In United States v. Boone, No. 22-11153 (Apr. 9, 2024) (Jordan, Lagoa, Hull), the Court affirmed Mr. Boone's 840-month sentence. Mr. Boone pleaded guilty to using a minor to produce child pornography, and distributing and possessing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251 and 2252A. The PSR recommended applying a five-level increase pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4B1.5(b) [...]
In United States v. Handlon, No. 22-13699 (Apr. 3, 2024) (Rosenbaum, Grant, Ed Carnes) (per curiam), the Court affirmed the denial of a motion for compassionate release. Mr. Handlon moved for compassionate release, contending that his eighty-five-year-old father had severe medical issues and needed help. He requested that he be released to spend what time he had [...]
In United States v. Al Jaberi, No. 22-12852 (Apr. 5, 2024) (Lagoa, Brasher, Tjoflat), the Court affirmed Mr. Al Jaberi's convictions and sentences. Mr. Al Jaberi was found guilty of smuggling in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 554(a) by willfully and knowingly attempting to export nine firearms from the United States, contrary to 18 U.S.C. § 922(e) and [...]
In United States v. Vargas, No. 22-10604 (Apr. 3, 2024) (Jordan, Lagoa, Marcus), the Court affirmed the district court's denial of Mr. Vargas's motion to dismiss his indictment as a result of a 35-month delay between indictment and arrest. Mr. Vargas was charged--in September 2018--with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of [...]
In United States v. Alhindi, No. 23-11349 (Apr. 1, 2024) (Rosenbaum, Newsom, Luck) (per curiam), the Court affirmed the district court's rulings re: competency. This appeal raised two questions regarding how to apply 18 U.S.C. § 4241, which sets forth the procedures for determining a defendant's competency to stand trial and addressing any incompetency. First, the Court [...]
In United States v. Gray, No. 22-13516 (Feb. 29, 2024) (Wilson, Grant, Lagoa), the Court affirmed Mr. Gray’s conviction for conspiracy to commit a controlled-substance offense. The Court rejected Mr. Gray’s chief contention: that his conviction could not stand because the government failed to prove that he knowingly possessed—as the indictment alleged—either “a Schedule II controlled substance” [...]
In United States v. Tripodis, No. 22-12826 (Feb. 29, 2024) (Wilson, Grant, Lagoa), the Court upheld the supervised-release portion of the sentence for Mr. Tripodis’s general-conspiracy conviction under a negotiated plea agreement. Mr. Tripodis argued that the plea agreement did not contemplate the imposition of supervised release, and that the government and the district therefore [...]
FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT RECEPTIONIST/CLERICAL ASSISTANT FORT LAUDERDALE OFFICE The Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida is accepting applications for the full-time position of Receptionist/Clerical Assistant in our Fort Lauderdale office. The Federal Public Defender, a branch of the United States Courts, is an Equal Opportunity Employer and operates [...]
FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT APPELLATE LEGAL ASSISTANT MIAMI OFFICE The Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida is accepting applications for the full-time position of Appellate Legal Assistant in our Miami office. The Federal Public Defender, a branch of the United States Courts, is an Equal Opportunity Employer and operates [...]
In United States v. Dubois, No. 22-10829 (Mar. 5, 2024) (William Pryor, Rosenbaum, Abudu), the Court affirmed Mr. Dubois’s convictions and sentence for attempting to smuggle firearms out of the United States, delivering firearms to a common carrier for shipment without written notice, and possessing a firearm as a felon. The Court denied Mr. Dubois’s [...]