sentence-enhancement

55 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6454 Derek Capozzi v. United States First Circuit 2025-12-30 Pending Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act collateral-review johnson-retroactivity residual-clause section-2255 sentence-enhancement 1. Whether, to qualify under 18 U.S.C. § 2255 for relief from a sentence enhancement imposed by operation of the now abrogated residual clause of 18 U…
25-6437 Sean Blaine James v. Oregon Oregon 2025-12-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment grand-jury-clause incorporation-doctrine sentence-enhancement Whether the Fourteenth Amendment fully incorporates the Grand Jury Clause of the Fifth Amendment?
24-6553 Ramon Caldwell v. Bryan Morrison, Warden Sixth Circuit 2025-02-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights due-process jury-determination prior-convictions recidivism sentence-enhancement I. It was a Jurisdictional Defect of the proceedings, by not allowing the jury to find Petitioner guilty, with proof beyond a reasonable doubt, of a s…
24-5648 Aramian Scott v. Illinois Illinois 2024-09-26 Denied IFP aggravating-factor constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process sentence-enhancement subject-matter-jurisdiction IS PETITIONER 'S 25-YEAR SENTENCE ENHANCEMENT, FOR PERSONAL DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM VOID, WHERE THE STATE COURT LACKED SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION TO E…
24-5468 Dennis L. Flint v. Florida Florida 2024-09-05 Denied IFP constitutional-law criminal-procedure double-jeopardy precedent resentencing sentence-enhancement Can petitioner cl 3errfence cx\[ curbed during r£S£n4-epcin^ \mf-Photdr running afoui c*P double jeopardy principles and curren+ precedent Conrtroltin…
23-7106 Gemar Morgan v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-04-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-history guideline-commentary sentence-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation stinson-v-united-states supreme-court-precedent united-states-v-havis Do the United States Sentencing Commission application note 4B1.4 cmt.n,(1) that states: "nor are the time periods for the counting of prior sentences…
23-6722 Jeffrey Holland v. United States Third Circuit 2024-02-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP crack-cocaine criminal-sentencing due-process fair-trial first-step-act jury-trial sentence-enhancement sentencing-discretion sentencing-enhancements trial-transcript In Concepcion v. United States , 597 U.S. 481, 142 S. Ct. 2389, 2404 213 L. Ed. 2d 731 (2022), this Court held that the First Step Act "allows distric…
23-6435 Norman Williams v. Colorado Department of Corrections Time Computation Department, et al. Colorado 2024-01-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP colorado-dept-of-corrections conviction-classification criminal-procedure due-process non-categorical-approach prior-convictions sentence-enhancement sentencing-enhancement time-computation violent-crime 1) In light of this Court's holdings in Johnson v. U.S 135 S. Ct. 2551, 2563 (2015), does § 17-22.5-403 C.R.S. violate Mr. Williams' and other similar…
23-5623 Patrick Medearis v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-09-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-846 conspiracy controlled-substance-offense crime-of-violence federal-criminal-law overt-act sentence-enhancement sentencing-guidelines ussg-4b1.2 I. Does conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 qualify as a "controlled substance offense" under USSG § 4B1.2…
23-5522 Javier Guerra v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-09-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability criminal-procedure drug-quantities fifth-circuit ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sentence-enhancement sentencing-enhancement strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Given the case's specifics, was the defense counsel ineffective according to the Strickland v. Washington 466 U.S. 668 (1984) precedent when failing t…
23-5453 Pedro Ramirez-Urbina v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-08-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment 6th-amendment alien-smuggling burden-of-proof causation causation-standard criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment sentence-enhancement sixth-amendment Whether the Fifth or Sixth Amendments prohibit conduct for which Ramirez was acquitted—committing an alien-smuggling offense that resulted in a death—…
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…
23-5254 David Serrano-Munoz v. United States Third Circuit 2023-08-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge criminal-law due-process legal-definition sentence-enhancement sentencing sexual-abuse statutory-interpretation vagueness void-for-vagueness Should certiorari be should granted to determine whether the sentence enhancement provided by 18 U.S.C. § 2251(e) is void for vagueness for lack of de…
22-7257 Santos Cuevas v. Tina Kotek, Governor of Oregon, et al. Ninth Circuit 2023-04-12 Denied IFP constitutional-review double-jeopardy due-process federal-law judicial-discretion jury-trial sentence-enhancement sentencing sixth-amendment Has Oregon's Judiciary and legislature failed to incorporate landmark cases relevant for how and-when to enhance a sentence, and to comport with the r…
22-6839 Michael O. Brown v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender circuit-court-precedent conspiracy conspiracy-conviction criminal-career-offender prior-convictions sentence-enhancement sentencing-guidelines sixth-circuit state-convictions Whether the court erred in failing to grant appellant relief from his sentence enhancement based upon his prior state convictions after Mathis and whe…
22-716 Alexander Dockery v. William Lee, Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility Second Circuit 2023-02-01 Denied Response Waived circuit-split constitutional-challenge custody-requirement federal-habeas habeas-corpus no-fault-of-petitioner prior-conviction sentence-enhancement Is the federal habeas custody requirement met where a petitioner makes a constitutional challenge to a previously unchallenged conviction that was use…
22-5792 Armad Jamall Gatling v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-10-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review civil-procedure court-of-appeals dismissal district-court due-process merits restitution sentence-enhancement standing 1. Did the Court of Appeals err in dismissing Mr. Gatling's appeal without reviewing its merits? 2. Did the district court err when determining the a…
22-5252 Carlos Fleitas v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-08-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process eleventh-circuit expert-testimony federal-rules-of-evidence judicial-procedure non-expert-testimony sentence-enhancement sentencing-enhancement writ-of-certiorari When a defendant's sentence is enhanced based a non-experts testimony should a higher standard, apart from that permitted by Fed. R. Evid. 1101(d)(3) …
21-8053 Ron Delano Kuntz v. United States Third Circuit 2022-06-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP concurrent-representation conflict-of-interest crime-of-violence critical-stages cuyler-v-sullivan district-court jury-trial sentence-enhancement sixth-amendment 1. Whether a conflict arises, thereby compelling federal courts to follow Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335 (1980), when trial counsel's concurrent rep…
21-1282 Christopher Ryan Martin v. Nevada Nevada 2022-03-23 Denied Response Waived 6th-amendment apprendi-doctrine civil-rights criminal-sentencing due-process jury-trial prior-convictions sentence-enhancement sentencing-factors sixth-amendment I. Whether this Court should overrule Almendarez-Torres in light of Apprendi and its progeny. II. Whether Nevada's use of prior convictions for enhan…
21-6959 Kenneth J. Cox v. Ed Caley, Warden, et al. Tenth Circuit 2022-01-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP AEDPA constitutional-rights federal-law jurisdiction procedural-default representation-right SAOC-elements sentence-enhancement sentence-enhancers state-court-judgment state-prisoner state-prisoners-claim Whether the jurisdiction of this court is invoked under 28 U.S.C. §1257(a) concerning a state prisoners'claim(s) that was adjudicated on the merits …
21-6282 Tannous Fazah v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-15 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-sentencing drug-conspiracy due-process federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum misdemeanor-reclassification prior-conviction prior-convictions retroactive-reclassification sentence-enhancement I. In August 2013, petitioner was indicted in federal court, in part, on charges of conspiring to distribute controlled substances. Petitioner was all…
20-8234 Arian Lamont Brown v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-06-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-criminal-guideline criminal-procedure en-banc en-banc-review judicial-discretion mandate mandate-recall precedent sentence-enhancement sentencing sixth-circuit Did the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit abuse its discretion and err by denying the Motion to Recall the Mandate, when The United…
20-7977 Bobby Carl Terrick v. Darrel Vannoy, Warden Fifth Circuit 2021-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process ex-post-facto sentence-enhancement sentencing CAN PLEADINGS FROM UNDISTURBED CONVICTION BE CHALLENGED POST ID TIME WITH "NEW JUDGMENT"? CAN A TRIBUNAL DECISION MAKING TO RETROACTIVELY APPLY A STA…
20-7737 Marjuan Shondell Fleming v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split constitutional-rights crack-cocaine criminal-justice-reform criminal-procedure first-step-act post-conviction right-to-counsel sentence-enhancement sentencing sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation Whether the term "Covered offense" in the First Step Act of 2018, includes violations of Title 18 USC 924(c), involving crack cocaine, to which ACCA t…
20-7617 Willie Lee Lewis v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-31 GVR Relisted (4)IFP armed-career-criminal-act controlled-substances-act felony-drug-offense first-step-act sentence-enhancement serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation One: Does the First Step Act's addition of a definition for "felony drug offense" to section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 802, al…
20-6231 Mark Zavala v. Kim Holland, Warden, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-11-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process fair-trial fourteenth-amendment gang-enhancement sentence-enhancement street-terrorism-act unitary-proceeding Does the trial of a sentence enhancement allegation under California's Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act in a unitary proceeding with th…
20-447 Francisco Rodriguez-Castro v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-10-08 Denied Response Waived 28-usc-2255 career-offender criminal-sentencing miscarriage-of-justice petition-for-certiorari post-conviction-relief procedural-error section-2255 sentence-enhancement Whether the Fifth Circuit erred in holding that Rodriguez's erroneous sentence enhancement as a career offender, which increased his sentence from 135…
20-400 James Avery, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-09-29 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute circuit-split criminal-procedure divisibility divisible-statute sentence-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether a state burglary statute that disjunctively lists places that may be burgled under the statute is divisible for purposes of a sentence enhance…
19-8890 Richard Antonio Hodge, Jr. v. United States Third Circuit 2020-07-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-sentencing first-step-act resentencing retroactivity rule-of-lenity sentence-enhancement sentencing-provisions statutory-interpretation Whether the ameliorative sentencing provisions of the First Step Act apply to defendants who were initially sentenced pre-First Step Act, but whose se…
19-1365 Ramon Hueso v. J. A. Barnhart, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-06-12 Denied Relisted (2) 28-usc-2255 circuit-law circuit-split federal-prisoner habeas-corpus mandatory-minimum post-conviction-relief retroactivity savings-clause sentence-enhancement sentencing sentencing-enhancement Section 2255 of 28 U.S.C., which authorizes postconviction relief for federal prisoners, generally requires post-conviction motions be brought within …
19-8132 Antoine T. Chest v. Michael P. Bald, Judge, Circuit Court of Illinois, Stephenson County Illinois 2020-03-31 Denied IFP bodily-harm consecutive-sentences criminal-law criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process judicial-discretion legal-ambiguity sentence-enhancement sentencing-interpretation statutory-construction statutory-interpretation THE HONORABLE JUDGE MICHAEL BALD IMPROPERLY IMPOSED CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES WHEN CONCURRENT SENTENCES ARE MANDATED BY THE STATUTE, PETITIONER WAS FOUND …
19-8129 Charles Ben Bounds v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-03-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal bounds-case court-of-appeals criminal-appeal criminal-procedure due-process fifth-circuit jurisdiction legal-review sentence-enhancement sentencing statutory-interpretation (1) Whether the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals erred in affirming the application of Obstruction-of-Justice Sentence Enhancement in United States of A…
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…
19-780 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…
19-5857 Jonathan P. Flom v. United States Second Circuit 2019-09-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP acquittance civil-rights confrontation-clause constitutional-violation deliberation due-process fundamental-error government-misconduct material-disclosure sentence-enhancement vacatur I. Whether the Order of Dismissal with Prejudice as an Acquittance provides preclusive and legal force, requiring Vacatur; Whether various violations …
19-5420 Kendrick Terrell v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plain-error prior-charges sentence-enhancement sentencing sentencing-calculation sentencing-guidelines sixth-amendment Whether the Petitioner's Sixth Amendment Rights were violated by plain error made in calculating Petitioner's sentence, and the numerous ways that Pet…
19-5289 Pharoah Brazell v. Louisiana Louisiana 2019-07-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-violation criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process evidence forged-guilty-plea guilty-plea habitual-offender miranda-rights plea-bargaining right-to-attorney-during-questioning right-to-counsel right-to-remain-silent sentence-enhancement sentencing I. Can the State use a forged Guilty Plea form from a Florida predicate offense and used it to enhance his sentence as a Habitual Offender? II. Is Pe…
19-5268 Thomas Bois v. United States First Circuit 2019-07-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP assault-with-dangerous-weapon crime-of-violence enumerated-offenses federal-sentencing force-clause massachusetts-assault massachusetts-assault-with-dangerous-weapon massachusetts-law sentence-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Where the Massachusetts offense of "Assault with a Dangerous Weapon," Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265 § 15B, may be committed merely by means of an offensive …
19-38 Malcolm McGee v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-07-03 Denied Response Waived california-law federal-sentence-enhancement felony-drug-offense recidivist-sentence-enhancement recidivist-sentencing resentencing retroactive-reduction sentence-enhancement state-post-conviction state-post-conviction-remedy state-prison-sentence successful-attack When does a state post-conviction remedy qualify as a "successful attack" on a state prison sentence, such that a subsequent federal sentence enhancem…
18-9842 Alpidio Gonzalez v. Ralph Hanson, Warden Fifth Circuit 2019-06-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2241 2241-petition 2255 2255-motion habeas-corpus judicial-review mathis-v-united-states prior-conviction saving-clause savings-clause sentence-enhancement 1. How can a person show that a Writ of Habeas Corpus 2241 is the proper way to demostrate he is entitled relief when the lower courts Deny a motion…
18-1550 Gilberto Ramos v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-06-19 Denied Response Waived due-process federal-sentence-enhancement federal-sentencing habeas judicial-review legal-remedy post-conviction-remedy prior-state-sentence proposition-64 resentencing retroactive-relief sentence-enhancement state-conviction state-post-conviction-remedy state-sentence successful-attack When does a state post-conviction remedy qualify as a "successful attack" on a prior state sentence, such that a subsequent federal sentence enhanceme…
18-9664 Lilron Ravon Jones v. California California 2019-06-13 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP apprendi apprendi-rule Apprendi-v-New-Jersey constitutional-procedure Descamps due-process jury-trial jury-trial-right juvenile-adjudication Mathis prior-conviction-exception sentence-enhancement sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment In Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000), this Court held that "[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the pe…
18-1304 Richard Ashbaugh v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-04-15 Denied Response Waived burrage-decision burrage-v-united-states collateral-review criminal-law due-process habeas-corpus retroactive-application retroactivity sentence-enhancement sentencing statutory-interpretation substantive-rule In 2006, Petitioner Richard Ashbaugh pleaded guilty to distributing heroin, which, because of the "resulting-in-death" sentence enhancement contained …
18-8187 Kelley Toney v. David Stock, Warden Illinois 2019-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-rights corrections-department due-process sentence-enhancement sentencing sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation supervised-release 1) Shoud A CONVcd PERN b FL ANishEd A SENENING? 2) Is A SENtence Not AuthoRizEd by StAtUte Void? 3) IS AN IPRPER SENtENCE in ViOLATiON OF UNiTESAtES…
18-8156 In Re Dennis Bowden 2019-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP acquitted-conduct collateral-review due-process habeas-corpus nelson-v-colorado retroactive-application retroactivity sentence-enhancement sentencing united-states-v-watts Whether the Court should issue a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that Nelson v. Colorado, has been or should be made retroactively applicable to c…
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…
18-7624 Mario Griffin v. Michael Clark, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Albion, et al. Third Circuit 2019-01-29 Denied IFP abuse-of-discretion apprendi-v-new-jersey apprendi-violation cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process federal-law illegal-sentence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-discretion judicial-integrity manifest-injustice miscarriage-of-justice sentence-enhancement sentencing Does the sentence imposed constitute an illegal sentence under federal law and represent a manifest injustice calling in question the integrity of …
18-6926 James Valentine v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-06 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP circuit-court-conflict circuit-court-review circuit-split controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-sentencing criminal-sentencing-enhancement drug-conviction due-process ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prior-convictions sentence-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation DID THE HONORABLE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA COMMIT "PLAIN AND OBVIOUS ERROR" BY ALLOWING THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT,…
18-6896 Jeffrey S. Wingate v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-12-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process fifth-amendment grand-jury ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel presentment presentment-clause sentence-enhancement sentencing strickland strickland-standard uncharged-conduct Does a substantially greater sentence imposed based primarily on a count for which a grand jury refused to indict and which did not appear in a supers…
18-6817 Michael Albert Focia v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-11-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process judge-vs-jury judicial-fact-finding jury-instructions jury-trial obstruction-of-justice pro-se sentence-enhancement sentencing separation-of-powers sixth-amendment Where is the second and fifth amendments to apply the statutory scheme of 18 USC § 922 (a)(1)(A) and 18 USC § 922(b) to a Non-Federal Firearm Licensee…
18-6418 Denver Ivan Wilson v. Florida Florida 2018-10-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights due-process fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel procedural-due-process sentence-enhancement sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Whether the trial Courts denial of Petitioners Writ of Habeas Corpus Filed Pursuant to florida Rules of Court 3.850 (m) alleging that Petitioner Could…
18-6056 Harley Blevins, Sr. v. Florida Florida 2018-09-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP almendarez-torres constitutional-law criminal-procedure criminal-punishment-code due-process jury-trial jury-verdict prior-conviction sentence-enhancement sentencing sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Is Florida's Prison Releasee Reoffender Act, which nullifies a Criminal Punishment Code (CPC) sentence, unconstitutional and a violation of the Sixth …
18-5308 O'Neil Anthony Harris v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-07-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP advisory-guidelines congressional-intent guideline-amendment judicial-discretion sentence-enhancement sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reform upward-variance Whether a District Court Disregards Congressional Intent and Imposes an Unreasonable Sentence When it Applies an Upward Variance to the Advisory Sente…
18-5241 Victor Maturino v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-07-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law commentary-amendments destructive-devices double-jeopardy due-process firearms firearms-possession guideline-commentary offense-level-increases rulemaking-authority sentence-enhancement sentencing-commission-process sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation The Sentencing Guidelines in § 2K2.1 setting forth provisions concerning unlawful possession of firearms and specific offense characteristics provide …