sentencing-discretion

134 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6796 Carlos Martinez v. California California 2026-02-12 Pending IFP california-law constitutional-rights criminal-law judicial-interpretation resentencing sentencing-discretion Whether or not vwsf te * j w heVh tr net f Ae s'^.rioi/s h>w <JC A v ^5 'A. jjirvK^, f cdM^cdVon fh<ff Q&pofe$ F&l'* bi&Trt&r i~o a. ter-rn <?r b bt …
25-6324 Craig Edward Hunnicutt, Jr. v. United States Sixth Circuit 2025-12-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure factual-findings self-defense sentencing-discretion sixth-circuit supervised-release I. Whether the Sixth Circuit decision affirming Mr. Hunnicutt's supervised release violation and new law convictions, improperly upheld the clearly er…
25-200 Kevin Salvador Golphin v. North Carolina North Carolina 2025-08-19 Denied Response Waived constitutional-law criminal-procedure eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole sentencing-discretion Whether North Carolina, in conflict with this Court's precedents and those of other states, has violated the Eighth Amendment by creating a de facto m…
25-5341 Kenneth Jeremy Laird v. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, et al. Ninth Circuit 2025-08-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law criminal-procedure eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing sentencing-discretion supreme-court-precedent In 1994, an Arizona judge sentenced Mr. Laird to death for a murder conviction and a total of 129 years in prison for 13 other nonhomicide crimes. Mr.…
25-5003 Eric Richard Garza v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-07-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-conviction de-novo-resentencing fifth-circuit-interpretation mandate-rule sentencing-discretion Did the Fifth Circuit misapply its restrictive interpretation of the mandate rule which does not permit de novo resentencing, but limits to resentenci…
24-1255 Malcom Anwar Williams v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-06-09 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) 18-usc-3582 compassionate-release criminal-history rehabilitation-evidence sentence-reduction sentencing-discretion When a federal inmate files a motion for reduction of sentence or compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582 (c)(1)(A), the district court mus…
24-6652 David R. Kitchen v. United States Fourth Circuit 2025-02-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure fourth-circuit home-detention judicial-review sentencing-discretion supervised-release I. Whether the Fourth Circuit erred by affirming the District Court's discretion in sentencing Mr. Kitchen to six (6) months of home detention for a s…
24-6536 Craig Bassett v. Florida Florida 2025-02-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process habeas-corpus jury-instructions sentencing-discretion separation-of-powers sixth-amendment 1. Did Justice Gorsuch's dissenting opinion in Cunningham v. Florida establish a new precedent that requires retroactive application, or is it a remin…
24-5934 Richard Balter v. United States Third Circuit 2024-11-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP compassionate-release constitutional-review judicial-discretion pre-booker-sentencing sentencing-discretion united-states-sentencing-commission Whether a District Court has the Discretion to Decline to Follow the United States Sentencing Commission's Policy Statement U. S. S. G. 1B1.13(b)(6), …
24-5891 Kimberly Cannon v. Florida Florida 2024-11-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process fundamental-error judicial-discretion probation-violation sentencing-discretion Is it fundamental error for a trial court to consider a subsequent offence without arrest or conviction is fashioning a sentence for a violation of pr…
24A345 Ronald Robinson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2024-10-11 Presumed Complete 18-usc-3553a criminal-history eighth-circuit mitigating-factors sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines Question not identified.
24-391 Felipe Petrone-Cabanas v. Arizona Arizona 2024-10-08 Denied Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) criminal-procedure jones-v-mississippi juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama sentencing-discretion Whether juveniles may be sentenced to life without parole under a system that did not afford the sentencing court discretion to choose any lesser opti…
24-5630 Ernie Sacoman v. David Cole, Warden Tenth Circuit 2024-09-25 Denied Relisted (2)IFP correctional-facility criminal-procedure good-time-credits habeas-corpus parole-modification sentencing-discretion (1.) CAN A COURT OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITY CHANGE PETITIONER'S PAROLE FROM 3/-2/-10 (D) 1ST DEGREE FELONY AND WHO HAS SERVED THE SENTENCE OF IMPRISONME…
24-5456 Robert Paul Durrell v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-09-04 GVR Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-procedure sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors statutory-interpretation supervised-release The supervised-release statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e), lists factors from 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) for a court to consider when sentencing a person for viola…
24-5401 Whitney Leigh Estep v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-08-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure fifth-amendment fourth-circuit sentencing-discretion witness-testimony A. WHETHER THE FOURTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS ERRED BY DENYING MS. ESTEP'S ARGUMENT THAT THE DISTRICT COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR BY ALLOWING TH…
24-5248 Jason Wade Grant v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-08-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process individualized-sentencing mitigating-factors sentencing-discretion If £olv\ cx ^u/nYV^ W. oc^VvA, i V -W'-e_ cfteC :ewc5L<x,vc\~ OWxV -Hv^aj CL-t-e ^lClaWm o-P ljlvv -Hv -Hv€_ -s>€w.Vev\cL-e__ Is proAoaiAced 2.. C<sw…
24-55 Montana v. Robert Murray Gibbons Montana 2024-07-18 Denied eighth-amendment excessive-fines-clause financial-burden financial-circumstances mandatory-fine mandatory-fines proportionality proportionality-factors sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether the Excessive Fines Clause requires the sentencing judge to consider a defendant's personal financial circumstances and the nature of the burd…
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…
23-7639 Louis C. Bouie v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Pennsylvania 2024-06-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP drug-treatment-program due-process ex-post-facto executive-branch judicial-review sentencing-discretion separation-of-powers stare-decisis statutory-construction Did the Pennsylvania High Court unconstitutionally permit the statutory construct at 61 Pa.C.S.A. § 4105 to grant the executive branch carte blanche s…
23-7565 Juan Aguiera-Guzman v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-05-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process federal-sentencing judicial-reasoning mitigation-arguments plain-error sentencing sentencing-discretion silent-record Does the holding in Molina -Martinez apply to non -Guidelines calculation sentencing errors, such as the clear Rule 32 violation here? If not, how doe…
23-7328 Leslie Hood v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-04-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment employment probation-requirements sentencing sentencing-discretion supervision supervision-conditions 1. Was the district court's imposition of supervision conditions requiring Mr. Hood to obtain some form of work/employment violated the Eighth Amendme…
23-7133 Garry Hines v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-04-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP acceptance-of-responsibility appellate-review criminal-appeal criminal-sentencing due-process fourth-circuit sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines statutory-maximum 1. Whether the Fourth Circuit erred when determining that Petitioner's Sentence which exceeded the statutory maximum was proper and reasonable 2. Whe…
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…
23-6707 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…
23-830 Lonnie Allen Bassett v. Arizona Arizona 2024-02-02 Denied Amici (3)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (5) criminal-procedure eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole mandatory-sentencing miller-v-alabama montgomery-v-louisiana sentencing-discretion Whether the Eighth Amendment permits a juvenile to be sentenced to life without parole under a system that did not afford the sentencing court discret…
23-6632 Jasen Randhawa v. Wisconsin Wisconsin 2024-01-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional constitutional-rights criminal-procedure deterrence due-process general-deterrence sentencing sentencing-discretion social-science social-science-evidence I. Does a court violate a defendant's right to due process when a lengthy sentence is based upon mistaken information that a severe sentence will dete…
23-6600 Richard Daniel v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-01-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split covered-offense discretionary-sentencing fair-sentencing-act first-step-act sentencing-discretion sentencing-package-doctrine sentencing-reduction Where a defendant was sentenced for multiple offenses, some of which are now covered by § 404 of the First Step Act while others are not covered, does…
23-6592 Bernardito Carvajal, aka Christian Mendez-Acevedo v. United States First Circuit 2024-01-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP acquittal constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process judicial-review jury-verdict sentencing sentencing-discretion unreasonable-sentence May a sentencing judge disregard the jury's verdict acquitting the defendant of causing the decedent's death and use facts the jury rejected to justif…
23-6454 Darwin Dwayne Hutchins v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-01-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender cocaine-definition controlled-substance federal-vs-state-law non-violent-drug-crimes sentence-length sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines state-federal-definition 1. Did the district court err when it counted Hutchins's Ohio cocaine conviction as a controlled substance offense to make him a career offender under…
23-6418 Harvey Holland v. United States Third Circuit 2024-01-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process fair-sentencing-act first-step-act jury-trial murder-cross-reference sentencing-discretion A long standing and durable tradition for federal sentencing in this nation is that judges have broad discretion in the kind of information and source…
23-6403 Tony L. Ford v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-01-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP concepcion-precedent concepcion-v-united-states criminal-resentencing eleventh-circuit eleventh-circuit-interpretation fair-sentencing-act first-step-act intervening-law-changes sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-penalty Previously, the courts of appeals were divided over whether a district court could consider intervening changes to the law during First Step Act proce…
23A475 Lonnie Allen Bassett v. Arizona Arizona 2023-11-28 Presumed Complete eighth-amendment juvenile-offender life-without-parole miller-retroactivity post-conviction-relief sentencing-discretion Question not identified.
23-5222 Mustafa Ali v. Jeffrey Minehart, Judge, et al. Pennsylvania 2023-07-27 Denied IFP abuse-of-discretion constitutional-provisions due-process habeas-corpus pcra-petition post-conviction-relief sentencing-discretion state-court-procedure statutory-interpretation statutory-maximum void-for-vagueness 1. Whether the PCRA Court abused its discretion in failing to convert Petitioner's State Habeas Petition into a PCRA Petition? 2. Whether the Trial C…
22-7802 James B. Norris, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-06-16 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process internet-access judicial-explanation pro-se-motion revocation-hearing sentencing sentencing-discretion supervised-release Whether the Eighth Circuit erred – contrary to the holdings of the Second, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, which…
22-7783 Pinkney Clowers, III v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-06-14 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP apprendi circuit-split concepcion-v-united-states criminal-enterprise drug-quantity fair-sentencing-act first-step-act sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation terry-v-united-states When a jury convicted Pinkney Clowers of continuing a criminal enterprise, 21 U.S.C. § 484(b) mandated a life sentence because his offense involved at…
22-7769 Tyrone Desante Morant v. Bill Stange, Warden Missouri 2023-06-13 Denied Response RequestedRelisted (3)IFP 14th-amendment 6th-amendment 8th-amendment consecutive-sentences constitutional-rights eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing mandatory-life-sentence miller-v-alabama sentencing-discretion Missouri's former first-degree murder statute, Section 565.020, RSMo, mandated a sentence of life without parole for any offender who committed the of…
22-7735 Vivian R. Woodstock v. Florida Florida 2023-06-08 Denied IFP constitutional-violation due-process equal-protection resentencing restitution sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether a court may impose a harsher sentence upon resentencing after it was determined the initial sentence violated equal protection and due process…
22-7451 Bennie C. Rivera v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-05-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-justice criminal-procedure fair-sentence-act first-step-act judicial-discretion judicial-review motion-denial sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation DID JUDGE JOHN ANTON II, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE ABUSE HIS DISCRETION WHEN HE DENIED THE PETITIONER'S MOTION IN PURSUANT TO THE FIRST STEP …
22-7121 Christopher Barret v. United States Second Circuit 2023-03-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 criminal-procedure de-novo-resentencing de-novo-review direct-appeal resentencing sentencing sentencing-discretion vacatur 1. Whether, following the vacatur of one or more counts, either pursuant to a direct appeal or a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion, a district court must conduc…
22-783 Victor J. Orena v. United States Second Circuit 2023-02-17 Denied Response Waived 18-usc-3553 18-usc-3582 concepcion-v-united-states district-court-authority extraordinary-and-compelling-circumstances extraordinary-circumstances first-step-act sentence-reduction sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation In Concepcion v. United States, — U.S. -, 142 S. Ct. 2389, 2404 213 L. Ed. 2d 731 (June 27, 2022), this Court held that the First Step Act "allows dis…
22-6704 Angel Vazquez-Figueroa v. United States First Circuit 2023-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure individualized-assessment judicial-discretion plain-error plain-error-review plea-agreement section-3553a-factors sentencing sentencing-discretion Question not identified.
22-6564 Sohiel Omar Kabir v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-01-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split co-conspirator control-over-co-participants criminal-enhancement leader-organizer-enhancement leader-role ninth-circuit second-fourth-sixth-eleventh-dc-circuits sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines Does the aggravating role enhancement for "leader[s]" or "organizer[s]" of concerted criminal activity in section 3B1.1(c) of the United States Senten…
22-6545 Kamil Hakeem Johnson v. R. M. Wolfe, Warden Fourth Circuit 2023-01-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process habeas-corpus jurisdiction jurisdictional-challenge sentencing-discretion sentencing-options statutory-interpretation THE DISTRICT COURT WAS WITHOUT JURISDICTION TO IMPOSE A "TERM OF YEARS" SENTENCE WHEN THE STATUTE CONTAINED ONLY TWO SENTENCING OPTIONS, DEATH, OR LIF…
22-6431 Philip Johnson v. Illinois Illinois 2022-12-30 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights eighth-amendment guilty-plea juvenile-justice juvenile-sentencing miller-factors miller-v-alabama plea-bargaining proportionate-penalties sentencing sentencing-discretion (1) Whether a pre-Miller guilty plea bars a post-Miller sentencing challenge under the Eighth Amendment. (2) Whether the sentencing process mandated …
22-6214 Timothy Robert Gallion v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-12-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing district-court due-process fourth-circuit sentence-credit sentencing-credit sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines supervised-release A. WHETHER THE FOURTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS ERRED BY DISMISSING MR. GALLION'S MERITORIOUS ARGUMENT THAT THE DISTRICT COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERR…
22-6027 Cedric Joseph Rue, Jr. v. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry Ninth Circuit 2022-11-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP criminal-procedure eighth-amendment eighth-amendment-interpretation juvenile-offender juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole mandatory-sentencing parole-abolition sentencing-discretion When a state abolishes its parole system, does it create a mandatory life-without-parole sentence that, when imposed on a juvenile homicide offender, …
22-5962 Marquis Donte Brown v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-11-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-review post-booker-hearing safety-valve sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1. WHETHER THE DISTRIC T COURT ERRED BY IMPOSING AN UNLAW FUL SEN TENCE CONTRARY TO THE MANDATES OF § 3553(a) AND §3553(f)(5) WHICH PRECLUDE USE OF IN…
22-5936 Demetrius Troy Bradley v. Michigan Michigan 2022-10-31 Denied IFP acquitted-conduct constitutional-law criminal-procedure due-process fourteenth-amendment jury-trial jury-trial-rights sentencing sentencing-discretion sixth-amendment 1. Do the jury-trial and due process guarantees of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit judges from considering, at sentencing in a criminal c…
22-5673 Juan Amaya Lozano v. Fredrick Entzel, Warden Eighth Circuit 2022-09-26 Denied IFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel interpreter-rights limited-english-proficiency sentencing sentencing-discretion sixth-amendment 1) Whether the District Court abused it's discretion after ruling that Juan Lozano, (a limited English Proficiency defendant), required a Spanish Inte…
22-5354 Ricardo L. Noble v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2022-08-18 Denied IFP civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process evidence juvenile-justice juvenile-sentencing miller-rule rehabilitation sentencing sentencing-discretion The facts, issues, and eudeace relates to Lace A Juvenile Lifec*s DecertiFitarion(Jrunstec) deescrou ace celévaatto Said Juvenile Likees re sentencing…
22-5348 Clarence Lee v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-08-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion civil-procedure criminal-procedure due-process judicial-bias judicial-recusal motion-hearing prosecutorial-agreement recusal sentencing sentencing-discretion standing 1) Whether the district court erred by denying defense counsel's oral motion for recusal of the district judge. 2) Whether the district court erred b…
22-5253 Dennis Charles Helmer v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-08-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3582 circuit-split compassionate-release covid-19 criminal-justice-reform first-step-act medical-care sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines 1.) Whether the District Court erred when it denied relief to Petitioner 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) motion based upon the applicability of 18 U.S.C. 3…
22-5203 Travis Wade Amaral v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-07-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-prohibition due-process juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole mandatory-sentences miller-v-alabama sentencing-discretion term-of-years-sentences 1. Does the constitutional prohibition against mandatory life sentences for juvenile offenders in Miller v. Alabama apply to mandatory term-of-years s…
22-49 Efrain Lora v. United States Second Circuit 2022-07-19 Judgment Issued Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) circuit-split concurrent-sentences consecutive-sentences criminal-law criminal-procedure federal-criminal-law mandatory-minimums sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(D)(ii), which provides that "no term of imprisonment imposed … under this subsection shall run concurrently with any oth…
21-8233 Barkley Gardner v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-06-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-USC-1959 criminal-law criminal-sentencing due-process federal-criminal-law punishment-alternatives racketeering sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation violent-crime Whether a court may punish a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a) by a fine instead of death or life imprisonment.
21-8133 Gary L. Boyle v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-06-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-precedent course-of-conduct criminal-acts criminal-sentencing discretionary-sentencing federal-guidelines guidelines judicial-interpretation same-course-of-conduct sentencing-discretion separate-course-of-conduct united-states-v-booker This Court's decisions (as best Boyle can research) have not defined or applied in the discretionary sentencing context, and apart from any Guidelines…
21-1464 Emond S. Gulley v. Kansas Kansas 2022-05-19 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) constitutional-law criminal-procedure eighth-amendment juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama sentencing-discretion term-of-years-sentence In Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), the Court held that the Eighth Amendment bars the mandatory imposition of life in prison without parole for…
21-7435 Ronell Williams v. Kansas Kansas 2022-03-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment constitutional-interpretation discretionary-sentencing jones-v-mississippi juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama sentencing-discretion youth-characteristics Does this Court's decision in Jones v. Mississippi, 593 U. S. ___, ___, 141 S. Ct. 1307, 1320, 209 L. Ed. 2d 390 (2021) mandate that states must stric…
21-6566 Steven Craig Bethea v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-12-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion constitutional-review criminal-sentencing discretion eighth-amendment judicial-abuse sentencing sentencing-discretion substantive-reasonableness upward-variance WHETHER THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN SENTENCING THE APPELLANT STEVEN BETHEA TO A GREATER SENTENCE THAN NECESSARY AS THE COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY …
21-6473 Michael Stumph v. Ohio Ohio 2021-12-02 Denied Amici (1)Response WaivedIFP Appellate-Review Cruel-and-Unusual-Punishment Due-Process eighth-amendment Equal-Protection fourteenth-amendment Procedural-Due-Process sentencing-discretion Whether Ohio Revised Code § 2953.08(D)(3) violates the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United State…
21-6335 Chi Mak v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3582 abuse-of-discretion compassionate-release criminal-procedure judicial-review sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors statutory-factors statutory-interpretation Whether the district court abused its direction and acted unreasonably in denying Mak's motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. §3582(c), by …
21-6279 Jquan Leearthur McInnis v. Minnesota Minnesota 2021-11-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama roper-v-simmons sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether sentencing a juvenile to two consecutive homicide sentences of life-with-the possibility-of-release after thirty years, the functional equival…
21-5782 Cenobio Humberto Herrera, Sr., aka Bert Herrera, aka Cenobio Herrera Lanz, aka Cenobio Humberto Lanz v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-09-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure custodial-status district-court methamphetamine methamphetamine-production ninth-circuit pseudoephedrine section-3553a sentencing sentencing-discretion 1. Did the Ninth Circuit err in failing to vacate the district court's order because the court based its analysis on two clearly erroneous facts—the a…
21-5391 Jermontae Moss v. Georgia Georgia 2021-08-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment family-violence felony-murder juvenile-justice juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama mitigating-factors sentencing sentencing-discretion Does a court violate Miller when it refuses to consider childhood trauma as mitigating when sentencing a child to life without parole?
21-5407 Robin Rick Manning v. Michigan Michigan 2021-08-17 Denied IFP civil-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process first-amendment habeas-corpus juvenile-justice miller-v-alabama proportionality-review roper-v-simmons sentencing sentencing-discretion 1. THE 4 TO 3 MAJORITY DECISION OF HE MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT FLOUTED U.S. SUPREME COURT PRECEDENT i .e. THE EVOLVING STANDARDS OF DECENCY ON PROPORTIO…
21-5063 Sammy Cano v. Illinois Illinois 2021-07-09 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-seizure due-process evidence ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-counsel reasonable-doubt sentencing sentencing-discretion witness-credibility witness-testimony 1. Whether or not the State failed to prove Sammy Cano guilty beyond a reasonable doubt where the only witness to the crime directly contradicted her …
20-8453 Devonte Jaishun Tucker v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-06-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion mitigation preservation preservation-of-error sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether a defendant must object to sentencing court's failure to consider a nonfrivolous mitigation argument in order to preserve the issue for appeal…
20-8347 Terron McAllister v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-06-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-resentencing discretion first-step-act guidelines guidelines-range judicial-discretion resentencing sentence-reduction sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether a District Court adjudicating a motion for a reduced sentence under the First Step Act abuses its discretion when a defendant would have a sig…
20-8273 Roger G. Babcock v. Florida Florida 2021-06-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-discretion mandatory-sentencing sentencing sentencing-discretion state-law statutory-interpretation My name is Roger G. Babcock, and, in 1997 a Florida jury found me guilty of the crime of sexual battery, a capital felony not punishable by death. At …
20-1614 John D. Leontaritis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-05-19 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process fact-determination jury-finding jury-instructions reasonable-doubt sentencing sentencing-discretion standard-of-proof This criminal case's questions concern the impact of jury findings on sentencing. Both recur frequently, especially in cases about drugs. Both are the…
20-7851 Luis Noel Cruz, aka Noel v. United States Second Circuit 2021-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment contemporary-standards-of-decency criminal-procedure due-process individualized-sentencing juvenile-sentencing legislative-trends life-sentence mandatory-minimum miller-rule sentencing-discretion Should the protections of Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 132 S. Ct. 2455, 183 L. Ed. 2d 407 (2012), which prohibits mandatory life sentences and req…
20-7718 Deidre Antoinette Pierre v. Louisiana Louisiana 2021-04-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP adolescent-brain-science constitutional-rights cruel-punishment eighth-amendment life-without-parole miller-mandate rs-15-574-4-d sentencing-discretion 1. Whether the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 20, of the Louisiana Constitution prohibits the imposition of…
20-1315 Louisiana v. Aaron G. Hauser Louisiana 2021-03-23 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) irreparable-corruption juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama montgomery-miller-standard montgomery-v-louisiana rehabilitation rehabilitation-evidence sentencing-discretion Does a sentencing court run afoul of Montgomery and Miller by weighing the heinous facts of a juvenile's violent crime more heavily than any subsequen…
20-7421 Jefferson Levine v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) circuit-conflict criminal-resentencing first-step-act judicial-discretion post-sentencing-conduct section-404(b) sentencing sentencing-discretion 1. Whether, in order to properly exercise its discretion under Section 404(b) of the First Step Act of 2018 to impose a reduced sentence for an eligib…
20-7216 Antwan Seawood v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-02-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing dismissed-charges fifth-amendment sentencing sentencing-discretion sixth-amendment Did the District Court abuse its discretion and violate Appellant's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights by sentencing him to a term of 240 months based u…
20-7160 Emmett Garrison, IV v. Louisiana Louisiana 2021-02-16 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole presumption sentencing sentencing-discretion If the Eighth Amendment forbids automatic life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders, does a sentencing court have the discretion to impose …
20-6982 Misty R. Weed v. Florida Florida 2021-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP conflict-of-laws constitutional-rights district-court-conflict due-process equal-protection ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel manifest-injustice plea-withdrawal sentencing sentencing-discretion I. DID THE FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL CREATE A MANIFEST INJUSTICE WHEN IT EXPRESSLY AND DIRECTLY RULED IN CONFLICT WITH DECISIONS OF FELLOW DISTRI…
20-6902 Layw Thomas v. Kentucky Kentucky 2021-01-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP disproportionate-sentencing eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment hammer-clause juvenile-sentencing miller-v-alabama plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing-discretion Did Kentucky violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments when it allowed a youth who was 17 when his crimes occurred to be sentenced to life in priso…
20-6513 Calvin Teko Coston v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-12-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge due-process fifth-amendment jury-trial mandatory-imprisonment revocation sentencing-discretion sixth-amendment supervised-release united-states-v-haymond Whether 18 U.S.C. § 3583(g) violates the Fifth and Sixth Amendments by mandating the revocation of supervised release and imposition of a term of impr…
20-6483 Adrien John Matuck v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-12-01 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP civil-rights constitutional-proportionality criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance-of-counsel juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole sentencing-discretion speedy-trial statute-of-limitations Question not identified.
20-6409 Hugo Humberto Perez Rangel v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-11-24 Denied IFP advisory-opinions appellate-review criminal-procedure federal-sentencing guideline-error harmless-error incentive-to-object judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines Whether Guideline error is necessarily harmless if the district court is presented with the Guideline range later vindicated on appeal and disclaims a…
20-6303 Lamar Whatley v. Illinois Illinois 2020-11-13 Denied IFP aggravating-factors constitutional-challenge de-novo eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance judicial-discretion mitigating-factors sentencing sentencing-discretion separation-of-powers sixth-amendment 1, The seperation of powers clause,as legislature has power to fix sentences.for mr.whatley crime and limit the scope of the judicial decsrition to im…
20-6316 Mickey Pubien v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-justice-reform criminal-resentencing discretion first-step-act penalty-reduction sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation What the district court may appropriately consider when imposing a reduced sentence pursuant to § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 remains an unsettl…
20-423 LaQuanda Gilmore Garrott v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-10-02 Denied charge-bargain judicial-review maximum-sentence plea-agreement prosecutorial-discretion sentencing sentencing-discretion separation-of-powers Whether a district judge violates the separation of powers by rejecting a plea agreement containing a "charge bargain"—a guilty plea to one or more co…
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…
19-8868 Rodrecas Tims v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-06-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing federal-sentencing judicial-discretion prison-sentence reasonableness-review sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-range sentencing-reasonableness Whether the district court ordered an unreasonable 108-month prison sentence under the facts of this case, and under the recommended Sentencing Guidel…
19-8474 Brittany Dawn Thomas v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-05-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(e) 18-USC-3553e criminal-procedure district-court judicial-authority mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-discretion separation-of-powers statutory-interpretation i. DOES A DISTRICT COURTS INABILITY TO DEPART BELOW A MANDATORY MINIMUM UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e), FOR ANY FACTOR OTHER THAN DEFENDANT'S SUBSTANTIAL A…
19-7918 Patrick Harris v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553a child-pornography criminal-sentencing district-court enhancement-factors excessive-sentence sentencing-discretion sentencing-enhancements sentencing-guidelines statutory-considerations I. DID THE DISTRICT COURT ERR WHEN IT FOUND ENHANCEMENT FACTORS LISTED IN U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(6) AND (b)(7)(D) APPROPRIATE IN …
19-7839 Christopher Sanchez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-03-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deterrence due-process imprisonment plain-error-review policy-statement policy-statement-range sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines I. Is a single-sentence explanation of "I believe this addresses the issues of adequate deterrence and protection of the public" procedurally reasonab…
19-7759 Lyarron T. Emers v. Illinois Illinois 2020-02-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment aggravating-factor constitutional-rights due-process fifth-amendment pre-sentence-investigation right-to-remain-silent right-to-silence sentencing sentencing-discretion Is People v. Emers IL App (4th) 170254-0 parallel to People v. Maggio IL App (4th) 150287? How is it not unconstitutional, if comments are made on a …
19-7720 Lamont Jones v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-02-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP 4th-circuit-court abuse-of-discretion co-conspirator-hearsay co-conspirator-hearsay-exception criminal-association criminal-history district-court-conviction hearsay-exception mental-health racketeering-conspiracy racketeering-conspiracy-18-usc-1962(d) sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-mental-health-treatment sufficient-evidence uncorroborated-confession I. Did the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals abuse.it's discretion in upholding the District Court's conviction that the evidence against Jones was suffi…
19-7688 Ricardo Noble v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2020-02-18 Denied Response RequestedRelisted (2)IFP civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process ineffective-assistance-of-counsel juvenile-justice juvenile-transfer miller-standard miller-v-alabama rehabilitation rehabilitation-needs sentencing sentencing-discretion transfer The fact, issues, and evidence related to a juvenile lifer's decertification (Transfer) decision are relevant to said Juvenile Lifer's Resentencing. T…
19-7698 Martin Calderon-Ortalejo v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-02-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP acceptance-of-responsibility criminal-procedure extensive-scope extensive-scope-planning fifth-circuit-review judicial-abuse-of-discretion offense-level-enhancement plea-agreement sentencing-discretion substantial-interference substantial-interference-with-justice total-offense-level Did the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division, abuse its discretion by imposing two consecutive sentences …
19-7338 David P. Moran v. Florida Florida 2020-01-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP concurrent-sentences consecutive-sentences criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process judicial-interpretation prosecutorial-charging same-conduct same-victim sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines 1. Should two charges for the same episode of conduct and the same victim with no temporal break whatsoever be sentenced to consecutive prison terms e…
19-7293 Desmond Bowen v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) appellate-review booker-v-united-states federal-sentencing gall-v-united-states judicial-standard sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) states: "The court shall impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary." Indeed, there are factors found in § 3553(…
19-7107 Joseph Thor Perkins v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-12-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553a 3553(a)-factors abuse-of-discretion booker-v-united-states criminal-sentencing downward-variance federal-sentencing-procedure gall-v-united-states judicial-discretion sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a sentencing court can abuse its discretion by not varying downward further based on this Court's decisions mandating that a sentencing court …
19-6938 Gabriel Garcia-Solar v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP congress-power congressional-power constitutional-interpretation extraterritorial-jurisdiction felonies-clause felony-definition foreign-nationals high-seas maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act nexus-requirement nexus-to-us sentencing-discretion 1. Whether the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, 46 U.S.C. § 70503 et. sec., which criminalizes foreign drug trafficking offenses committed aboard ve…
19-720 United States v. Riley Briones, Jr. Ninth Circuit 2019-12-06 GVR Relisted (2) constitutional-law criminal-procedure discretionary-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-imprisonment life-without-parole parole sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether Miller v. Alabama, which "h[e]ld that the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of par…
19-6856 James W. Riley v. Delaware Delaware 2019-12-05 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP capital-punishment conflict-of-interest constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidentiary-considerations fair-trial ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-misconduct judicial-review right-to-counsel right-to-fair-trial sentencing sentencing-discretion Should this court extend Its Hurst v. Florida ruling to the pre-trial and trial stages of capital murder case where it is shown that the Judge's sente…
19-6205 Ruben Navarrete-Felix v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) 18-usc-3553a abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-policy recidivism sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors Is it an abuse of discretion to sentence a recidivist pursuant to a blanket policy of always imposing a longer sentence than the defendant previously …
19-5730 Lawrence Michael Lynde v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-08-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP child-pornography civil-rights constitutional-law criminal-history criminal-procedure due-process federal-courts federal-sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sex-offender-treatment sixth-circuit-appeal standing statutory-interpretation victim-restitution Question not identified.
19-5641 David Anthony Gordon v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver due-process government-breach judicial-assignment judicial-procedure mandatory-minimum plea-agreement safety-valve sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether, in reaching the decision to affirm in part and to dismiss in part, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has so far departed from the accepte…
19-5472 Martin Avalos-Rico, aka Rolando Blanco-Garcia, aka Oscar Cruz-Tulum, aka Alejandro Tamayo v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-08-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split deportable-offender due-process geographic-disparity immigration immigration-sentencing reentry-offense sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reform-act supervised-release 1. Whether a district court that imposes supervised release on a deportable offender must specifically tie it to a need for deterrence or protection, …
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…
18-9063 Tyrone Leonard James v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-05-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 18-usc-3584 18-usc-924c 18-usc-924c3b certificate-of-appealability concurrent-sentences concurrent-sentences,federal-sentencing,state-sent Does the Supreme Court's grant of writ of certiora federal-criminal-procedure federal-sentencing judicial-consideration sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors state-sentencing statutory-interpretation supreme-court-rule-10 third-circuit unrelated-crimes vagueness Whether a district court's finding that a state crime and federal crime were unrelated is sufficient, in itself, to satisfy its obligation under 18 U.…
18-9079 Steven Dedual, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-05-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP alternate-sentences appellate-review district-court guideline-range harmless-error judicial-discretion sentencing-discretion sentencing-enhancement sentencing-procedure unsupported-alternate-sentences unsupported-claims Can a district court that has erroneously applied a sentencing enhancement shield itself from appellate review by claiming, without providing specific…
18-9010 Joel Augutuk Mayokok v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process judicial-error re-sentencing sentence-reasonableness sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines substantive-reasonableness unsupported-enhancement I. Did the District Court's decision at re-sentencing to re-impose the same 240-month sentence it initially imposed, where the Court had erred in its …
18-8796 Larry Junior Copeland, aka La-La v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-04-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability evidentiary-hearing fair-sentencing-act first-step-act habeas-corpus procedural-default retroactivity sentencing-discretion This Court holds that when a habeas petitioner alleges facts that are outside the courtroom, and if proven, those facts entitle a petitioner to relief…
18-8759 Cuauhtemoc Juarez-Aquino v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-04-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review circuit-split criminal-sentencing discretion district-court-authority due-process judicial-discretion majority-circuits ninth-circuit sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors Whether a federal district court is permitted boundless discretion to weigh established factors at sentencing, as the Ninth Circuit has held, or wheth…
18A1002 Joseph Carter v. Florida Florida 2019-04-01 Presumed Complete cruel-and-unusual eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing miller-v-alabama proportionality sentencing-discretion Question not identified.
18-8490 Bernard Mitchell v. California California 2019-03-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-street-gangs discretion due-process evidence gang-evidence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-exposure jury-instructions jury-prejudice prejudice prosecutorial-misconduct sentencing sentencing-discretion standard-of-review 1. Did the court abuse its discretion in permitting the jury to be exposed to the nicknames "Crip" and "'Scrap,"' which have been taken as a suggestio…
18-8468 Alfredo Mendez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure discretion district-court-authority due-process federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors Whether a federal district court is permitted boundless discretion at sentencing to weigh established factors at sentencing, as the Ninth Circuit has …
18-8395 Janet Sonja Schonewolf v. United States Third Circuit 2019-03-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3582 circuit-split criminal-sentencing prison-sentence prison-term rehabilitation sentencing-discretion sentencing-reform-act statutory-interpretation tapia-v-united-states The Sentencing Reform Act requires courts to "recogniz[e] that imprisonment is not an appropriate means of promoting correction and rehabilitation." 1…
18-8314 Jose Nino-Carreon v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-03-06 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appellate-review criminal-procedure district-court district-court-discretion guidelines plain-error sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines substantial-rights Whether a court of appeals that finds a plain Guideline error should ordinarily find an effect on the defendant's substantial rights if the district c…
18-8210 Mahogany Taquilla Alexander v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2019-03-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment 5th-amendment amendment-violation constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing sentencing-discretion 1. DID TRIAL COURT ABUSE ITS DISCRETION BY CONSIDERING A NOLLE PROSSED CHARGE OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER IN SENTENCING PETITIONER TO THE 20-YEAR PLEA CAP,…
18-8200 Tommy Earl Boone, Jr. v. Texas Texas 2019-02-28 Denied Relisted (2)IFP administrative-law civil-rights constitutional-interpretation criminal-law due-process legislative-intent official-discretion parole punishment-proportionality sentencing-discretion standing statutory-interpretation takings Assuming the Circuit Courts Application oF The June 15, 1989-Amended PArole Statute in Texas, By The 71 sT Legislature, strategicly Dismantling The SA…
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…
18-759 Matthew D. Sample v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-12-14 Denied Amici (3) criminal-sentencing district-court district-court-authority district-court-discretion imprisonment income-earning probation restitution sentencing-discretion victim-compensation Whether a district court may reduce a prison sentence, or impose a probationary term in lieu of imprisonment, to enable a defendant to earn income to …
18-6590 Salah Mohamed v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-11-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion aggravating-factor due-process escape flight-risk immigration naturalization naturalized-defendant sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines statutory-maximum Does a court abuse its discretion under the United States Sentencing Guidelines by sentencing a naturalized defendant more than three times above his …
18-6604 Joseph Jenkins v. United States Second Circuit 2018-11-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights court-reporters-act court-transcript due-process judicial-misconduct perjury perjury-by-exclusion qualified-retirement retirement-savings sentencing sentencing-discretion Can "catchall phrases" form a basis for a 'perjury by exclusion' indictment and conviction in the absence of precise questioning, open court transcrip…
18-6327 Rolando Humphrey v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-10-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 18-usc-3553a criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process federal-sentencing judicial-determination judicial-discretion jury-role jury-trial sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-18-usc-3553 statutory-minimum 1. Whether district courts may determine without the aid of a jury that a sentence above the statutory minimum is "not greater than necessary" to achi…
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…
18-6207 Manuel Ernesto Paiz Guevara v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-10-03 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP abuse-of-discretion capital-crime capital-punishment criminal-procedure death-penalty eighth-amendment fourth-circuit-split mandatory-sentencing miller-v-alabama right-to-counsel sentencing sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the Fourth Circuit erroneously held - in conflict with the plain language of 18 U.S.C. § 3005 and in conflict with a 45-year split between …
18-6063 Craig Alexander v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-09-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeals criminal-history criminal-procedure disciplinary-infractions due-process judicial-discretion judicial-interpretation section-3582 sentencing sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the Supreme Court should resolve spilt decisions in the lower court -as to how far a Judge must explain and/or elaborate on a decision to gran…
18-5970 Allen D. Gorion v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-09-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process federal-sentencing judicial-discretion reasonableness reasonableness-standard sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reform Whether certiorari should be granted to set forth some guidelines in determining when a sentence is unreasonable?
18-5893 Dan Wayne Streetman v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-09-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP booker-precedent booker-v-united-states child-pornography gall-v-united-states judicial-discretion kimbrough-v-united-states policy-disagreement sentencing-commission sentencing-discretion sentencing-guidelines sentencing-uniformity separation-of-powers 1. In the post-Booker world of non-mandatory guidelines, is it an abuse of discretion to refuse to reject a guideline on policy grounds where the guid…
18-5872 Miguel Medina-Reyes v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-09-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 3553(a) drug-trafficking federal-criminal-justice-system pre-sentence-report sentencing 3553(a) 3553(a)-factors 3553a-factors abuse-of-discretion amendment-782 criminal-procedure drug-amount drug-quantity-attribution drug-trafficking-conspiracy due-process pre-sentence-report sentencing sentencing-discretion threshold Whether Petitioner's due process rights were violated where the district court erred by failing to determine whether, at sentencing, Petitioner was in…
18-5828 Adolfo Lopez-Garcia v. United States Seventh Circuit 2018-08-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) 18-usc-3553a 18-usc-3582(c)(2) 3582c-motion amendment-782 criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing district-court procedural-reasonableness sentence-reduction sentencing-discretion sentencing-error sentencing-guidelines statutory-directive statutory-interpretation substantive-error substantive-reasonableness sufficient-but-not-greater-than-necessary Whether the District Court Committed substantive error when failed to impose a sentence that was sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply w…
18-5696 Curtis Croft v. Illinois Illinois 2018-08-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-review due-process irreparable-corruption juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole miller-v-alabama opportunity-to-present-evidence sentencing-discretion split-of-authority Whether Illinois has misused the broad discretion allowed the states by endorsing a deferential, exclusive "backwards-looking" examination of the "col…
18-5607 Friday Ogunyemi James v. United States Third Circuit 2018-08-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure discretion due-process evidence fair-instruction jury-instructions restitution sentencing sentencing-discretion tax tax-offense theory-of-defense trial-exhibit willfulness 1. Whether the Petitioner was entitled to a fair instruction to support the verdict in his favor on the theory of defense that has the basis in the ev…
18-203 Joey Montrell Chandler, aka Joey M. Chandler, aka Joey Chandler v. Mississippi Mississippi 2018-08-15 Denied Amici (5)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) 8th-amendment criminal-procedure eighth-amendment incorrigible juvenile-offender juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole permanent-incorrigibility rehabilitation sentencing sentencing-discretion state-supreme-courts 1. Whether the Eighth Amendment requires the sentencing authority to make a finding that a juvenile is permanently incorrigible before imposing a sent…
18-5484 William N. Washington v. California California 2018-08-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-sentencing custody-credits due-process equal-protection habeas-corpus original-sentence penal-code penal-code-1170.18 proposition-47 resentencing safe-neighborhoods-act sentencing sentencing-discretion WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO RECALCULATE ALL DAYS OF CUSTODY FROM THE DATE OF ORIGINAL JUDGMENT, AND ONLY AWARDED CUSTODY CREDITS FROM …
18-81 Carltez Taylor v. Indiana Indiana 2018-07-19 Denied constitutional-proportionality cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing life-expectancy life-without-parole miller-v-alabama sentencing-discretion term-of-years Whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile to a term exceeding their life expectancy for a single offense even when the sentenc…
18-5153 Arthur Wayne Kniffley v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-07-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP ball-v-united-states blockburger-test child-pornography criminal-conviction double-jeopardy double-jeopardy,child-pornography,fifth-amendment, double-jeopardy,fifth-amendment,child-pornography, fifth-amendment mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-sentencing sentencing-discretion I. Whether a conviction for producing child pornography violates the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment because the defendant was previousl…