In Alvarado-Linares v. United States, No. 19-14994 (Aug. 16, 2022) (Newsom, Branch, Brasher), the Court affirmed the district court's denial of Mr. Alvarado-Linares's Davis-based § 2255 motion. Mr. Alvarado-Linares was convicted of one count of conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d); four counts under the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Act ("VICAR"), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)--two for murder and two for attempted murder, in violation of Official Code of Georgia §§ 16-5-1(a) and 16-4-1; and four counts of using a firearm in committing those offenses, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).  He was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences plus eighty-five years.  Mr. Alvarado-Linares filed a motion to vacate his four firearms convictions--which resulted in 85-years of consecutive imprisonment--as unconstitutional in light of Davis. The Court granted a certificate of appealability on one issue: whether Mr. Alvarado-Linares's four firearms convictions are unconstitutional in light of Davis.  To resolve the issue, the Court noted that Mr. Alvarado-Linares must "bear the burden of showing that he is actually entitled to relief on his Davis claim, meaning he will have to show that his § 924(c) convictions[s] resulted from application of solely the [now-unconstitutional] residual clause," [...]

In United States v. Pate, No. 20-10545 (Aug. 10, 2022) (Newsom, Branch, Lagoa), the Court affirmed Mr. Pate's convictions predicated on violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1521, which prohibits the filing of a false lien or encumbrance against the property of any officer or employee of the United States on account of the performance of official duties. Mr. Pate was accused of filing various false liens against the former Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and the former Secretary of the Treasury for acts they performed as part of their official duties.  He filed these false liens after they had left their positions with the federal government.  On appeal, the Court considered whether § 1521 applies to false liens filed against former federal officers and employees for official actions they performed while in service with the federal government. The Court held that the plain language of § 1521 covers both current and former federal officers and employees.  For purposes of § 1521, Congress premised liability on action taken against "an individual described in section 1114," which itself addresses "any officer or employee of the United States or of any agency in any branch of the United States Government." As such, and giving effect to all of § 1521's provisions, [...]

In United States v. Witt, No. 21-10557 (Aug. 9, 2022) (Newsom, Marcus, Middlebrooks (S.D. Fla.)), the Court affirmed Ms. Witt's convictions and sentence.  Ms. Witt was convicted for her part in a scheme to defraud the federal government out of relief funds intended for farmers affected by drought and fire (the Livestock Forage Disaster Program).  She was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; two counts of theft of government funds; and one count of aggravated identity theft.  On appeal, Ms. Witt first challenged the district court's denial of her motion for a new trial, arguing that the weight of the evidence preponderated in favor of a not guilty verdict.  The Court first noted that the government misunderstood Ms. Witt's argument on appeal, and clarified that a challenge to the denial of a motion for a new trial involves a different inquiry from that of a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.  The Court then rejected Ms. Witt's challenge.      Next, Ms. Witt challenged the substantive reasonableness of her sentence, arguing that the district court should have sentenced her to house arrest rather than a traditional prison sentence.  The Court disagreed, finding her sentence of 28 [...]

In King v. United States, No. 20-14100 (July 28, 2022) (Grant, Luck, Anderson), the Court affirmed the denial of a 2255 motion based on Davis. In his plea agreement, the defendant agreed not to collaterally attack his conviction or sentence in a 2255 motion.  After Davis, the defendant brought a 2255 motion, arguing that his 924(c) conviction, which was predicated on conspiracy, was no longer a valid crime.  The Eleventh Circuit held that, even though Davis subsequently announced a new retroactive rule of constitutional law, the defendant’s waiver remained valid under contract principles.  And while the Court had previously recognized limited exceptions to such waivers, including in the case of a jurisdictional defect, the defendant’s Davis claim did not fit any of those exceptions.  Specifically, the Court held that the claim did not involve a sentence exceeding the statutory maximum, because the maximum must be understood based on the law in effect at the time the waiver was signed by the parties.  The defendant bore the risk that there would be a favorable change in the law, and “the government’s wager has paid off” in that regard. Judge Anderson concurred.  He agreed that the Davis claim did not satisfy the [...]

In United States v. Watkins, No. 19-12951 (July 15, 2022) (Newsom, Tjoflat, Ed Carnes), the Court affirmed the defendants’ fraud convictions. The defendants solicited millions of dollars in investments from wealthy and famous people, including Sir Charles Barkley, by misleading them about their ownership interest in the investment company, that the funds would be used for business (rather than personal) purposes, and that other high-profile people were involved in the company.  The defendants also directed a friend to request a loan from a bank where the defendants were already maxed out, and to conceal that the loan was for the defendants. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit held that the evidence was sufficient to support the defendants’ convictions.  As for wire fraud, the evidence was sufficient to show an intent to defraud because the misrepresentations affected the nature of the bargain and sought to obtain money to which the defendants were not entitled.  As for bank fraud, the evidence was sufficient because concealing the true recipient of the loan affected the nature of the bargain with the bank. The Eleventh Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendants’ proposed jury instruction on the “intent [...]

In United States v. Lewis, No. 20-12997 (July 14, 2022) (Grant, Luck, Hull), the Court affirmed the defendant’s drug convictions. First, the Court upheld the denial of a motion to suppress.  The argued that collateral estoppel prevented the federal government from re-litigating the legality of the traffic stop, which was already decided in state court.  The Court assumed, without deciding, that collateral estoppel applied to successive criminal prosecutions by different sovereigns, but held that it would not apply here because the defendant failed to establish privity between the state and federal authorities.  There was no evidence that the state was acting as a tool of, or were controlled by, federal prosecutors. Second, the Court rejected the defendant’s arguments pertaining to jury selection.  It found no abuse of discretion in dismissing a juror for cause where the juror could not sit in judgment due to moral beliefs.  Unlike the religious juror in the en banc decision in Brown, the juror here never confirmed the ability to follow the law and the court’s instructions, and, unlike in Brown, the juror here was not already seated.  In addition, the Court found no clear error in the district court’s finding of discriminatory intent under [...]