In Somers v. United States, No. 19-11484 (Apr. 25, 2023) (Jill Pryor, Anderson, Marcus), the Court affirmed Mr. Somers's ACCA-enhanced sentence. Mr. Somers argued that his prior conviction for Florida aggravated assault with a deadly weapon could not serve as an ACCA predicate because it can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness. The Court disagreed, [...]

In United States v. Rolle, No. 19-11354 (Apr. 14, 2023) (Wilson, Jordan, Brasher), the Court affirmed the district court's denial of Mr. Rolle's motion to dismiss the indictment. Mr. Rolle was charged with one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce aliens to enter the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I); 16 counts of [...]

In United States v. Burnette, No. 21-13990 (Apr. 11, 2023) (Jordan, Rosenbaum, Newsom), the Court affirmed Mr. Burnette's bribery-based convictions. Mr. Burnette, a real estate developer in Tallahassee, was accused of soliciting bribes from two undercover agents posing as property developers in order to sway a Tallahassee city commissioner's vote.  He was found guilty of Hobbs Act [...]

In United States v. Dawson, No. 21-11425 (Apr. 5, 2023) (Wilson, Branch, Lagoa), the Court affirmed Mr. Dawson's convictions. The Court considered, as an issue of first impression, whether an adult who films himself exposing his genitals and masturbating in the presence of a child where the child is the object of the sexual desire in the [...]

In United States v. Hall, No. 22-10230 (Apr. 5, 2023) (Branch, Brasher, Ed Carnes), the Court held, as a matter of first impression, that a district court may not sentence a defendant to home confinement for violating the terms of his supervised release where the district court has also sentenced the defendant to the statutory maximum period of imprisonment [...]

In United States v. Penn, No. 21-12420 (Mar. 24, 2023) (Lagoa, Brasher, Ed Carnes), the Court affirmed the defendant’s ACCA sentence based on prior Florida sale-of-cocaine convictions. In holding that the prior convictions were ACCA “serious drug offenses,” the Court rejected three arguments. First, circuit precedent foreclosed the defendant’s argument that a serious drug offense [...]

In United States v. Batmasian, No. 21-12800 (Mar. 24, 2023) (Branch, Luck, Antoon), the Court held that the district court lacked jurisdiction to consider the pardoned defendant’s motion to expunge his conviction. The defendant filed his expungement motion in the district court that convicted him. But the Eleventh Circuit rejected the defendant’s reliance on the [...]

In United States v. Files, No. 21-12859 (Mar. 24, 2023) (Newsom, Luck, Tjoflat), the Court affirmed the denial of the defendant’s motion for a reduced sentence under Section 404 of the First Step Act. The question in the case was whether the district court had authority to reduce the defendant’s sentence for a non-covered offense [...]

In United States v. Morel, No. 20-14315 (Mar. 23, 2023) (William Pryor, Rosenbaum, Marcus), the Court affirmed the defendant’s convictions for importing cocaine. First, the district court interrupted the trial to instruct the jury about the law of conspiracy after a witness incorrectly used the term incorrectly, implying that he had to personally know the [...]

In United States v. Williams, No. 21-12877 (Mar. 23, 2023) (William Pryor, Hull, Marcus), the Court affirmed the denial of the defendant’s motion for a reduced sentence under Section 404 of the First Step Act. The defendant was eligible for a reduced sentence, and his life sentence exceeded the 30-year statutory maximum that applied after [...]