In In re: Sealed Searched Warrant and Application for a Warrant by Telephone or Other Reliable Electronic Means (United States v. Korf et al.), No. 20-14223 (Aug. 30, 2021) (Martin, Rosenbaum, Luck) (per curiam), the Court upheld the denial of a motion to enjoin the use of a government filter team. The government executed a [...]

In Mitchell v. Duvall County et al., No. 19-14505 (Aug. 26, 2021) (Branch, Grant, Tjoflat), the Court re-affirmed that it clearly violates the First Amendment for prison officials to open an inmate’s legal mail outside of his presence. https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201914505.pdf https://defensenewsletter.blogspot.com/

In United States v. Gonzalez, No. 19-14381 (Aug. 19, 2021) (Jordan, Newsom, Tjoflat), the Court affirmed the denial of a motion for a reduced sentence under Section 404 of the First Step Act. Joining two other circuits, and accepting the government’s concession, the Court held that a sentence imposed upon revocation of supervised release can [...]

In United States v. Coats, No. 18-13113 (Aug. 12, 2021) (Martin, Newsom, Julie Carnes), the Court, in a 75-page opinion, affirmed the defendant’s felon in possession conviction and affirmed his ACCA sentence. As to the conviction, the Court found no plain error under Rehaif.  Although the district court committed error that was plain by accepting [...]

In United States v. Harris, No. 19-13692 (Aug. 9, 2021) (Jill Pryor, Newsom, Marcus), the Court affirmed the defendants’ drug and firearm convictions stemming from a reverse sting police corruption investigation. First, there was sufficient evidence to support the defendants’ convictions based on the evidence at trial. Second, while there was sufficient defense evidence of [...]

In United States v. Akwuba, No. 19-12230 (Aug. 11, 2021) (Wilson, Rosenbaum, Ed Carnes), the Court affirmed, with one exception, the defendant’s convictions for distributing controlled substances and health care fraud as part of a pill mill operation.   First, with one exception, the evidence was sufficient to support her convictions for distribution of controlled [...]

In United States v. Williams, No. 19-11972 (July 23, 2021) (Martin, Grant, Brasher), the Court affirmed the defendant's convictions for sex trafficking and sentence of life imprisonment. Defendant raised three challenges to his convictions: (1) the district court improperly admitted nude images and videos of the victims; (2) there was not enough evidence to show that he [...]

In United States v. Dudley, No. 19-10267 (July 22, 2021) (Newsom, Branch, Ray (N.D. Ga.)), the Court affirmed the defendant's ACCA-enhanced sentence.  Judge Branch delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Judge Ray joined, and Judge Newsom joined in all but Part III.A. On appeal, defendant argued that he was not ACCA because there was insufficient [...]