drug-offense

127 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6845 Michael Henderson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2026-02-18 Pending IFP criminal-procedure drug-offense firearm-enhancement presentence-investigation-report safety-valve-relief sentencing-guidelines I. Whether, under Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(1)(D), a district court's order for additional briefing on safety valve eligibility – which notes t…
25-6641 Ervin Thornton, II v. United States Sixth Circuit 2026-01-21 Pending Response WaivedIFP apprendi-rule circuit-split drug-offense first-step-act sentencing-relief statutory-interpretation Section 404 of the First Step Act opened a pathway to sentencing relief for people convicted of crack cocaine offenses prior to August 3, 2010. The ac…
25-5878 Detrayous D. Curry v. United States Eighth Circuit 2025-10-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance criminal-conviction drug-offense federal-schedule sentencing-guidelines state-law Whether the definition of a "Controlled Substance Offense" for purposes of U.S.S.G. §4B1.2 includes a prior state law conviction for a cocaine offense…
25-5861 Julius Rucks v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-10-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-sentencing drug-offense fentanyl misrepresentation sentencing-guidelines u-s-sentencing-commission Whether, under the U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 (b)(13), a defendant's offense can be enhanced by four levels, when there is no evidence that the defendant misrep…
25A203 Derrick Lorenzo Casey v. United States Fourth Circuit 2025-08-20 Presumed Complete armed-career-criminal drug-offense fifth-amendment plain-error-review sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Question not identified.
24-6729 Justin Lang Williams v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP acceptance-of-responsibility drug-offense felon-in-possession firearms-possession second-amendment sentencing-guidelines 1. Whether section 922(g)(1)'s lifetime ban for possessing a firearm violates the Second Amendment as applied to Petitioner? 2. Can a district court …
24-6567 Longino Lopez Flores, IV v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-02-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-appeal drug-offense fifth-circuit firearm-possession sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Did the Fifth Circuit err in affirming the four level enhancement to petitioner's sentencing range for a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which…
24-5880 Eric Schmidt v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-10-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law drug-offense mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the presumption of mens rea only applies to elements that criminalize otherwise innocent conduct or instead also applies to elements that i…
24-5457 Larome Deon Waiters v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-09-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act controlled-substances drug-offense prior-conviction sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Whether a Florida controlled substances offense, which does not require proof that the defendant knew of the illicit nature of the controlled substanc…
24-5144 Richard Villareal v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-07-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2d1.1(b)(1) criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process fifth-circuit firearm-enhancement sentencing-guidelines tools-of-the-trade-presumption Whether the Fifth Circuit's practice of applying a tools-of-the-trade presumption to the firearm enhancement of sentencing guidelines §2D1.1(b)(1) vio…
24-5031 Keith White v. United States Seventh Circuit 2024-07-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-u.s.c.-§-846 career-offender controlled-substance controlled-substance-offenses criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-criminal-law sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation u.s.s.g.-§-4b1.2 Whether an offense under 21 U.S.C. § 846 may be included in the U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2 definition of "controlled substance offenses" for purposes of sentenc…
23-7357 Jesus Robledo Aguilar v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-05-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split constructive-possession criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense drugs firearms safety-valve sentencing sentencing-relief statutory-interpretation Does simultaneous constructive possession of drugs and firearms disqualify a defendant for safety valve relief?
23-7327 Zachariah Jay Histed v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-04-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP acceptance-of-responsibility criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-sentencing judicial-discretion plea-bargaining sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether a defendant who plea ds guilty, admits the substantive elements of the criminal charge, and spares the government the time and expense of a tr…
23-7292 Morris Fuller v. United States Second Circuit 2024-04-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-sentencing drug-offense due-process equal-protection federal-district-court judicial-discretion maximum-penalty post-conviction-relief sentencing-guidelines Question not identified.
23-6899 James Earl Robinson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-03-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-851 career-offender categorical-approach drug-offense federal-statute sentencing-enhancement state-conviction state-convictions ussg-4b1.1 1. Whether this honorable Court should grant certiorari to review whether the Sixth Circuit's determination that Mr. Robinson's prior state conviction…
23-6879 Christopher Sean Burrus v. Washington Washington 2024-03-01 Denied IFP 6th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-challenge cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-offense due-process eighth-amendment evidentiary-requirements ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum mental-health sentencing-law 1. Washington's personal identity petition hon eastern powers Conviction proceedings Who Are loucden & pcoa? a boty Sed +o Nhe. Setidioned oN ise.) Be…
23-6707 Sean Robert Wathen v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-02-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure dangerous-weapon district-court drug-offense enhancement factual-findings findings-of-fact sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines u.s.s.g-2d1.1(b)(1) weapon-enhancement 1. Is the sentencing court required to make specific findings of fact, supported by the record, that a defendant possessed a dangerous weapon in conne…
23-6555 Luis Aceves-Ramirez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-01-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses enhancement importation knowledge-requirement mens-rea methamphetamine sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the two-level enhancement in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(5) for a drug offense that involves imported methamphetamine requires that the defendant knew…
23-6394 Andrew Tablack v. United States Third Circuit 2023-12-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-statute indictment indictment-defect scheduling statutory-interpretation Is there a legal element in 21 U.S.C. §811(2)(G) that requires the "drug named" in the indictment to be listed as the controlled substance analogues? …
23-531 Timothy I. Carpenter v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-11-17 Denied Amici (2) criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-firearm-offense first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums retroactivity sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation Do the sentencing reforms in Section 403 of the First Step Act apply when a district court sentences an individual whose offense was committed before …
23-6042 Joel Flores v. United States Tenth Circuit 2023-11-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses due-process fair-warning firearm-possession firearms statutory-ambiguity statutory-interpretation vagueness Whether 18 U.S.C.§924(c) provides fair warning of what constitutes possession of a firearm "in furtherance of" a drug offense as opposed to possession…
23-5812 Jurmaine A. Jeffries v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP burrage-v-united-states criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense due-process mens-rea proximate-causation racial-disparities sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation After this Court's decision in Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204 (2014), the Circuit Courts have accepted that "death results" in 21 U.S.C. 841(b…
23-5358 Devin Jerrod Long v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-08-15 Denied IFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-conviction drug-offense federal-judge prior-felony prior-felony-convictions sentence-enhancement sentencing-guidelines The United States Sentencing Guidelines significantly increase the recommended sentencing range for a defendant who has at least two prior felony conv…
23-5338 Keith A. Penn v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-08-11 Denied IFP attempt circuit-split criminal-law distribution distribution-definition drug-offense elements-test sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether the legal test announced in Shular v. United States — a state "serious drug offense" is an offense with elements that "necessarily entail one …
23-5164 Ermin Adzemovic v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-07-21 Denied IFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-sentencing decontrolled-substances drug-offense federal-sentencing-guidelines guideline-range prior-conviction sentencing-guidelines ussg-4b1.2 Does a prior drug conviction under a statute that included now decontrolled substances qualify as a "controlled substance offense" to enhance a defend…
23-5036 Brandon Mason v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-07-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP federal firearm sentencing federal sentencing or prior state drug offense armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-statute drug-offense drug-schedules federal-drug-schedules federal-firearm-offense federal-sentencing jackson-v-united-states prior-state-drug-offense sentencing sentencing-enhancement state-drug-offense statutory-interpretation Whether the "serious drug offense" definition in the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii), incorporates the federal drug schedules …
22-7806 Travis Charles Werkmeister v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-06-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offense drug-trafficking federal-sentencing-guidelines mens-rea methamphetamine-importation scienter-requirement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1. Whether this Court should grant the Writ to resolve a circuit split as to whether the two level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 (b) (5) contains…
22-7791 Clark Downs v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-06-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 15-year-old circuit-court-review criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-sentencing interstate-commerce safety-valve sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reduction sexual-exploitation visual-depiction WHETHER THE EVIDENCE WAS LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT AS TO THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ELEMENT ON COUNT ONE, WHICH CHARGED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A FIFTEEN YEAR …
22-7792 Diante Turman v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-06-15 Denied IFP appellate-review armed-career-criminal-act circuit-court-review circuit-split controlled-substance-offense criminal-conviction criminal-procedure district-court-discretion drug-offense drug-schedule drug-schedules federal-sentencing federal-sentencing federal-sentencing 22-7791" mcneill-precedent mcneill-v-united-states safety-valve sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reduction Whether the district court erred at sentencing in Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission require judges to impose criminal sentences that take account of a penalty range advised by the Sentencing…
22-7736 Brandon Ross Williams v. United States Tenth Circuit 2023-06-08 Denied Relisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach controlled-substance criminal-law drug-offense federal-jurisdiction predicate-offense sentencing Whether, under the categorical approach established by this Court for determining whether a previous state conviction can qualify as a predicate "seri…
22-7516 Adam Dean Brown v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP bodily-injury controlled-substance criminal-intent drug-offense due-process felony-statute jury-determination prior-conviction sentencing sentencing-enhancement 21 U.S.C. § 841(A)(1) makes is a crime to "knowingly or intentionally .. . manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture…
22-7359 Devin Baker v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-04-25 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-convictions drug-offense federal-sentencing prior-convictions sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation The United States Sentencing Guidelines significantly increase the recommended sentencing range for a defendant who has at least two prior felony conv…
22-6837 James Randolph Sherman v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-fairness criminal-conspiracy drug-offense due-process evidence-sufficiency jury-speculation loose-practice non-incriminating-evidence unfairness-to-defendant Does the U.S. Constitution embrace a criminal conspiracy conviction when the government presents non-incriminating evidence of innocent conduct regard…
22-6389 Justin Rashaad Brown v. United States Third Circuit 2022-12-23 Judgment Issued Amici (1)Relisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach drug-offense federal-law sentencing sentencing-enhancement state-conviction state-law Which version of federal law should a sentencing court consult under ACCA's categorical approach?
22-6391 Nonami Palomares v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-12-23 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (3)IFP criminal-history drug-crimes drug-offense federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Pursuant to the "safety-valve" provision of the federal sentencing statute, a defendant convicted of certain nonviolent drug crimes can obtain relief …
22-6307 John Homer Legros, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-12-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy controlled-substance criminal-law drug-offense federal-jurisdiction sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether "Conspiracy" to Commit a Crime is a Controlled Substance Offense as defined under the United States Sentencing Guide lines Section §4B1.2I. W…
22-6063 Naomi Michelle Gutierrez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-11-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-circuit criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process fifth-circuit firearm-enhancement presumption sentencing-guidelines tools-of-the-trade Whether the Fifth Circuit's practice of applying a tools-of-the-trade presumption to the firearm enhancement of sentencing guidelines §2D1.1(b)(1) vio…
22-5665 Geoffrie Dill v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-09-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeals controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law drug-offense federal-jurisdiction federal-sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Does "controlled substance offense", as that term is used in U.S.S.G. §4B1.1 and defined by U.S.S.G. §4B1.2(b), refer only to those controlled substan…
22-5346 Sylvia Hofstetter v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-08-15 GVR IFP 21-usc-841 circuit-split drug-offense global-tech healthcare-provider jury-instruction ruan-v-united-states scienter-standard standard-of-review willful-blindness 1. Whether the District Court erred by instructing the deliberate-indifference instruction based upon the facts in this case when it denied defendant'…
21-7852 Fernando Salazar-Figueroa v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-05-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP administration-of-justice appellate-review criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process federal-jurisdiction federal-law fifth-circuit mitigating-role sentencing-guidelines I. Whether the Fifth Circuit violated federal law when it conducted a cursory review of the facts related to a warranted mitigating role adjustment un…
21-7841 Danny Jewell v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-05-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law drug-offense due-process importation-enhancement knowledge-requirement sentencing-guidelines strict-liability The United States Sentencing Guidelines provide for an enhanced sentence for a person who commits an offense involving the importation of amphetamine …
21-7773 Eric Middlebrook v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-05-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP consecutive-sentences constitutional-challenge constitutional-law double-jeopardy drug-crimes drug-offense guideline-range mandatory-consecutive-term mandatory-minimum sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines 1. Does punishing an individual with both a statutory penalty that requires a mandatory consecutive prison term and a Guideline Range enhancement for…
21-7759 Mikkel McKinnie v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-05-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 8th-amendment burrage-precedent causation drug-offense drug-related-death due-process guideline-range sentencing sentencing-reasonableness upward-variance I. Whether the Lower Courts Erred in Not Applying the Court's Precedent in Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204 (2014), to Upward Variances When a D…
21-7598 Irvin Garces v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-04-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP administration-of-justice criminal-procedure drug-offense exceptional-importance federal-law fifth-circuit minor-role sentencing-guidelines I. Whether the Fifth Circuit violated federal law when it conducted a cursory review of the facts related to a warranted two-level adjustment under U.…
21-7495 Terrol Debaun Travis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-03-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-sentencing delivery-definition drug-offense statutory-interpretation texas texas-controlled-substances united-states-supreme-court I. Does the definition of "delivery" in the Texas controlled substances statute, which includes mere offers to sell, include conduct that does not qua…
21-7139 Bradley Scott Williams v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-02-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP base-level-score criminal-procedure drug-offense judicial-discretion methamphetamine sentencing-guidelines USSG-Section-2D1.1(c)(2) USSG-Section-2D1.1(c)(4) Did the trial court commit error when it calculated the appellant's sentencing guideline base level score using the enhanced "Ice" guideline value und…
21-7128 Cornelius Riley v. United States Third Circuit 2022-02-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment 6th-amendment constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offense due-process fifth-amendment jury-trial sentencing-guidelines sixth-amendment Should this Honorable Court extend the reasoning of Apprendi, Alleyne, and Peugh to cases where a defendant's sentencing guideline range increases sig…
21-6762 Karina Lizett Juarez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-01-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP administration-of-justice criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-criminal-law federal-law fifth-circuit mitigating-role sentencing-guidelines I. Whether the Fifth Circuit's cursory review of the facts related to a warranted mitigating adjustment under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 violated federal law in…
21-917 Abel Diaz v. Warden, Federal Correctional Institution, Bennettsville Fourth Circuit 2021-12-21 Denied Response Waived drug-offense drug-offenses habeas-corpus jurisdiction jury-trial savings-clause sentencing statutory-interpretation statutory-maximum WHETHER THE DISTRICT COURT HAD JURISDICTION UNDER THE SAVINGS CLAUSE OF 28 U.S.C. § 2255(e) TO ADJUDICATE THE MERITS OF PETITIONER DIAZ'S § 2241 PETIT…
21-6166 Ángel De la Cruz v. United States First Circuit 2021-11-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law drug-offense due-process first-step-act maritime-drug-law safety-valve sentencing statutory-interpretation terry-v-united-states The Pre-First Step Act Safety Valve was widely applied to the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), a statute whose punishment criteria and eleme…
21-6130 Brett Allan Corrigan, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review clear-error criminal-procedure drug-offense firearm sentencing sentencing-guidelines standard-of-review weapon-enhancement WHETHER THE DISTRICT COURT'S FINDING THAT A WEAPON WAS CONNECTED TO THE DRUG OFFENSE UNDER §2D1.1(b)(1) WAS CLEAR ERROR.
21-5825 Raqib Abdul Al-Amin v. South Carolina South Carolina 2021-09-29 Denied IFP compulsory-process constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-offense due-process eighth-amendment evidence expert-witness mandatory-minimum sentencing-guidelines Whether the South Carolina Supreme Court error to akfirm the trial Coust's suling where the trial Court was convinced by the Sthte's 'thired-party gui…
21-5413 Antoine L. Wallace v. United States Seventh Circuit 2021-08-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split controlled-substance criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-law sentencing-guidelines state-law statutory-interpretation United States Sentencing Guidelines enhance the sentence for drug offenders and gun offenders, if, among other things, they have prior "felony convict…
21-5386 Michael Kenneth Young v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-08-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal criminal-classification district-court drug-offense fourth-circuit fourth-circuit-appeal prior-convictions sentencing sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines serious-drug-offenses Did the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal err in reversing the decision of the District Court which had determined that Petitioner Michael Young was not …
21-5352 Vernon D. Nelson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-08-12 Denied IFP border-patrol circuit-split criminal-activity drug-offense fourth-amendment immigration-enforcement law-enforcement-authority search-and-seizure seizure Whether a Fourth Amendment violation occurs when Border Patrol agents seize a person solely on suspicion of a drug-related offense, with no suspicion …
20-8077 Kavoris Clayton v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law drug-offense mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit na…
20-7936 Jose Oribel Ponce-Ulloa v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-05-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-courts federal-sentencing sentencing sentencing-guidelines temporal-connection ussg-2d1.1 weapon-possession The question presented which has divided federal courts of appeal is whether a sentencing court can add two offense levels for possession of a weapon …
20-7446 Juan Luis Rivera Arreola v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-03-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split co-defendant-liability criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offense federal-sentencing-guidelines firearm-enhancement reasonable-foreseeability sentencing-guidelines tools-of-the-trade U.S.S.G.-2D1.1(b)(1) In order to warra nt a two-level enhance ment for possession of a fir earm, pursuant to U.S .S.G. § 2D1.1 (b)(1), is it suffic ient to simply label fi…
20-7285 Cedric Durand Collins v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied IFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-offense due-process knowledge-requirement mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit na…
20-7287 Viguens Cius v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied IFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-offense due-process knowledge-requirement mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit na…
20-6789 Lilia Abril Olmedo-Perez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-01-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP administration-of-justice appellate-review criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-law fifth-circuit minor-role sentencing-guidelines Whether the Fifth Circuit violated federal law when it conducted a cursory review of the facts related to a warranted two-level adjustment under U.S.S…
20-6529 Wesley Wayne Wakeford v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-12-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2d1.1(b)(5) circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses methamphetamine-importation sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation This Court should grant this petition to interpret Sentencing Guide-lines section 2D1.1(b)(5). What an "offense that involved the importa-tion" of met…
20-6508 Jesse Harris v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-12-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law drug-offense methamphetamine scienter sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Section 2D1.1(b)(5) of the United State s Sentencing Guidelines provides that "[i]f (A) the offense involve d the importation of ... metham phetam ine…
20-6460 Reginald Hollie v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-27 Denied Relisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act commerce-clause conviction criminal-conviction criminal-procedure drug-offense interstate-commerce jury-trial plain-error-review rehaif-v-united-states sentencing-enhancement 1. Whether, in cases charged and tried to a jury before this Court decided Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), courts of appeals may rely…
20-6314 Jovon Antoine McClures v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act drug-offense knowledge-requirement physical-force robbery robbery-offense snatching statutory-interpretation violent-felony I. Does a state robbery offense that may be committed through mere snatching "have as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical…
20-6137 Arvester Lamonica Anderson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-10-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act drug-offense force knowledge-requirement physical-force robbery robbery-offense snatching statutory-interpretation violent-felony I. Does a state robbery offense that may be committed through mere snatching "have as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical…
20-5853 Ubaldo Gabriel Acosta-Leyva v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-09-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-guidelines drug-offense due-process empirical-basis fifth-circuit presumption-of-reasonableness sentencing-guidelines Whether a sentence produced by the drug guideline, §2D1.1, is not entitled to a presumption of reasonableness on appeal.
20-5854 Trumaine Muller v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-09-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses intervening-act jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error proximate-cause I. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED PLAIN ERROR IN FAILING TO INSTRUCT THE JURY THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD TO PROVE MENS REA AS TO EACH DRUG OFFENSE AND THE RES…
20-5740 Edward Mahan v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-09-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-USC-3553a appeal criminal-procedure downward-adjustment drug-offense due-process government-misconduct plea-agreement safety-valve sentencing sentencing-guidelines DID THE DISTRICT COURT ERR BY ALLOWING THE GOVERNMENT TO VIOLATE THE PLEA AGREEMENT? DID THE DISTRICT COURT ERR BY DENYING MR. MAHAN'S OBJECTION TO T…
20-5507 Laci Landers v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-08-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure discretionary-review drug-offense guidelines judicial-review reasonableness reasonableness-standard revocation-sentence sentencing sentencing-guidelines totality-of-circumstances Whether the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ("Fifth Circuit") has so far departed from the accepted and usual cou…
20-5408 Robert Richard Jodoin v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-08-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process eighth-amendment federal-sentencing military-veteran non-violent-offense reasonableness-review sentencing sentencing-guidelines veteran-status WHETHER A ONE HUNDRED THIRTY MONTH PRISON SENTENCE FOR A NON-VIOLENT, DRUG DEALING, FIFTY (50) YEAR OLD, MILITARY VETERAN IS UNREASONABLE.
20-5051 Andre Patrick Staggers v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-07-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841(b) criminal-procedure drug-offense first-step-act retroactive-application retroactivity sentencing sentencing-law statutory-minimums Does the First Step Act provision lowering the enhanced statutory minimums of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) apply to persons who were sentenced before the provis…
19-1200 Johndrell Elliott v. Ohio Ohio 2020-04-08 Denied 4th-amendment dog-handler dog-sniff drug-offense drug-sniffing-dog fourth-amendment probable-cause rodriguez-standard rodriguez-v-us search-and-seizure traffic-stop warrantless-search GIVEN A TRAFFIC STOP MADE BY THE STATE TROOPER, WHO WAS THE "DOG HANDLER" INVOLVED, WAS ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF FINALIZING HIS TICKET WRITING, WHEN…
19-8034 Whitney Atkinson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-03-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP crack-cocaine drug-offense fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-minimum retroactive-application sentence-enhancement statutory-interpretation Did Mr. Atkinson receive a sentence for a covered drug offense, such that he should be eligible for retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act…
19-7972 Javier Brown v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-03-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 4b1.1 career-offender categorical-approach drug-offense fourth-circuit modified-categorical-approach predicate-drug-offense prior-conviction records-of-conviction sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-4b1.1 south-carolina-code Pursuant to Section 4B1.1 of the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines, following a conviction for a narcotics offense, an offender who has a…
19-7878 Joseph Ramon Santillan v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-03-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP conviction-classification criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense drug-offenses due-process equal-protection federal-sentencing felony-conviction mandatory-minimum misdemeanor-conviction sentencing sentencing-enhancement state-federal-interaction state-federal-law statutory-interpretation Did defendant's State of California marijuana conviction constitute a "prior conviction for a felony drug offense," increasing defendant's mandatory m…
19-7472 Tymaine Akeen Lewis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-29 Denied IFP 18-usc-924(e) armed-career-criminal armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach controlled-substance drug-offense firearm-possession prior-conviction qualifying-offense robbery statutory-interpretation texas-robbery violent Whether Petitioner is an Armed Career criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)?
19-7314 Johnny L. Dawson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-01-16 Denied IFP acca acca-predicate-offense actual-innocence armed-career-criminal-act drug-offense eleventh-circuit elonis-v-united-states florida-statute mens-rea serious-drug-offense shular strict-liability supreme-court-review united-states-v-smith 1. Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit erroneously concluded in finding Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug offenses…
19-7234 Denzel Chisholm, aka Den, aka Din v. United States First Circuit 2020-01-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP anti-drug-abuse-act anti-drug-abuse-act-1986 anti-drug-abuse-act-of-1986 congressional-intent criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense proportionality retail-level-manager sentencing sentencing-reasonableness statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness Whether a 342-month sentence for a retail-level manager is substantively reasonable where it far exceeds a sentence that properly accounts for Congres…
19-780 Willie Newton v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-12-17 Denied Response Waived criminal-procedure custis-v-united-states drug-offense due-process federal-sentencing habeas-corpus johnson-v-united-states post-conviction-relief prior-conviction proposition-47 sentence-enhancement sentencing state-law state-sentencing In Johnson v. United States, 544 U.S. 295 (2005), and Custis v. United States, 511 U.S. 485 (1994), this Court held that a defendant who "successfully…
19-6602 Carey Ackies, aka Boyd v. United States First Circuit 2019-11-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 4th-amendment cell-phone cell-phone-tracking criminal-procedure direct-review drug-offense first-step-act law-enforcement-surveillance location-tracking search-and-seizure sentencing-thresholds surveillance I. Whether a cell phone, when used by law enforcement to obtain "precise location information," is a "tracking device" under 18 U.S.C. § 3117(b). II.…
19-6389 Quincy Dennis v. J. A. Terris, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-10-25 Denied IFP 28-usc-2255 categorical-approach drug-offense federal-procedure habeas-corpus habeas-corpus-relief-28-usc-2241 intervening-change mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence presidential-commutation presidential-pardon retroactive-application retroactively-applicable-decision sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction statutory-interpretation QUESTION # ONE: Whether petitioner Dennis is entitled to seek federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on the ground that 28 U.S.C. § 225…
19-6363 David Pearson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-10-24 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appeal-rights armed-career-criminal armed-career-criminal-act categorical-analysis drug-offense drug-offenses ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum plea-agreement sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-maximum 1. Did the court of appeals, in rejecting petitioner's claim that his sentencing counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to challenge his a…
19-6370 Troy Bennett v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-10-24 Denied Response RequestedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense elements-clause florida-statute-843.01 florida-statutes resisting-with-violence violent-felony I. Whether this Court should resolve the circuit split concerning whether a Florida conviction for resisting with violence under Florida Statutes § 84…
19-6288 Ron Christopher Whitley v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) 18-usc-3553a appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-case drug-offense drug-offenses judicial-discretion proportionality-review sentencing-departure sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines Whether the 156-month sentence is greater than necessary to comply with the purposes of sentencing under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) where the district court …
19-5929 Abisai Ramirez-Anguiano v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-16 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses mens-rea methamphetamine scienter sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Section 2D1.1(b)(5) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines provides that "[i]f (A) the offense involved the importation of ... methamphetamine or …
19-5928 Marcos Santiago v. United States Third Circuit 2019-09-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 civil-rights criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process first-step-act retroactive-application retroactivity sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether Congress decision to not make its recent clarification of 924(c) fully retroactive, creates a significant risk that thousands of prisoners sta…
19-5575 Antwaine Enta Yarbrough v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-13 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process federal-jurisdiction habeas-corpus precedent sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation statutory-provisions supreme-court supreme-court-review Whether this Court should hold the instant petition in light of Shular v. United States, 15-1498, U.S._, _S.Ct. —, 2019 WL 2649851 (June 28, 2019)?
19-5491 Shed T. Woods v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-08-07 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-conviction divisibility drug-offense indiana-code-35-48-4-1 indiana-statute serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation Whether a conviction for dealing in cocaine or narcotic drug under Indiana Code § 35-48-4-1 is improperly considered a "serious drug offense" under th…
19-5480 Andrew Dorsey v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-06 Denied Relisted (2)IFP acca cocaine criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses florida florida-statute possession sentencing statutory-interpretation I. Whether a Florida conviction for selling cocaine, delivering cocaine, or possessing cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver it, in violation of …
19-5278 Duryane Lewis Chaney v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-07-22 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP acca categorical-approach criminal-law davis drug-offense sentencing serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation violent-felony WHETHER THE DETERMINATION OF A SERIOUS DRUG OFFENSE UNDER THE ACCA REQUIRES THE SAME CATEGORICAL APPROACH USED IN THE DETERMINATION OF A VIOLENT FELON…
19-5102 Dan Pizaro v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-07-08 Denied IFP criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense drug-offenses due-process federal-sentencing first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation supreme-court supreme-court-precedent Whether the life sentence imposed on 21 U.S.C. § 846 and § 841(a)(1) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) and § 851 must be reduced to twenty-five (25…
18-9547 Antwan Bernard Williams v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP acca acca-serious-drug-offense armed-career-criminal-act drug-offense eleventh-circuit elonis-v-united-states franklin-v-united-states mens-rea resisting-officer sentencing-enhancement strict-liability united-states-v-smith violent-felony Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit erroneously concluded in finding Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug offenses qu…
18-9189 Vernell Conley v. Wendy Kelley, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction Arkansas 2019-05-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law criminal-procedure double-jeopardy drug-offense due-process evidence hicks-v-oklahoma jury jury-trial sentencing PETITIONER WAS CONVICTED OF THREE DRUG OFFENSES AND SENTENCED BY THE JURY TO A TOTAL TERM OF 90 YEARS. THE ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT FOUND INSUFFICIENT E…
18-8932 Vickie L. Sanders v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights drug-offense due-process due-process-clause equal-protection federalism recidivist-provisions recidivist-sentencing retroactive-reclassification sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation 1. If a state retroactively reduces a felony drug conviction to a misdemeanor, can the government rely on that newly-reclassified misdemeanor convicti…
18-8911 Gerald Humbert v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-22 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 11th-circuit acca acca-serious-drug-offense armed-career-criminal-act certiorari criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense eleventh-circuit florida-statute florida-statute-893-13 mens-rea serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation united-states-v-smith Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit should have granted COA as to whether petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug offens…
18-8885 Jose Roman v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-04-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-activity criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offense fifth-circuit-interpretation firearm-enhancement firearms foreseeability presumption presumption-of-use sentencing-guidelines tools-of-the-trade WHETHER THE GUIDELINES ARE MISAPPLIED LINER 2D1.1 (b)(1) BY MAKING A GENERAL PRESUMPTION THAT FIREARMS ARE "TOOLS OF THE TRADE" AND THAT ALWAYS IS FOR…
18-8900 Juan Garcia Herrera v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-04-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states almendarez-torres-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process judicial-factfinding jury-trial mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence prior-conviction sentencing sentencing-enhancement 1. The enhanced-penalty provisions of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b) and 851 expressly require that the district court, not a jury, make factual findings which i…
18-8793 Larry Burstein v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-proportionality constitutional-rights criminal-sentencing drug-crimes drug-dealing drug-offense due-process eighth-amendment elderly-defendant elderly-offenders non-violent-crime non-violent-offense sentencing-guidelines supreme-court-precedent WHETHER A FORTY-EIGHT (48) MONTH PRISON SENTENCE FOR A FIRST TIME NON-VIOLENT, DRUG DEALING, SIXTY-NINE (69) YEAR OLD GRANDFATHER, IS UNREASONABLE, VI…
18-8708 Charles Clark v. Joe Coakley, Warden Fourth Circuit 2019-04-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-851 circuit-split controlled-substance-act drug-offense felony-drug-offense habeas-corpus mathis-v-united-states retroactivity sentencing-enhancement Whether the decision handed down in Maths v United States, 136 S.Ct. 2243 (2016) is retroactive in a post-conviction petition, as some courts have sta…
18-8447 Javis Wilson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-03-18 Denied Relisted (4)IFP acca acca-predicate armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split drug-offense elonis-v-united-states mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation strict-liability united-states-v-smith Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit erroneously concluded in in finding. Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug - offen…
18-8145 Desmond Farmer v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP amendment-782 assault criminal-classification criminal-history drug-abuse drug-offense drug-offenses due-process equal-protection family-member judicial-discretion non-violent-offense sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reduction violent-offender The District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division denied the petitioner a reduction in his sentence under 3582 and Amend…
18-8051 Yeison Valencia Torres v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-02-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split conflict-of-laws criminal-procedure drug-enforcement drug-offense due-process equal-protection maritime-drug-law maritime-law safety-valve sentencing sentencing-relief statutory-interpretation The exclusion of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (46 U.S.C. § 70503) from eligibility for safety valve violates equal protection, because there …
18-7966 Desmond Smith v. J. A. Terris, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-02-14 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act constitutional-rights drug-offense generic-federal-offense generic-offense sentence-enhancement serious-drug-offense state-law-definition state-statute Whether the ACCA's definition-of a "serious drug offense" imposes a sentence enhancement or make an exception when a state's definition of "delivery a…
18-7938 Alex Quintana-Torres v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-02-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-history criminal-sentencing drug-addiction drug-offense presumption-of-reasonableness sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness In Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338 (2007), this Court held that an appellate court could presume that a procedurally-reasonable, within-Guidelines…
18-7920 Harold A. Habeck, II v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-02-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP consecutive-sentences criminal-procedure criminal-procedure,sentencing,mandatory-minimums,d criminal-sentencing discretion drug-offense drug-offenses firearms mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums predicate-crime sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation "Whether; Dean v. United States, 581 U.S. (2017) permits a district court the discretion to consider less than the mandatory sixty month consecutive s…
18-7818 Marcos Castaneda v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-02-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process judicial-finding jury-trial mandatory-minimum preponderance-of-evidence preponderance-of-the-evidence sentencing sentencing-guidelines Marcos Castaneda admitted by his plea to the elements of conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixfure or substance containing methamphetami…
18-7797 Coree Patrick v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-02-06 Denied Relisted (4)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach conduct-based-approach drug-conviction drug-offense predicate-conviction predicate-offense sentencing-enhancement state-conviction statutory-interpretation TO DETERMINE WHETHER A PRIOR STATE CONVICTION FOR A DRUG OFFENSE IS A QUALIFYING PREDICATE CONVICTION UNDER THE ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL ACT (ACCA), 18 U…
18-7393 Rodrigo Roman v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-01-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review burden-of-proof criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process firearm-enhancement firearm-possession guidelines-interpretation sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-enhancement stare-decisis Petitioner, RODRIGO ROMAN, appealed his ten-year statutory minimum sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to di…
18-7067 Derrick Christopher Johnson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-12-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender criminal-law divisible-statute drug-offense modified-categorical-approach plain-error prior-state-convictions sentencing sentencing-guidelines WHETHER PETITIONER'S "PRIOR STATE DRUG OFFENSES" QUALIFIED AS ENUMERATED OFFENSES UNDER THE "CAREER CRIMINAM" PROVISION OF THE UNITED STATES SENTENCIN…
18-7032 Reginald L. Lomax v. United States Third Circuit 2018-12-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act controlled-substances criminal-law drug-offense federal-drug-law federal-preemption mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences state-criminal-law statutory-interpretation The question presented in this case is whether, as the circuit court held, a state statute criminalizing possession of "counterfeit" controlled substa…
18-7057 Marcus Jermaine Royston v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-12-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 3582-motion 3582(c)(2) amendments-750-782 career-offender criminal-sentencing drug-offense guidelines-2d1.1 guidelines-amendment hughes-v-us sentence-reduction sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reduction Does this Court's ruling in the case of Hughes V. U.S., 584 U.S. 2018, No. 17-155, apply to a career offender seeking reduction in his sentence by way…
18-6748 Malachi M. Glass v. United States Third Circuit 2018-11-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law criminal-statute drug-offense federal-law federal-sentencing pennsylvania pennsylvania-law sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1. WHETHER THE BROADER PENNSYLVANIA DELIVERY OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE STATUTE, 35 PA. C.S.A. § 780-113(A)(30), QUALIFIES AS A "CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE O…
18-6518 Gregory Crum v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-10-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure district-court-discretion drug-crimes drug-offense drug-offenses foreign-origin leadership-enhancement methamphetamine relevant-conduct sentencing sentencing-guidelines standard-of-review I. Whether the district court abused its discretion in determining relevant conduct. 2; Whether Greg Crum should receive a leadership enhancement. 3…
18-6474 Tyrone Hart v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act begay-v-united-states categorical-approach controlled-substance criminal-statute drug-offense elonis-v-united-states federal-law florida-statute intent-to-sell mens-rea serious-drug-offense staples-v-united-states Is a post-2002 conviction for possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "se…
18-6398 Deon Pittman v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-10-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split controlled-substance criminal-statute drug-offense element-of-offense federal-law means-of-offense michigan-law sentencing-guidelines state-law state-statute When a state statute prohibits the delivery of a "controlled substance" by reference to various schedules, is the specific type of substance an elemen…
18-6335 George Jenkins v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-offense due-process first-time-offender non-violent-crime proportionality reasonableness-review sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines WHETHER THE SENTENCE IMPOSED IS UNREASONABLE A. Whether a One Hundred Forty-four (144) month prison sentence for a first time non-violent, drug deale…
18-6016 Fabian Sandoval-Ramos v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-09-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy controlled-substances criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offense due-process enhancement-factor mandatory-minimum-sentence mandatory-minimum-sentences sentencing sentencing-enhancements statutory-interpretation In order to trigger a mandatory minimum sentence, must the government allege and prove that an enhancement factor was the object of the conspiracy, or…
18-5930 Timothy Walker v. United States Third Circuit 2018-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender double-jeopardy drug-offense due-process guideline-amendments guideline-range post-sentencing-litigation sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation u.s.s.g. Does it comport with the Due Process Clause and the prohibition against Double Jeopardy to, for all practical purposes, simultaneously impose two (2) …
18-5935 Julio Cesar Velasquez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-09-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses due-process flores-figueroa mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation strict-liability I. In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) …
18-5912 Robert Kimmell v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-09-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-defense criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-disclosure drug-offense due-process fair-trial informant informant-disclosure jury-instructions lesser-included-offense relevance verdict-form witness-disclosure Did Kimmell establish that disclosure of the informant was relevant and helpful to his defense, or essential to a fair determination of his cause? Di…
18-5839 James Frederick Rebmann v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-08-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guidelines felony-classification plain-reading possession-offenses prior-conviction prior-convictions sentencing-guidelines sixth-circuit statutory-interpretation The Federal Sentencing Guidelines require a base offense level of 43 if the defendant is "convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), or (b)(…
18-5748 Rory Allen Meeks v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-08-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states appellate-review constructive-amendment criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses jury-instructions mccoy-v-louisiana mens-rea sentencing sixth-amendment QUESTION I: Whether reasonable jurists might debate the following three questions: - In light of Alleyne v. United States., 135 S. Ct. and Apprendi v.…
18-5380 Luis Lopez v. United States First Circuit 2018-07-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act carachuri-rosendo circuit-court-split criminal-history drug-offense massachusetts-state-court massachusetts-state-district-court maximum-imprisonment maximum-term-of-imprisonment moncrieffe sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-offense state-court-conviction Does a prior conviction in a Massachusetts state district court for which the defendant was actually exposed by law to a maxim um term of imprisonm en…
18-5329 Mario Donate Lockhart v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-07-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law drug-offense elements-clause florida-criminal-law florida-statute florida-statute-843.01 mens-rea resisting-arrest statutory-interpretation violent-felony 1. Whether the Florida crime of resisting an officer with violence, in violation of Fla. Stat. §843.01, is a "violent felony" under the Armed Career C…
18-5274 Manuel Vega v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP california-health-and-safety-code-11378 categorical-approach controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-conviction divisible-statute drug-offense federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guideline mathis-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement state-court-decision A prior drug conviction, if it is a federal "controlled substance offense," can increase a federal criminal sentence or result in an alien's deportati…
18-5221 Aquilino Guizamano-Cortes v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-07-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-offense due-process equal-protection maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act maritime-law rational-basis safety-valve sentencing sentencing-relief statutory-interpretation territorial-jurisdiction The exclusion of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcemen Act (46 U.S.C. § 70503) from eligibility for safety valve violates equal protection, because there i…