Text of the letter is below; you may read the original letter in PDF format. The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Senate Majority Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Minority Leader House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable [...]

In United States v. Maxi, No. 15-13182 (Apr. 5, 2018) (Martin, Jordan, Walker), the Court affirmed the defendants' drug-trafficking convictions. As to one defendant, the Court affirmed the denial of his motion to suppress the search of a duplex.  The Court first concluded that the defendant had standing to challenge the search because, [...]

In United States v. Carroll, No. 16-16652 (Apr. 5, 2018) (Wilson, Dubina, Goldberg), the Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the defendant's child pornography convictions. First, the Court concluded that a warrant affidavit supported the conclusion that there was probable cause to believe that child pornography would be found in the [...]

In United States v. Harris, No. 16-17646 (Jill Pryor, Hull, Proctor) (Apr. 2, 2018), the Court affirmed the defendant's witness tampering and obstruction convictions over four evidentiary challenges. First, the Court rejected the defendant's Rule 403 argument that it was unduly prejudicial for the government to introduce evidence of a murder for which [...]

In United States v. Lee, No. 16-16590 (Apr. 2, 2018) (Martin, Jordan, Ginsburg) (per curiam), the Court re-affirmed its many circuit precedents holding that Florida robbery -- of all varieties and all years of conviction -- satisfies the elements clause of the ACCA and Sentencing Guidelines.   The panel recognized that the defendant's [...]

In United States v. Green, No. 14-12830 (Sept. 29, 2017) (Julie Carnes, Jordan, Robreno), the Court revised its earlier panel opinion from December 2016 in light of the recent en banc decision in Vail-Bailon. Relying on Vail-Bailon, it held that the defendant's Florida felony battery conviction satisfied the elements clause.  The panel removed [...]

In Griffith v. United States, No. 15-11877 (Sept. 26, 2017) (Ed Carnes, Rosenbaum, Dubina), the Court concluded that the district court erred by failing to hold an evidentiary hearing a 2255 motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The motion alleged that trial counsel was ineffective by failing to argue that some waste materials [...]

In Beeman v. United States, No. 16-16710 (Sept. 22, 2017) (Julie Carnes, Edmondson, Kathleen Williams), the Court held that an initial 2255 movant bringing an ACCA Johnson claim failed to meet his burden of proof, because he could not prove that it was more likely than not that the sentencing court relied on [...]

In United States v. Williams, No. 16-16444 (Sept. 20, 2017) (Tjoflat, Hull, William Pryor) (per curiam), the Court affirmed the denial of the defendant's motion to suppress. First, the Court concluded that the search of an outbuilding adjacent to the defendant's residence was lawful, because the search was a reasonable entry pursuant to [...]

In United States v. Masino, No. 16-15451 (Sept. 7, 2017) (William Pryor, Ed Carnes, Moore), the Court reversed the dismissal of an indictment charging a violation of the federal gambling statute. The issue was whether an indictment alleging a violation of Florida's bingo and gambling statutes sufficiently alleged an element of the federal [...]