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 [...]
In United States v. Clowers, No. 20-13074 (Mar. 14, 2023) (Jill Pryor, Grant, Anderson), the Court affirmed the denial of a motion for reduced sentence under Section 404 of the First Step Act. The Court first agreed with the parties that engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise involving crack under 21 U.S.C. 848 was a [...]
In United States v. Shamsid-Deen, No. 20-11877 (Mar. 6, 2023) (Jill Pryor, Branch, Ed Carnes), the Court, on a government appeal, reversed the district court’s order granting the defendant’s motion to suppress. The defendant was prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) for possessing a firearm after having previously been convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic [...]
In United States v. Turner, No. 20-12364 (Mar. 1, 2023) (Rosenbaum, Tjoflat, Moody), the Court affirmed the defendant’s felon in possession conviction. At trial, the defendant raised an insanity defense. Over the defendant’s objection, the government’s expert psychologist who had evaluated the defendant testified that he was able to appreciate the nature and quality and [...]
In United States v. Heaton, No. 20-12568 (Feb. 14, 2023) (Wilson, Jill Pryor, Hull), the Court affirmed Dr. Heaton's convictions. Dr. Heaton was charged with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(C), 843, & 846; 102 counts of unlawful dispensing of controlled substances to patients, in violation [...]
In United States v. Jackson, No. 19-11955 (Feb. 3, 2023) (William Pryor, Grant, Jung (M.D. Fla.)), the Court, on remand from the Supreme Court post-Concepcion, reinstated its prior decision affirming the denial of relief. Jackson moved to reduce his sentence under the First Step Act, arguing that he was eligible for a sentence reduction because a [...]
In In re: Grand Jury Subpoena, FGJ-21-01-MIA, No. 21-13651 (Jan. 31, 2023) (Wilson, Jordan, Brasher), the Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The appellant was the custodian of business entities that were served with subpoenas to appear before a grand jury, produce documents, and certify that the documents satisfied the business records exception [...]