drug-trafficking
130 cases — ← All topics
| Case | Title | Lower Court | Docketed | Status | Flags | Tags | Question Presented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-6568 | James Dorelus v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2026-01-13 | Pending | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-rights double-jeopardy drug-trafficking firearm-offense safety-valve sentencing-reduction | Where a defendant pleads guilty to the crime of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 USC § 924(c)(… |
| 25-6524 | Aderito Patrick Amado v. United States | First Circuit | 2026-01-08 | Pending | Response WaivedIFP | collective-knowledge-doctrine criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence-suppression police-investigation traffic-stop | 1. Following a months-long investigation into drug trafficking and while preparing to search an apartment within a large apartment complex, police obs… |
| 25-6265 | Rodney Hamilton Higgins, Jr. v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2025-12-02 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence-preservation fourth-amendment probable-cause search-warrant | 1. Whether the Fourth Amendment requires more than a defendant's status as a drug dealer and residential address to establish probable cause for a sea… |
| 25A542 | Deoman Reeves v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2025-11-12 | Application | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking firearm-offense sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation supreme-court-review | Question not identified. | |
| 25-512 | Jibril Adamu v. United States | Second Circuit | 2025-10-24 | Pending | confrontation-clause criminal-procedure drug-trafficking extraterritorial-application sixth-amendment testimonial-hearsay | 1. Whether the crime of possession with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. §959(c)(2) applies extraterritorially. 2. Whether a non-testifying analy… | |
| 25-5435 | Antuan L. Wynn v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2025-08-22 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence-standard | Whether charging a single conspiracy with proof of a chain of distribution relationships, and without proof that a defendant agreed to join the broade… |
| 25A153 | Jorge Enrique Barragan-Gutierrez v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2025-08-06 | Presumed Complete | bruen drug-trafficking rahimi second-amendment supreme-court-precedent weapon-possession | Question not identified. | |
| 25-5116 | Mark Ellis v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2025-07-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence-sufficiency firearm-possession reasonable-doubt | I. DUE PROCESS REQUIRES SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO ALLOW A RATIONAL JURY TO FIND GUILT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. WHERE THE EVIDENCE THAT A FIREARM WAS PO… |
| 24-7293 | Alexander Soto v. Massachusetts | Massachusetts | 2025-05-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | arizona-v-gant criminal-procedure drug-trafficking fourth-amendment search-incident-to-arrest warrant-requirement | With respect to the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, this Cou… |
| 24-7045 | Margaret Ann Sutton v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2025-04-22 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-conviction drug-trafficking due-process evidence-sufficiency firearm-possession sentencing-guidelines | I. Whether the evidence is sufficient as a matter of law to sustain Sutton's conviction for Drug Traffic Conspiracy. II. Whether the evidence is suff… |
| 24-6824 | Hansel Janel Rijo-Guerrero v. United States | First Circuit | 2025-03-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure downward-variance drug-trafficking sentencing-disparity sentencing-enhancement ussg-guidelines | 1. Did the district court err when it imposed a two-level sentencing enhancement pursuant to USSG § 2D1.1(b)(3)(C) where the Government failed to prov… |
| 24-6799 | James Garfield Charles v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2025-03-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy criminal-intent drug-trafficking evidence-tampering firearm-usage jury-trial | Question not identified. |
| 24-6659 | Ronnie Lee Seward v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2025-02-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-review career-criminal criminal-procedure drug-trafficking florida-law sentencing | Did the District Court erroneously sentence Petitioner as a career criminal based on prior convictions for Florida trafficking in amphetamine? Did th… |
| 24-6637 | Roger Moss v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2025-02-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking fourth-amendment law-enforcement probable-cause search-warrant | Courts generally recognize that probable cause to believe a person committed a crime does not alone establish probable cause to search their home. How… |
| 24A710 | Mitchelle Derwin Robinson v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2025-01-17 | Presumed Complete | admissibility-of-evidence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence-rule-404b knowledge-and-intent propensity-evidence | Question not identified. | |
| 24-6186 | Vicente Alejo Andres, Jr. v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-12-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-law cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-trafficking firearm-possession sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | 1. When a defendant sells drugs from his house at the same time he has a firearm in his house, is that enough to prove that he possessed the firearm "… |
| 24-5829 | Ricky Donnell Abner v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-10-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constructive-amendment criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process geographical-location section-924c | 1. Does the §924(c) (1)(A) 'Possession In furtherance of' offense conduct require geographical location be proved as alleged in indictment, when ONE P… |
| 24A344 | Jermaine Jamaica Campbell, Jr. v. William Gittere, Warden, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2024-10-11 | Presumed Complete | certificate-of-appealability drug-trafficking ineffective-assistance jury-finding sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment | Question not identified. | |
| 24-5211 | Jerod Askew v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-08-01 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process firearm-possession firearms jury-instruction jury-instructions statutory-interpretation | Whether a jury instruction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, requires reference to "mere p… |
| 23-7762 | Christopher McPherson v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-06-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure-appeal drug-trafficking felon-in-possession firearm-possession fourth-circuit-review plain-error-standard rehaif-test sentencing sentencing-discretion sufficiency-of-evidence | I. Whether the Fourth Circuit erred by failing to reverse the conviction on Count V of the Superseding Indictment - Possession of a Firearm in Further… |
| 23-1013 | Dalibor Kabov and Berry Kabov v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2024-03-15 | Denied | brady-violation brady-violations drug-trafficking invited-error invited-error-doctrine jury-instructions napue-violation napue-violations ruan-v-united-states section-841 state-of-mind | 1. Whether this Court should grant, vacate, and remand as to Petitioners' drug distribution convictions in light of Ruan, or in the alternative, grant… | |
| 23-6827 | Victor Leon-Moya v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2024-02-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy criminal-procedure drug-importation drug-trafficking enhancement-factors importation jurisdiction sentencing-guidelines substantive-reasonableness | 1) Whether a defendant's suggestion for a codefendant to pay a supplier what the codefendant owed said supplier constitutes "directing" per USSG § 3… |
| 23A686 | Clifford Laines, Jr. v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2024-01-24 | Presumed Complete | armed-career-criminal-act criminal-statute drug-trafficking firearm-possession sentencing-guidelines serious-drug-offense | Question not identified. | |
| 23-6550 | Xavier Howell v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-01-23 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | drug-trafficking fourth-amendment fourth-amendment-protections probable-cause terry-stop terry-v-ohio vehicle-search vehicle-stop warrantless-search warrantless-stop | Whether a Warrantless Stop of a Vehicle, Based Solely on Proximity to a Motel Known for Drug Trafficking, in the Absence of any Actual Violation of th… |
| 23-6495 | Peter Burno v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2024-01-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | civil-rights conspiracy conspiracy-law controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking drug-transfer due-process intent-to-distribute ninth-circuit sentencing | Is the mere transfer of drugs from one person to another sufficient to prove a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substanc… |
| 23-5908 | Michael James Choulat v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2023-10-30 | Denied | IFP | which expands the application of § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) agency-deference criminal-law drug-trafficking firearm-possession firearms sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation | Whether Kisor's limits on courts' deference to an agency's interpretation of its own regulation permitted deference to Comment 14(B), which expands th… |
| 23-5602 | Curtis Morris Hartsfield, Jr. v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-09-15 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | attempted-crime attempted-distribution attempted-transfer circuit-split controlled-substances criminal-law drug-distribution drug-trafficking drug-transfer federal-criminal-law statutory-interpretation | Whether an "attempted transfer" of drugs under 21 U.S.C. § 802(8) includes any conduct that would also constitute an "attempted distribution" of drugs… |
| 23-5365 | Marcus Roosevelt Taylor v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-08-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | asset-forfeiture civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure drug-proceeds drug-trafficking due-process mandatory-victim-restitution-act restitution restitution-order | Whether the $228,304 restitution order infringes upon Marcus Taylors constitutional rights. And sets a dangerous precedent by allowing for the return … |
| 23-14 | Delilah Guadalupe Diaz v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2023-07-05 | Judgment Issued | Amici (3)Relisted (2) | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence evidence-law expert-testimony mens-rea mental-state rule-704(b) rule-704b | In a prosecution for drug trafficking—where an element of the offense is that the defendant knew she was carrying illegal drugs—does Rule 704(b) permi… |
| 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… |
| 22-7401 | Brandon Quane Hudson v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-04-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment criminal-procedure drug-trafficking fourth-amendment good-faith-exception magisterial-review magistrate-review probable-cause search-and-seizure search-warrant | In this case, police executed a search warrant at a person's home based solely on the fact that said person was involved in the sale of drugs, when ot… |
| 22-6908 | Eduardo Guadalupe Melendrez-Soberanes v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2023-03-02 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | burden-of-proof case-agent-testimony criminal-procedure drug-quantity drug-trafficking due-process evidence fifth-circuit photographic-evidence sentencing sentencing-guidelines | Whether the Fifth Circuit's practice of shifting the burden of production and proof to the defendant at sentencing violates a defendant's Due Process … |
| 22-6835 | Deon'te Reed v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2023-02-22 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 924c-conviction brecht-standard conspiracy-liability criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process harmless-error jury-instruction jury-instructions robbery-conspiracy stromberg-error | In applying harmless error review under Brecht, may a federal court disregard the prejudice resulting from Stromberg error, i.e., the jury's considera… |
| 22-6793 | Robert Loya, Jr. v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2023-02-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-possession drug-trafficking evidence felon-in-possession gang-affiliation intent-to-distribute sentencing sufficiency-of-evidence | I. Is there insufficient evidence to warrant a finding of guilty for Count 1: possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine over 50 grams and C… |
| 22-6318 | Eduardo Ocegueda-Ruiz v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2022-12-16 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process firearm-possession lenity sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Does a person possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A), when the person receives a… |
| 22-6144 | In Re Richard Daniels | 2022-11-22 | Denied | Relisted (2)IFP | amendment-violation constitutional-rights drug-policy drug-trafficking due-process exceptional-circumstances federal-custody liberty marijuana-classification | 1. Whether being in federal custody is a substantial denial of Richard Daniels ' constitutional right of liberty, without "sufficient cause, " without… | |
| 22-5925 | Christopher Santillanes Ceja v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2022-10-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment criminal-investigation drug-trafficking fourth-amendment investigative-duration law-enforcement probable-cause reasonable-suspicion traffic-stop | 1. Was the traffic stop of Mr. Ceja unreasonably prolonged when officers conducted two consecutive investigations, one for an alleged traffic violatio… |
| 22-5826 | Alonzo Peters v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2022-10-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | brady-materiality brady-v-maryland conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process fifth-circuit kyles-v-whitley suppressed-evidence witness-testimony | L. Whether a defendant's convictions for conspiracy and drug trafficking conspiracy must be vacated where the defendant had no commercial association … |
| 22-5449 | Antonio Rodriguez, Jr. v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2022-08-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-review circuit-conflict controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense drug-trafficking federal-conviction federal-drug-trafficking federal-sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation | Is it obvious error to find a prior federal drug trafficking conviction is a "controlled substance offense" under the Sentencing Guidelines when the s… |
| 22-5204 | Ramon Belducea-Mancinas v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2022-07-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender circuit-conflict controlled-substance drug-trafficking federal-drug-conviction fifth-circuit plain-error sentencing-guidelines | Ramon Belducea-Mancinas was sentenced as a career offender based on pre-2018 federal convictions for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. In December 2… |
| 22-5062 | Zachary Chambers v. R. Thompson, Warden | Third Circuit | 2022-07-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process firearm-possession habeas-corpus retroactivity safety-valve-clause sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | 1. Whether Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), renders invalid the imposition of Petitioner's sentencing enhancement for possession of a … |
| 21-8278 | Glen Hunsberger v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2022-06-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking due-process fifth-amendment mens-rea statutory-interpretation vagueness vagueness-doctrine | Whether the aggregation of two statutes, one requiring specific intent, 21 U.S.C. § 846, and the other, strict liability, 21 U.S.C. § 860, requires a … |
| 21-7623 | Mary Ann Lara v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2022-04-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | Section 841 burden-of-proof controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-quantity drug-trafficking federal-prosecution mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation | Whether, in prosecutions brought under Title 21, Section 841, the Government must prove a defendant's knowledge of drug type and quantity? |
| 21-7356 | Stacey Tremaine Johnson v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2022-03-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence firearm-possession guideline-calculation jury-instruction jury-instructions sentencing sentencing-reasonableness standard-of-proof uncharged-conduct | 1. Whether there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find the petitioner guilty of drug trafficking and firearm possession. 2. Whether the jury i… |
| 21-7078 | Jawan Fortia v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2022-02-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split civil-rights drug-trafficking due-process interstate-commerce judicial-fact-finding racketeering rico-act taylor-v-united-states | Can the government obtain a conviction under RICO without proving that the targeted enterprise's activities actually affected interstate commerce, so … |
| 21-6915 | Maxwell Gaffney v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2022-01-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | burden-of-proof causation criminal-law criminal-statute drug-distribution drug-trafficking federal-law foreseeability judicial-review jury-instructions proximate-cause sentencing | Kyle Rodriguez died after voluntarily using heroin. The government proved to a jury he bought it from Petitioner Maxwell Gaffney. The Government also … |
| 21-6578 | Gregory Leri v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2021-12-13 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split criminal-history downward-adjustment drug-trafficking first-step-act safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-minimum | On December 21, 2018, Congress enacted the First Step Act of 2018 (P.L. 115 391). In Section 402 of the First Step Act, Congress amended subsection (f… |
| 21-6284 | Marc Blane Baccus v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2021-11-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | border-trafficking criminal-sentencing drug-importation drug-trafficking guideline-enhancement importation methamphetamine methamphetamine-offense mexico sentencing-guidelines | 1. Whether Appellant's Sentence should have been enhanced for methamphetamine Importation from Mexico under §2D1.1(B)(5) 2. Whether Appellant's Guide… |
| 21-6233 | Joe Lenard Rodriguez v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2021-11-12 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy conspiracy-to-distribute criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence evidence-sufficiency jury-trial methamphetamine | 1. Did the courts below err when they determined that there was sufficient evidence to convict the Petitioner of Conspiracy to Distribute Methampheta… |
| 21-6148 | Lonnie Earl Parlor v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2021-11-02 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking enhancement-factors firearm-possession firearms relevant-conduct sentencing-guidelines specific-offense-characteristics statutory-maximum uncharged-conduct | This case presents unsettled and important questions related to the scope and application of "relevant conduct" to prove specific offense characterist… |
| 21-6014 | Yina Maria Castaneda Benavidez, aka La Reina, aka Ingeniera v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2021-10-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appeal conspiracy constitutional-rights criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence evidence-standard knowledge-element sentencing sentencing-disparity | This petition arises from the affirm ance of a judgment of conviction and sentence to a term of 22 ½ years ' incarceration following a jury trial for … |
| 21-5610 | Willie M. Hardy, Jr. v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2021-09-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender confession crime-of-violence criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process firearm-possession jury-instructions malicious-wounding sentencing sentencing-factor sufficiency-of-evidence | 1. Whether Virginia Code 18.2-51, malicious wounding, is a a crime of violence. 2. Whether acquitted conduct is a proper sentencing factor. 3. Wheth… |
| 21-5513 | Christopher Seckington v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2021-08-30 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | chapman-v-united-states constitutional-law cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-trafficking eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance sentencing sentencing-guidelines sixth-amendment urine-testing | Question 1: What must a Defendant show in order to demonstrate an Eighth Amendment violation where Petitioner was sentenced to in essence life for pos… |
| 21-5400 | Maria Gonzalez Maldonado v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2021-08-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | burden-of-proof conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking federal-sentencing methamphetamine-possession minor-participant sentencing sentencing-guidelines | 1. Did Maria Gonzalez Maldonado conspire to possess and/or actually and knowingly possess between 5kg-15kg kilograms of methamphetamine pursuant to U.… |
| 21-5099 | Thomas Javion Guerrant v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2021-07-14 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (4)IFP | career-offender controlled-substance drug-trafficking federal-law predicate-offense sentencing-guidelines state-conviction | Does a state conviction for distribution of a substance not defined as a "controlled substance" by federal law qualify as a career offender predicate … |
| 20-8318 | Jason C. Youker v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2021-06-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | civil-rights constitutional-rights drug-trafficking due-process fifth-amendment informant-distribution law-enforcement narcotics police-misconduct standing takings | 1. DO POLICE VIOLATE THE FIFTH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION Ynformants RtoVbeEdistributed Ion u^sCcItizens without OanyDrecovery 2. sagaMi spssmmmM … |
| 20-8194 | Irvin Moreno v. DeWayne Hendrix, Warden | Ninth Circuit | 2021-06-02 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | administrative-procedure-act bureau-of-prisons drug-trafficking nonviolent-offense sentence-reduction sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation supervised-release | Did the BOP violate the plain meaning of the relevant sentencing statutes and regulations by categorically disqualifying a prisoner convicted of a non… |
| 20-8029 | Steven D. Warren, Jr. v. Indiana | Indiana | 2021-05-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | brady-violation civil-rights drug-trafficking due-process fourth-amendment nexus probable-cause search-and-seizure search-warrant warrant warrant-application | Whether a search warrant application that fails to provide any particularized nexus between an individual's alleged drug trafficking activity and the … |
| 20-7746 | Miguel Angel Mendoza v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2021-04-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process fair-trial mens-rea sentencing | 1. Whether 21 U.S.C. § 960, which carries a ten-year mandatory-minimum sentence for "knowingly" importing a controlled substance if that substance is … |
| 20-7632 | Shannon D. Hixon v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2021-04-01 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | causation criminal-law criminal-statute death-results drug-overdose drug-trafficking due-process foreseeable-result jury-instruction jury-instructions sentencing | WHETHER A DEFENDANT MAY BE CONVICTED UNDER THE "DEATH RESULTS" PROVISION OF 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) WITHOUT INSTRUCTING THE JURY THAT IT MUST DECIDE … |
| 20-7181 | Quincy O'Neill Taylor v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2021-02-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 18-usc-924(c) criminal-procedure drug-trafficking firearm firearm-possession government-burden-of-proof ineffective-assistance-of-counsel statutory-interpretation united-states-v-dye united-states-v-frady | The Statute 18 U.S.C.924 (c)(1)(A) which states: Except to the extent that'a -greater minimumsentence is otherwise provided by this subsection or by… |
| 20-7122 | Adam Lloyd Cooper v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2021-02-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | aiding-and-abetting criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking firearm-possession firearms intent mens-rea rosemond-v-united-states | Whether Sec. 924(c) contains a specific mens rea requirement that requires one to know more than that firearms are "tools of the trade" for drug traff… |
| 20-7095 | Gary S. Colldock v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2021-02-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | dark-web drug-trafficking fourth-amendment probable-cause search-warrant staleness | Whether the information in the application for the warrant to place the GPS device on Colldock's vehicle was 'stale', where the Agents relied upon 2-y… |
| 20-6832 | Shannon Keith Harris v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2021-01-11 | Denied | IFP | cocaine-sentencing criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums resentencing retroactivity sentencing-guidelines | When deciding whether to impose a reduced sentence under Section 404 of the First Step Act, are district courts required to apply the current, legally… |
| 20-6713 | Danielle Devona Jones v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2020-12-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process fifth-amendment firearm-offense grand-jury-indictment indictment section-924c statutory-interpretation | IS THERE AN ACKNOWLEDGED CONFLICT AMONG THE SISTER CIRCUITS AS TO WHETHER SECTION 924(c) CRIMINALIZES TWO SEPARATE OFFENSES (1) "CARRY OR USE" A FIREA… |
| 20-6674 | Tony Chevallier v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2020-12-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-acts criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process judicial-discretion jury-conviction sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines statutory-range uncharged-conduct | I. When are trial judges prohibited from considering as sentencing factors criminal acts that a defendant was neither charged nor convicted of? And in… |
| 20-6465 | Damontaze Montrell Tillery v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2020-11-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | convicted-felon criminal-evidence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process firearm-possession motion-for-acquittal sentencing sentencing-guidelines sufficiency-of-evidence | Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the District Court's decision to overrule Petitioner's motion for acquittal when the evidence at trial… |
| 20-6153 | Jurmaine A. Jeffries v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-10-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-law drug-statute drug-trafficking proximate-causation proximate-cause rule-of-lenity sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Whether the "death enhancement" of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) requires proximate causation when the statute's language is ambiguous - triggering the rul… |
| 20-5930 | Diego Palacios-Villalon v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-10-06 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-review burden-of-proof criminal-procedure culpability drug-trafficking judicial-discretion mitigating-role sentencing-guidelines | "does a defendant have the sole obligation in the establishment of these elements or does the trial judge have a duty to inquire into them". |
| 20-5868 | Manuel Acosta-Lopez v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2020-10-01 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | in a run-of-the-mill drug smuggling case between is a participant who had a managerial role in the criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-smuggling drug-trafficking managerial-role mexico-united-states-border mexico-us-relations minor-role participant-classification role-adjustment role-in-offense sentencing-guidelines | Whether, in a run-of-the-mill drug smuggling case between Mexico and the United States, is a participant who had a managerial role in the offense excl… |
| 20-5571 | Angel C. Pacheco v. Maine | Maine | 2020-09-02 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | any-persons-present collective-searches criminal-procedure drug-trafficking fourth-amendment probable-cause search-warrant warrant-standard | (1) Whether, to obtain a search warrant authorizing the search of "any," "all" or "unknown" persons likely to be found at a residence believed to be u… |
| 20-256 | Zavian Munize Jordan v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2020-09-01 | Denied | Amici (2) | 18-usc-924c circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-statute drug-trafficking firearm-possession predicate-crime statutory-interpretation violent-crime | Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1), "any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime * ** uses or carries a firearm… |
| 20-5478 | Fernando Hernandez v. United States | First Circuit | 2020-08-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure discretion domestic-violence drug-trafficking due-process sentencing sentencing-discretion | Was Hernandez ' due process rights violated when the district court abused its discretion in relying on Hernandez ' domestic violence past in sentenc… |
| 20-5093 | Dion Clayborn v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2020-07-16 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender congressional-intent deference-to-agency drug-trafficking guideline-commentary recidivism sentencing-commission sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation | Title 28 U.S.C. § 994(h) authorized the Sentencing Commission to promulgate guidelines that, based on legislative history, were intended harshly punis… |
| 20-5055 | Juan Carlos Castellanos Muratella v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2020-07-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | career-offender circuit-conflict controlled-substance controlled-substances counterfeit-controlled-substances criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process imitation-controlled-substances simulated-substance statutory-interpretation | Is a statute that includes simulated controlled substances, imitation controlled substances, and counterfeit controlled substances categorically a con… |
| 19-8698 | Neal Scott Stone v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-06-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | certificate-of-appealability circuit-split drug-trafficking due-process entrapment-defense habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel police-informant sixth-circuit | 1. Does the Sixth Circuit's Amended Order, in which it denied Stone's COA Motion; conflict with Lozada v.Deeds, 498 U.S. 430 (199r)(per curiam) and pr… |
| 19-1313 | Donovan Dave Dixon v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2020-05-22 | Denied | Response Waived | controlled-substances controlled-substances-act criminal-liability drug-trafficking gonzalez-v-oregon medical-malpractice medical-practice mens-rea standard-of-care | Whether juries must be instructed that the government must prove that a physician acted with the mens rea of intent as to issuing a prescription outsi… |
| 19-8513 | Edward Javier Catano Lopez v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-05-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | drug-trafficking due-process extraterritorial-jurisdiction international-law maritime-drug-law maritime-law pinkerton-doctrine subject-matter-jurisdiction | 1. For purposes of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act ("MDLEA"), does due process require a nexus between the defendant and the United States where… |
| 19-8399 | Reshon Tolliver v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-05-05 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute drug-payment drug-trafficking evidence federal-law money-laundering statutory-interpretation | To resolve a circuit split, whether mere payment for drugs constitutes sufficient evidence for a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1956? |
| 19-8263 | Larry Wesley Brown v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-04-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-possession drug-trafficking felony-enhancement guidelines gun-possession sentencing sentencing-guidelines | Whether the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ("Fifth Circuit")-which held Mr. Brown was involved with drug traffic… |
| 19-8218 | Angel Paz-Alvarez v. United States | First Circuit | 2020-04-08 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 21-usc-853 appeals controlled-substances criminal-forfeiture drug-trafficking due-process standing statutory-interpretation third-party third-party-interest | This petition asks an important question: whether modern criminl- forfeiture statutes can be squared with the Due Process Clause and and whether petit… |
| 19-8104 | Juan Gonzalez-Arias v. United States | First Circuit | 2020-03-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split constitutional-rights criminal-procedure drug-trafficking fourth-amendment home-search nexus probable-cause right-to-counsel search-warrant sixth-amendment | 1. Was there sufficient evidence of probable cause to establish a nexus between Mr. Gonzalez-Arias's drug trafficking activity and his home to justify… |
| 19-7952 | Michael Deon Thompson v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-03-10 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 21-usc-841 criminal-law criminal-statute drug-distribution drug-trafficking proximate-cause sentencing serious-bodily-injury statutory-interpretation strict-liability | 1. Whether the language "death or serious bodily injury results from" in 21 U.S.C. § 841 creates a strict liability crime, without a foreseeability or… |
| 19-7820 | Marcus Derby v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2020-02-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split conspiracy conspiracy-involvement criminal-procedure drug-trafficking essential-participant minor-participant minor-role reduction sentencing-guidelines supplier | In 2015, the United States Sentencing Guidelines were amended to clarify that defendants are entitled to the "minor role" reduction, even if they are … |
| 19-7457 | Rogelio Villarreal-Estebis v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-01-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | complete-defense criminal-conviction criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence-exclusion federal-rule-of-evidence-403 right-to-defense rule-403 sixth-amendment sixth-amendment-rights vehicle-ownership | Whether the Fifth Circuit's decision to affirm the trial court's refusal to admit the evidence was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable applicatio… |
| 19-7335 | Chad Prodoehl v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-01-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy criminal-law drug-conspiracy drug-crimes drug-trafficking due-process inchoate-offense inchoate-offenses overt-act sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-enhancement statutory-interpretation | As statutorily defined, violating 21 U.S.C. § 846 is an inchoate offense, as it requires no overt act, but is complete upon the agreement. Because of … |
| 19-7341 | Joey D. Wiseman, Jr. v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2020-01-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | congressional-intent criminal-law drug-crimes drug-felonies drug-policy drug-trafficking due-process equal-protection sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Whether this Honorable Court should re-evaluate the inherent inequity in Congress changing the level of the enhancement for prior drug felonies for 21… |
| 19-7305 | William James Springer v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2020-01-16 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | actual-possession constructive-possession criminal-procedure drug-trafficking firearm-possession foreseeability jointly-undertaken-activity sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines | Whether a defendant's sentence can be enhanced under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) for possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense … |
| 19-7057 | Johnny L. Shelton v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2019-12-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 21-usc-841 21-usc-846 conspiracy controlled-substance criminal-penalty drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking fifth-amendment inchoate-crime sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Whether the "death results" enhanced penalty provisions of 21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1)(C) apply to a prosecution for the inchoate crime of conspiracy to comm… |
| 19-6539 | Dwayne Dumont Haizlip v. Joseph Valliere | Fourth Circuit | 2019-11-07 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | civil-rights constitutional-challenge constitutional-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process fourteenth-amendment habitual-felon-law habitual-offender mandatory-sentencing sentencing | I. The Federal Court, Question Presented is whether a Sentential Mandatory Sentence + Drug Trafficking Conviction; Sentence Versus N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-… |
| 19-6420 | Christopher Mark Heath v. United States | Third Circuit | 2019-10-30 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy conspiracy-law criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking firearm-possession firearms mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | The mere presence of a firearm at the scene of a drug trafficking offense constitutes possession of the firearm "in furtherance of" the conspiracy for… |
| 19-5983 | Alejandro Llamas-Delgado v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2019-09-18 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | burden-of-proof conspiracy controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking due-process statutory-interpretation sufficiency-of-evidence supreme-court-precedent | Whether the lower court's decision conflicts with Supreme Court and other circuit precedent concerning the government's burden to prove the evidence w… |
| 19-5450 | Paul Suarez v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-08-06 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 18-usc-924c appeal conviction criminal-conviction criminal-procedure drug-trafficking firearm-offense jury-unanimity law-of-the-case legal-sufficiency manifest-injustice sufficiency-of-evidence | 1) DID THE PANEL ERR BY HOL DING THAT THE "LAW OF THE CASE" GOVERNED ITS DECI SION IN HOLDING THAT THE EVIDENCE WAS LEGALLY SUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN THE … |
| 19-129 | Neil Feinberg, et al. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue | Tenth Circuit | 2019-07-26 | Denied | Response Waived | civil-rights controlled-substances-act drug-policy drug-trafficking federal-preemption federalism interstate-commerce irs-tax-code marijuana-legalization preemption state-legalization state-rights tax-law | Did the Tenth Circuit err in holding that the Controlled Substances Act superseded and preempted Colorado marijuana laws? |
| 19-109 | Giovanni Montijo-Dominguez v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2019-07-25 | Denied | Amici (2) | 18-usc-3553 circuit-split criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking fact-finding judicial-discretion jury-findings jury-verdict mandatory-minimum preponderance-of-evidence sentencing-discretion standard-of-proof | District courts exercise broad discretion at sentencing. They may take into consideration various factors relating to both the offense and the offende… |
| 19-5183 | Miguel Grado v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2019-07-15 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 18-usc-924c circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-procedure criminal-statute drug-trafficking due-process firearm-use firearms multiple-offenses sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation | Whether a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for using a firearm to further a crime of violence or drug-trafficking crime may rest on more than one u… |
| 19-5166 | Henry Vazquez Valois v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2019-07-12 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | commerce-clause congressional-power congressional-powers criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process enumerated-powers extraterritorial-jurisdiction foreign-national international-law international-waters maritime-law | Whether the prosecution of Mr. Vazquez Valois — a Colombian national with no ties to the United States — for trafficking cocaine in international wate… |
| 19-5105 | Rudy Espudo v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2019-07-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-conviction criminal-justice criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process firearm-statute firearms sentencing statutory-interpretation underlying-offense | Whether a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for using a firearm to further a crime of violence or drug-trafficking crime may rest on more than one u… |
| 18-9789 | Dan Pizarro v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-06-25 | Denied | IFP | criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing direct-appeal drug-offenses drug-trafficking first-step-act prior-convictions prior-felony-conviction sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-minimum | Because Pizarro is still in the direct appeal process, is he entitled to the application of the First Step Act amendments to the statutory minimum sen… |
| 18A1333 | Alfredo Beltran Leyva v. United States | District of Columbia | 2019-06-19 | Presumed Complete | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence-sufficiency guilty-plea plea-withdrawal sentencing | Question not identified. | |
| 18-9328 | Diego Portocarrero Valencia v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2019-05-17 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | confrontation-rights criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process high-seas-offense jurisdiction maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act maritime-law safety-valve sentencing stateless-vessel | 1. Is the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act ("MDLEA") unconstitutional because no minimum contacts between the accused and the United States are requi… |
| 18-9168 | Melissa Owens v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2019-05-08 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | civil-rights controlled-substances criminal-history drug-trafficking due-process equal-protection plea-agreement racial-discrimination school-desegregation sentencing sentencing-guidelines voting-rights | Question not identified. |
| 18-8957 | Scott Matthew Goss v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-04-23 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | burden-of-proof criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process federal-courts sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines weapon-possession | 1. May a court accept a mere allegation of possession of a weapon as satisfaction of the Government's initial burden of proof requirement supporting t… |
| 18-1230 | Juan Zamudio v. United States | Seventh Circuit | 2019-03-21 | Denied | 4th-amendment circuit-split civil-rights criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process fourth-amendment nexus-requirement particularized-nexus probable-cause residence search-and-seizure search-warrant standing | Whether a search warrant application that fails to provide any particularized nexus between an individual's alleged drug trafficking activity and the … | |
| 18-8456 | Roberto Miramontes Roman v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2019-03-19 | Denied | IFP | 18-USC-924(c)(1)(A) acquittal conviction criminal-procedure double-jeopardy Double-Jeopardy-Clause drug-trafficking due-process federal-prosecution Firearm-Possession firearm-statute Prosecution state-court-acquittal state-federal-prosecution statutory-interpretation | 1. Did it violate the Double Jeopardy Clause for the United States to prosecute Mr. Roman for the same offense and conduct for which he was acquitted … |
| 18-8293 | Rodolfo Rivero Garcia, Jr. v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-03-05 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment border-patrol border-search drug-interdiction drug-trafficking fourth-amendment reasonable-suspicion terry-stop traffic-stop vehicle-search vehicle-stop | Whether the stop of Mr. Garcia's vehicle was supported by reasonable suspicion of illegal activity where the only factors present were: (1) the stop o… |
| 18-8205 | Elamin Bashir v. United States | Third Circuit | 2019-02-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process individualized-jury-finding jury-finding jury-instructions mandatory-minimum sentencing | I. WHETHER THE MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE WAS IMPROPERLY IMPOSED FOR DRUG-TRAFFICKING CONSPIRACY, BECAUSE INDIVIDUALIZED JURY FINDING AS TO QUANTITY O… |
| 18-1122 | Alpenglow Botanicals, LLC, et al. v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2019-02-27 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) | 26-usc-280e administrative-determination administrative-determinations administrative-law civil-rights criminal-culpability criminal-law criminal-penalties drug-crimes drug-trafficking due-process irs irs-investigation section-280e standing tax tax-deductions tax-law | 1) Did Congress, under 26 U.S.C. §280E, empower the IRS and its civil auditors to investigate federal drug law crimes and administratively determine w… |
| 18-8133 | Daryl Mingo v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2019-02-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-plea-bargaining drug-trafficking due-process firearm-offense firearms plea-bargaining plea-colloquy sentencing statutory-construction | When Congress enacted and amended 18 U.S.C. Section 924(C)(1)(A) periodically, did Congress give federal criminal courts discretion to make their own … |
| 18-7964 | Rafael Santos v. United States | Second Circuit | 2019-02-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | conspiracy criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking federal-officer firearms motion-for-reduction-of-sentence sentencing-guidelines | WHETHER THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED WHEN IT DENIED PETITIONER'S SECTION 3582(c)(2) MOTION? |
| 18-7914 | Jay Maurice Tharps v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2019-02-12 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment anonymous-informant drug-trafficking fourth-amendment leon-exception leon-good-faith-exception partially-rotten-fruit probable-cause search-warrant totality-of-circumstances totality-of-the-circumstances | Whether the Fourth Circuit erred in determining that probable cause existed when instead of describing any reliable and corroborated facts about drug … |
| 18-7609 | Merlin Alston v. United States | Second Circuit | 2019-01-28 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 18-usc-924c 18-usc-926b criminal-law-enforcement-officer-exemption criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process firearm-possession firearms law-enforcement sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation | 1. Is the conviction of a local poli ce officer, required to carry a service pistol when off duty, excluded from prosecution for violating 18 U.S.C. 9… |
| 18-7323 | Robert Willis v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2019-01-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | acca armed-career-criminal-act career-offender criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking prior-conviction prior-convictions sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-maximum violent-felony | GROUND (I) WHETHER PETITIONER WILLIS'S 'B&E OCCUPIED' IS A VIOLENT FELONY UNDER ACCA? GROUND (II) WHETHER PETITIONER WILLIS'S DRUG TRAFFICKING CONVIC… |
| 18-7264 | Joel E. Miller v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2019-01-07 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | controlled-substances controlled-substances-act criminal-liability drug-trafficking gonzales-v-oregon jury-instructions medical-malpractice medical-practice medical-practitioner prosecutorial-discretion standard-of-care united-states-v-moore | Because many controlled substances have medical uses, the Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") authorizes doctors and other medical practitioners to issu… |
| 18-7095 | Miguel Robinson v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2018-12-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment circumstances circumstantial-evidence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process fourth-amendment probable-cause reasonable-search rigid-legal-rules rule-of-law search search-and-seizure search-warrant | Rigid legal rules are ill-suited'" to an analysis of probable cause. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 232 (1986) (citation omitted). Did the Court of … |
| 18-7050 | Javier Portillo v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2018-12-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | border-crossing border-search criminal-evidence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence jury knowledge-standard mens-rea narcotics-possession ninth-circuit standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence trial-sufficiency | Whether the Ninth Circuit's analysis of the facts was inadequate and whether, when the entirety of facts presented at trial was considered, there was … |
| 18-6912 | Bryant Lamar Monie v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2018-12-04 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking federal-jurisdiction federal-law felony-conviction persistent-felony-offender sentencing sentencing-enhancement state-law statutory-interpretation | 1. Whether the Defendant's Kentucky Drug trafficking conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of five (5) years and was enhanced by Kentucky's Per… |
| 18-6917 | Rodolfo Portela v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2018-12-04 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appeal competency-hearing conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-sentencing drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking evidence-suppression firearm-possession sentencing sentencing-guidelines sufficiency-of-evidence | 1. Whether The District Court, Erred When It Found That There was Sufficient Evidence That the Appellant had Committed the Acts Alleged in Count I, Co… |
| 18-6665 | Maurice T. Smith v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2018-11-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | categorical-analysis categorical-approach criminal-law drug-offenses drug-trafficking due-process felony-drug-offense recidivism recidivist-enhancement statutory-interpretation vagueness vagueness-doctrine | 1). Whether it was the intent of congress to restrict the application of § 841 recidivist enhancement to previous drug trafficking crimes which are te… |
| 18-6666 | Oscar Sosa v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2018-11-14 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | confrontation-clause crawford-v-washington criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process expert-testimony plain-error-review prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-amendment witness-credibility | 1. Isa federal agent's testimony about an out-of-court agent's report of drug trafficking by an unindicted coconspirator, when linked to and used agai… |
| 18-6563 | Jesus R. Gonzalez-Negron v. United States | First Circuit | 2018-11-06 | Denied | IFP | criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking due-process factual-basis firearm-possession firearms guilty-plea machine-gun-possession plea-bargaining statutory-interpretation | Is evidence of a loaded machine gun and drugs within a person's residence an adequate factual basis to support a guilty plea to possession of a firear… |
| 18-6248 | Antonio Mercedes-Rijo v. United States | First Circuit | 2018-10-09 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | congressional-power criminal-procedure define-and-punish-clause drug-trafficking due-process federal-jurisdiction high-seas mitigating-role sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-3b1.2 statutory-interpretation united-states-sentencing-commission | Whether the Petitioner's Mitigating Role Should of Been Adjusted In Accordance With The United States Sentencing Guidelines § 3B1.2 Whether Congress … |
| 18-6151 | Claude Thelemaque v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2018-10-01 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | burden-of-proof cocaine-distribution conspiracy criminal-law criminal-law-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence evidence-admissibility jurisdiction standard-of-proof witness-testimony | Whether the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Thelemaque conspired to distribute cocaine with knowledge that it would be impor… |
| 18-6036 | Donald S. Harden v. United States | Seventh Circuit | 2018-09-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | causation criminal-statute drug-trafficking mandatory-life-imprisonment mandatory-sentencing proximate-cause racial-disparities rule-of-lenity sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation strict-liability | This Court granted certiorari in Burrage v. United States, 569 U.S. 957 (2013), to decide two questions concerning the "death results" sentencing enha… |
| 18-5885 | Kenneth Kennedy Shannon v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2018-09-05 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence heroin-quantity motion-for-acquittal motion-for-new-trial motion-to-suppress search-and-seizure sentencing sufficiency-of-evidence title-iii-wiretap verdict-acquittal | 1. Did the trial court err in denying the Petitioner's Motion for Verdict of Acquittal and for New Trial, because the evidence taken in the light most… |
| 18-5835 | Juan Fernando Lizarraga-Leyva v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2018-08-30 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | aggravated-felony controlled-substance deportation drug-trafficking drug-trafficking-crime illicit-trafficking immigration-law immigration-nationality-act mens-rea state-law statutory-interpretation | Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a noncitizen is subject to mandatory removal if convicted of an "aggravated felony." The list of aggravated… |
| 18-5684 | Alejandro Verduzco-Rangel v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2018-08-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | aggravated-felony controlled-substance deportation drug-trafficking immigration-law immigration-nationality-act mens-rea statutory-interpretation | Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a noncitizen is subject to mandatory removal if convicted of an "aggravated felony." The list of aggravated… |
| 18-5332 | Davon Merkiese Kemp v. United States | Sixth Circuit | 2018-07-24 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 4th-amendment criminal-procedure drug-crimes drug-trafficking evidence fourth-amendment home-search probable-cause search-and-seizure search-warrant unreasonable-search | Whether a police officer's generalized opinion that drug dealers often keep drugs and other evidence of their trafficking activities in their homes is… |
| 18-5046 | Giezi Magno Zamora v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2018-06-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appeals criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process eleventh-circuit evidence habeas-corpus international-law judicial-review maritime-law sentencing sentencing-reasonableness writ-of-certiorari | In United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), United States v. Rita, 551 U.S. 338 (2007) and United States v. Gall, 552 U.S. 38 (2007), this Court … |
| 18-5011 | Xavier Cardona v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2018-06-28 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | 4th-amendment 5th-amendment appellate-review asset-seizure burden-of-proof civil-forfeiture currency-seizure drug-trafficking drug-transaction due-process evidence-standard judicial-conversion procedural-due-process property-rights sentencing-guidelines | 1. Was it admissable for the court of appeals to affirm the dist rict court's conversion of petitioner's seized cash into cocaine, when there was no e… |