In Chamu v. U.S. Att'y Gen., No. 19-13908 (Jan. 26, 2022) (Branch, Grant, Brasher), the Court, on appeal from a Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") decision, found Mr. Chamu ineligible for cancellation of removal on account of his prior conviction of an offense "relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of title 21)"--namely cocaine [...]

In United States v. Nicholson, No. 19-11669 (Jan. 24, 2022) (Jill Pryor, Luck, and Brasher), the Court affirmed Nicholson's convictions for child pornography and child sex abuse. On appeal, Nicholson made three arguments: (1) the evidence was insufficient as to three counts; (2) the district court should have suppressed the evidence from the searches that occurred in [...]

In United States v. Smith, No. 20-12667 (Jan. 12, 2022) (William Pryor, Grant, Hull), the Court vacated the defendant's conviction for theft of trade secrets and related sentencing enhancements for lack of venue, affirmed the extortion conviction and related sentencing enhancements, and remanded for resentencing. The Court addressed whether an accused can be tried in a [...]

In United States v. Fleury, No. 20-11037 (Dec. 16, 2021) (Wilson, Rosenbaum, Hull), the Court affirmed the defendant’s convictions for transmitting interstate threats and cyberstalking. First, the Court rejected the defendant’s facial and as-applied First Amendment challenges to the cyberstalking statute.  Joining every circuit to address the issue, the Court held that the statute was [...]

In Telcy v. United States, No. 19-13029 (Dec. 10, 2021) (Wilson, Lagoa, Brasher), the Court affirmed the dismissal of a 2255 motion as an unauthorized second or successive motion. The issue on appeal was whether a sentence reduction under Section 404 of the First Step Act qualifies as a “new judgment” for purposes of the [...]

In United States v. Litzky, No. 20-10709 (Nov. 23, 2021) (Jordan, Newsom, Ed Carnes), the Court affirmed defendant's convictions for possessing child pornography, producing it, and conspiring to do the same. Defendant raised two issues on appeal: (1) the district court violated her constitutional right to present a defense by excluding expert testimony related to her intellectual disability; [...]

In United States v. Grady, No. 20-14341 (Nov. 22, 2021) (Branch, Grant, Ed Carnes), the Court affirmed defendants' convictions and sentences for conspiracy, destruction of property on a naval installation, depredation of government property, and trespass. Defendants, members of the Plowshares Movement--equipped with spray paint, bolt cutters, hammers, blood, banners, crime scene tape, Go-Pro cameras, and [...]

In United States v. Ramirez, No.  20-10564 (Nov. 1, 2021) (Wilson, Rosenbaum, Hull), the Court vacated the defendant's sentence and remanded. Defendant purchased firearms and firearm parts and components, often through straw purchasers, and sold them throughout Colombia.  Six firearms found themselves into the hands of members of the National Liberation Army ("ELN"), which the U.S. State [...]

In United States v. Wheeler, No. 17-15003 (Oct. 21, 2021) (Wilson, Lagoa, Brasher) (per curiam), the Court reversed a judgment of acquittal for two defendants and affirmed the convictions and sentences for three defendants involved in a telemarketing scheme that tricked investors into making stock purchases. First, notwithstanding the district court’s judgment of acquittal, the [...]

In United States v. Giron, No. 20-14018 (Newsom, Lagoa, Anderson) (Oct. 13, 2021), the Court—without oral argument or defense counsel—affirmed the denial of a pro se motion for compassionate release. First, the Court held that the district court did not err by relying on the policy statement in USSG 1B1.13.  The Court held in Bryant [...]