, 2009
US v. Ricks: Ricks's partner, Blue, returned to their home after several days absence, acting strangely. Ricks noticed that Blue had a gun in his hand, so Ricks pinned him against the wall and knocked the gun out of his hand. Ricks then picked up the gun, removed the clip, and tossed the gun and clip away in opposite directions...

Conspiracy Is "Violent Felony" Under ACCA

Posted on July 07, 2009
US v. White: White was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal. The only issue on appeal was whether one of White's priors - a North Carolina conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon - qualifies as a "violent felony" for ACCA purposes...

Carjacking Conviction Affirmed Over Numerous Objections

Posted on July 07, 2009
US v. Blake: Blake and Tolbert were involved in a carjacking in Maryland, during which the driver of the car was shot in the head, run over, and killed. Tolbert was arrested shortly thereafter and gave a statement basically admitting to being part of the process but putting the gun in Blake's hand and the ideas in Blake's head...

Court Rejects Numerous Challenges to SORNA Conviction

Posted on June 19, 2009
US v. Gould: Gould was convicted of a sex offense in DC in 1985. After his release he moved several times in the states surrounding the District. He finally settled in Maryland in August 2006. He did not register as a sex offender, as required by state law...

Court Affirms Drug, Gun Convictions Against Multiple Claims of Error

Posted on June 18, 2009
US v. Jeffers: Jeffers was involved with crack distribution in western Virginia. After a three-day trial, he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of crack and carrying a firearm in connection with that offense. He was sentenced to a total of 302 months in prison...

Evidence Not Sufficient for Enhanced Statutory Drug Penalties

Posted on June 08, 2009
US v. Kellam: Kellam and his codefendant were convicted on multiple drug counts and, on appeal, each alleged multiple errors at trial. Although the Fourth Circuit affirmed their convictions, the court vacated Kellam's life sentence. That sentence was imposed after the Government filed an information under 21 USC 851 alleging Kellam had prior convictions that made her eligible for an enhanced sentence...

No Mistake of Age Defense for Child Porn Manufacture

Posted on June 03, 2009
US v. Malloy: Malloy and a friend twice had sex with a 14-year old girl, one of the times being videotaped by Malloy. He was charged and convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor for the purpose of producing a visual depiction and sentenced to the mandatory minimum sentence of 180 months...

Indicment for Conspiracy Must Define Elements of Underlying Offense

Posted on June 03, 2009
US v. Kingrea: This case arose from a raid on a cockfighting venue in Virginia. Kingrea was there as a vendor of equipment and materials used in the fighting, but did not have an animal involved in the fighting. He was charged with conspiracy to sponsor or exhibit and animal fighting venture and illegal gambling business, conspiracy to sell animal fighting equipment, aiding and abetting the animal fighting operation, and conducing an illegal gambling business...

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