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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

RICO, VICAR Convictions Affirmed

Posted on April 12, 2010
US v. Ayala: Ayala and his codefendant, Velasquez, were charged with racketeering and violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR) - assault with a dangerous weapon for both defendants, conspiracy to commit murder only for Ayala. Both were also charged with using a firearm in connection with a crime of violence, although based on different incidents...

Court Affirms Conspiracy, Money Laundering Convictions

Posted on April 12, 2010
US v. Green: Green and his codefendant, Boyd, were tried together and convicted of a drug conspiracy. Boyd, in addition, was convicted of money laundering. The charges arose from a "family-based, years long" conspiracy to bring drugs from South Florida to the Tidewater area of Virginia...

Hand-to-Hand Activity Leads to Reasonable Suspicion, Arrest

Posted on April 02, 2010
US v. Johnson: Johnson was observed on a sidewalk in Baltimore in a neighborhood known for drug activity. An officer saw him make "quick hand-to-hand contact with three different men," which the officer interpreted as being drug transactions. The officer then saw Johnson, with two other men in tow, head for a restaurant, which aroused suspicion because "local dealers sometimes conduct their business in legitimate shops in order to elude police cameras...

Uninvited Guest Supports Reckless Endangerment Enhancement

Posted on April 02, 2010
US v. Carter: Carter was spotted engaging in what cops suspected was a drug deal. The followed him to a nearby convenience store and tried to apprehend him. Carter slipped their grasp and ran away, tossing aside a baggie of crack along the way. A 911 call alerted officers that Carter had run into a home, to which the officers responded...

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Contempt Conviction For Tardiness Reversed

Posted on March 31, 2010
In re: Gates: Gates, a defense attorney, was late for a very important date - his client's guilty plea hearing. The hearing had been moved up a day on the calendar, leading to some confusion on Gates's part as to when it was supposed to take place. When Gates arrived at the hearing 15 minutes late, the district court did not accept his explanation and, referencing "your appearance on other occasions," found Gates in contempt and ordered him to pay a fine of $250...

Generalized Findings Not Enough to Support Enhancements, Restitution

Posted on March 31, 2010
US v. Llamas: Llamas was involved in a telephone "sweepstakes" scam run out of Costa Rica. Initially recruited into the operation to serve as one of the telemarketers contacting "winners," he eventually became a "room boss" and "office manager" at the call center in Costa Rica...

Court OK's Death Penalty With Non-Violent Priors

Posted on March 31, 2010
US v. Caro: Caro was convicted of drug offenses and given a 30 year sentence. In prison he became a leader in the Texas Syndicate. After being transferred to USP Lee, he was involved with the murder of another inmate and fellow Syndicate member, for which Caro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit homicide, received an addition 27-year sentence, and was transferred to SHU...

Penalty at Time of Sentence Controls for ACCA

Posted on March 31, 2010
US v. McNeill: McNeill was convicted of being a felony in possession of a firearm and possession of crack with intent to distribute. As sentencing he was deemed an armed career criminal and given a sentence of 300 months in prison. On appeal, he argued that his prior North Carolina drug convictions were not "serious drug offense" as defined by the ACCA because the current statutory maximum penalty for those offenses was ten years in prison...

Court Clarifies Review of Sentences for Improper Guideline Influence

Posted on March 08, 2010
US v. Mendoza-Mendoza: Mendoza-Mendoza was convicted of illegal reentry (he had previously been deported to his native land of Mexico). At sentencing, he argued for a sentence below the advisory Guideline range. The district court concluded that it was "obligated" to impose a sentence within the Guideline range unless "a reason for a departure from those Guidelines, or a variance based on 18 USC 3553" was present...

Blue Lights. Again.

Posted on March 08, 2010
US v. Rivers: It's another blue light special in the Fourth Circuit. South Carolina has a felony offense of "failure to stop for a blue light" (i.e., not pulling over when the cops signal). In a case decided pre-Begay, the Fourth concluded that convictions for failure to stop for a blue light were "violent felon[ies]" under the Armed Career Criminal Act...

Court Affirms Conviction, 30-year Sentence

Posted on March 08, 2010
US v. Rooks: Rooks was a passenger in a car driven by his brother. They were pulled over because of a cracked windshield. During the stop, the officer detected the aroma of marijuana coming from the car, as well as noticed a cigarette but and plastic bag on the center console...

Court Vacates SR Sentence for Procedural Unreasonableness

Posted on February 24, 2010
US v. Thompson: This appeal arises from a supervised release revocation. While Thompson was on supervision, a petition was filed seeking revocation based on two counts of battery on/obstruction of a police officer and possession of methamphetamine. At the revocation hearing, Thompson conceded that the Government could prove the violations by a preponderance of the evidence...

Conviction Affirmed, Sentence Vacated, In Crack Possession Case

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Herder: Herder was confronted in a parking lot by an officer who had followed his vehicle from a "park and ride" commuter lot known for drug activity. Herder's driving was suspicious because it was "overcautious" - "keeping under the speed limit and signalling well in advance of turns...

Court Affirms Loss Calculations Based on Sampled Data

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Mehta: Mehta was a tax preparer in Maryland who would prepare tax returns for clients that contained phantom deductions beyond those which the clients related to him. He would then submit the returns electronically to the IRS and, via BankOne, participate in a program whereby the bank cut a check for the taxpayer, with the bank later taking possession of the actual refund from the IRS...

Juvenile Priors Without Jury Right Can Trigger ACCA

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Wright: Wright got involved in a fight at a nightclub in South Carolina, which led the crowd inside to pour out into the parking lot. Wright grabbed an AK-47 from a car and "sprayed 22 rounds" into the parking lot, wounding one person and killing another (who was asleep in his car at the time)...

Court Sets Standard for Preservation of Procedural Sentencing Error

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Lynn: This is actually three apparently unrelated sentencing appeals (one involves codefendants, however) collected in one place to resolve one issue - the proper standard of review when a party argues on appeal that the district court committed procedural error in selecting the sentence it imposed...

Initial Career Offender Designation Does Not Always Preclude Future Reduction of Sentence

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Munn: In 2001, Munn was convicted of distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. Although the Guidelines classified him as a career offender, the district court concluded that designation overstated Munn's criminal history and departed downwards due to that fact (Munn received an additional downward departure for substantial assistance)...

Defendant Eligible for Reduced Sentence After Prior Rule 35 Reduction

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Stewart: Stewart was convicted back in 2002 of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and sentenced to 235 months in prison. A Rule 35 motion filed afterward reduced his sentence to 187 months. When the revised crack Guidelines were made retroactive, Stewart filed for a reduction in his sentence under 18 USC 3582(c)(2)...

Unrequested Variance to Probation Vacated

Posted on February 18, 2010
US v. Morace: Morace pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, after an investigation showed that he was sharing child porn files across an Internet peer-to-peer network. The parties agreed that the advisory Guideline range was 41 to 51 months and, at sentencing, further agreed that a sentence of 41 months in prison was appropriate...

Court Declines to Find Exception to Auto Exception

Posted on February 08, 2010
US v. Kelly: Kelly was the subject of an investigation into drug dealing in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area. Officers obtained a warrant to search Kelly's home, although not any vehicles that were there. When police executed the search warrant, a green Lexus that was known to be Kelly's was one of three vehicles outside the house...

Decision to Agree to Mistrial Is Counsel's to Make, Not Defendant's

Posted on February 08, 2010
US v. Chapman: In this 2255 action, Chapman challenged the effectiveness of his counsel at trial. In particular, Chapman argued that when the Government went beyond the scope of certain evidentiary rulings with relation to FRE 404(b) evidence, his counsel was ineffective for moving only for a mistrial with prejudice, which the district court denied...

Appeal Waiver Not Valid, Defendant Loses Anyway

Posted on February 08, 2010
US v. Manigan: Manigan pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, pursuant to a plea agreement in which he waive his right to all appeals and 2255 claims (save ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial misconduct) - the Government waived nothing...

13 B&Es at Same Location Trigger ACCA

Posted on February 08, 2010
US v. Carr: Carr pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had 13 prior felony convictions in North Carolina for breaking or entering, leading the district court to determine he qualified as an Armed Career Criminal. Carr agreed that he had the 13 convictions, but argued that they did not occur "on occasions different from one another...

Lawfully Obtained ID Info Can Be Used Unlawfully

Posted on February 08, 2010
US v. Abdelshafi: Abdelshafi owned and ran a medical transport (aka ambulance) service that contracted with Medicaid to transport patients in Virginia. As part of the routine transportations that Abdelshafi's company would do, it would collect bits of personal identifying information such as birth dates and Medicaid IDs...

Court Takes Broad View of Warrant Scope in Computer Search

Posted on January 25, 2010
US v. Williams: Authorities in Fairfax, Virginia were investigating a series of emails sent to a local church school which indicated the writer's desire to engage in sexual activity with some of the boys there. The investigation led to an email account in the name of Williams's wife...

3582(c)(2) Reductions Not Limited to Exact Match of Previous Departure

Posted on January 25, 2010
US v. Fennell: Fennell pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine in 2005. Following a motion by the Government based on substantial assistance, Fennell received a sentence of 97 months in prison, below the 120-month mandatory minimum and Guideline range of 121-151 months...

Admission of Guilt Required for Criminal History Scoring

Posted on January 25, 2010
US v. Martinez-Melgar: Martinez-Melgar pleaded guilty to various drug and firearms charges. At sentencing, he challenged the use of a prior North Carolina disposition in the calculation of his criminal history score. Specifically, Martinez-Melgar argued that his participation in a "District Court Step Drug Program" in Mecklenburg County, NC, should not count in his criminal history because he did not make an admission of guilt in connection with the program...

Downward Variance in Tax Evasion Case Requires More Explanation

Posted on January 15, 2010
US v. Engle: Engle pleaded guilty to tax evasion, having hidden assets from the IRS for more than a decade to the tune of more than $600,000 ($2 million with penalties and interest). His advisory Guideline range, after a departure for over representation of criminal history, was 24 to 30 months...

Subjective Self Defense Instruction Correctly Refused

Posted on January 15, 2010
US v. Gore: After getting into a heated argument with a correctional officer at FCI Gilmer, Gore got into a scuffle with a second officer that resulted in him being sent to "the hole." Gore was charged with assault on and forcibly resisting a correctional officer under 18 USC 111...

Court Affirms Convictions, Life Sentences of "20th Hijacker"

Posted on January 15, 2010
US v. Moussaoui: Moussaoui was the "20th hijacker," arrested for overstaying his visa while training at a Minnesota flight school in August 2001. After 9/11, dots were connected and Moussaoui was eventually charged with six conspiracy counts (from use of weapons of mass destruction to destruction of Federal property) related to those attacks...

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