sentencing-procedure

99 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6389 Kingsley Ita v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-12-16 Pending IFP appeal-waiver circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process plea-agreement sentencing-procedure I. Does a general appeal waiver in a plea agreement bar a criminal defendant from challenging a sentence on due process grounds when the sentencing co…
25-6230 McKinley Kelly v. Indiana Indiana 2025-11-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment rehabilitation sentencing-procedure Whether the sentencing procedure mandated by Indiana Code Sec. 35-38-l-7.1(A) and utilized by the state trial court in imposing Kelly 's sentence, whi…
25-6131 Zeno E. Sims v. Chris Brewer, Warden Eighth Circuit 2025-11-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP concurrent-sentencing federal-court judicial-discretion legal-precedent sentencing-procedure state-court Whether this Court should revisit Setser and affirmatively hold that once a federal court runs a future state court sentence concurrently to a defenda…
25-5811 Ricky Joe Bland v. United States Sixth Circuit 2025-10-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-sentencing drug-testing federal-circuit-split probation-officer sentencing-procedure supervised-release Did the district court below err in imposing as a special condition of supervised release a requirement that "[t]he defendant… participate in a progra…
25-5631 Brian Goorahoo v. United States Second Circuit 2025-09-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-appeal federal-sentencing preservation-of-error procedural-error sentencing-procedure Whether, to preserve for appeal a claim that the sentencing court committed procedural error by failing to explain its sentence adequately or relying …
25-5370 Kayle B. Bates v. Florida, et al. Florida 2025-08-14 Denied IFP constitutional-violation cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty ineffective-assistance neuropsychological-evidence sentencing-procedure After a questionable conviction, Kayle Bates has twice been sentenced to death. His first death sentence was reversed on collateral review for ineffec…
25-5219 Mao Hin v. California California 2025-07-29 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty jury-unanimity reasonable-doubt sentencing-procedure Whether California's capital-sentencing scheme violates the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments because it fails to require the jury to fi…
24-7290 Paul Curry, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-05-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP apprendi-error armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law harmless-error second-amendment sentencing-procedure First, whether as several courts of appeal have held, all Apprendi errors including Erlinger violations should be treated as trial errors subject to t…
24-6743 Andre Ricardo Roach v. United States Fourth Circuit 2025-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion court-of-appeals federal-custody judicial-review sentencing-procedure state-custody Weather the Court of Appeals abused its discretion by failing to consider this Court's opinion in Hughes v. United States v. United States. II. Weath…
24A185 Derek Don Posey v. Oklahoma Oklahoma 2024-08-19 Presumed Complete capital-punishment eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment jury-selection sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment Question not identified.
24-5327 Daniel Lopez, III v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-08-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure federal-rules revocation-hearing sentencing-procedure supervised-release Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1(b) defines the procedure for supervised release revocation hearings. The Ninth Circuit has split from other ci…
23-7844 Marcus Orlando Armstrong v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-07-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure district-court district-court-jurisdiction forfeiture forfeiture-doctrine judicial-discretion objection sentencing sentencing-procedure standard-of-review Does a defendant forfeit a challenge to the manner in which the district court imposed sentence by failing to object after the sentence is pronounced,…
23-6988 Anthony Shief v. Illinois Illinois 2024-03-14 Denied IFP 8th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment juvenile-justice juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole mitigating-factors sentencing sentencing-procedure Whether the Eighth Amendment's protections under Miller v. Alabama require certain sentencing procedures for defendants convicted of crimes committed …
23-979 Gerald D. Fields v. Jay Forshey, Warden Sixth Circuit 2024-03-06 Denied Response Waived faretta-colloquy fundamental-fairness habeas-corpus habeas-petition ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel presumption-of-prejudice right-to-counsel sentencing-procedure structural-error 1. When a state trial court fails to conduct a Faretta colloquy before sentencing a defendant without counsel—a fundamentally unfair structural error …
23-6405 Brian K. Allen v. United States Eighth Circuit 2024-01-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver criminal-procedure due-process evidentiary-hearing federal-circuit fundamental-rights plea-agreement sentencing sentencing-procedure 1. Whether the near consensus Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals' application of plea agreement appeal waivers as to subsequent sentencing proceedings,…
23-6300 Richard Paiva v. Rhode Island Rhode Island 2023-12-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment constitutional-protection due-process incarcerated-rights incarceration parole parole-eligibility sentence sentencing-procedure statutory-rights Are the protections of the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause triggered, when an incarcerated person has a statutory right to be parole-eligible during…
23-635 Steven LaWayne Nelson v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2023-12-13 Denied 28-usc-2254 capital-murder circuit-split claim-preclusion culpability habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel law-of-parties relitigation-bar sentencing-procedure 1. Has a claim been "adjudicated on the merits" in state court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) when it consists wholly of allegations the state court never …
23-5779 Donovan Romo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-10-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process forfeiture-doctrine judicial-discretion plain-error sentencing sentencing-procedure standard-of-review Does a defendant forfeit a challenge to the manner in which the district court imposed sentence by failing to object after the sentence is pronounced,…
23-5627 Ronald Rene Deleon, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-09-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure mandatory-minimum plain-error revocation sentencing sentencing-procedure supervised-release Whether application of a mandatory minimum term of supervised release following a revocation amounts to plain error?
23-5504 Jabriel Fitzgerald Lakes v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-08-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP classification criminal-procedure due-process federal-rules-criminal-procedure incarceration-classification judicial-error presentence-report recidivism right-to-appeal sentencing sentencing-procedure Did the District Court commit "error" that substantively —violated Lakes' right when it failed to enclude the disputes of the objection to the PRS w…
23-5140 Ralph Castillo v. Richard Martinez, Warden, et al. New Mexico 2023-07-19 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstances criminal-rights due-process jury-determination jury-trial plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing-enhancement sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment 1. Was it proper for the State to intentionally mislead the court when it required that petitioner show the presumption of equality when the real issu…
22-7517 Phillip Daniel Love v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split district-court-explanation holguin-hernandez-v-united-states mitigating-arguments mitigation-arguments preservation-of-error rita-v-united-states sentencing-arguments sentencing-procedure standard-of-review When a district court rejects a party's nonfrivolous sentencing argument, the court is required to explain why. Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 3…
22-7485 Daniel Isaiah Thody v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-05-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-challenge due-process jury-trial sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation supervised-release united-states-v-haymond As a case of first impression, whether the current implementation of Supervised Release, (18 U.S.C. §3583), as a "separate sentence " in addition to t…
22-7386 Louis McIntosh, aka Lou D v. United States Second Circuit 2023-04-27 Judgment Issued Amici (2)IFP appellate-courts commerce-clause criminal-forfeiture federal-jurisdiction federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure federalism interstate-commerce jurisdiction rule-32.2 sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation 1. Whether a district court may enter a criminal forfeiture order outside the time limitations set forth in Rule 32.2, Fed.R.Crim.P.? 2. Is the theft…
22-7373 Victor M. Miranda-Guerrero v. California California 2023-04-26 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstances apprendi-v-new-jersey constitutional-rights criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process jury-determination jury-trial mitigating-circumstances sentencing sentencing-procedure Does the mandatory weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances under the California death penalty statute—a factfinding determination that se…
22-7338 Robert Lemke v. United States Second Circuit 2023-04-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP autonomy criminal-autonomy criminal-defendant defendant-rights due-process legal-representation liberty liberty-interests mental-health mental-health-considerations sentencing sentencing-procedure 1. Whether a criminal defendant's right to autonomy with respect to his defense applies to his sentencing? 2. Whether questions of a criminal defenda…
22-7178 David Frazier v. Tennessee Tennessee 2023-04-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review constitutional-review court-jurisdiction criminal-procedure due-process judicial-review jurisdiction legal-error procedural-due-process sentencing sentencing-procedure state-courts Whether Supreme Court for Tennessee ignored facts and procedure for correction of illegal sentence. Whether Criminal Appeals Court for Tennessee also…
22-7051 William Todd Lewallen v. Scott Crow Tenth Circuit 2023-03-21 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure defendant-testimony due-process evidence jury-trial right-to-testify rock-v-arkansas sentencing sentencing-procedure state-evidence-law Oklahoma has jury sentencing in all felony cases, and those proceedings may be bifurcated. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (the "OCCA") has the…
22-7014 Michael Hucks v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-03-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP alternate-sentence appellate-review armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split constitutional-notice criminal-procedure fourth-circuit guideline-errors harmless-error sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure I. Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's reliance on an announced alternate variant sentence to assume as harmless all G…
22-6514 Santiago Pineda v. California California 2023-01-11 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstances constitutional-rights death-penalty jury-determination jury-fact-finding mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt sentencing-procedure Does the mandatory weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances under the California death penalty statute—a factfinding determination that se…
22-6396 John Edward Sansing v. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-12-27 Denied IFP appellate-review clearly-established-law criminal-procedure death-penalty eighth-amendment federal-habeas mitigating-evidence mitigating-factors sentencing-procedure victim-impact John Edward Sansing pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and other felonies with no agreements offered by the state. During the sentencing proceeding…
22-242 Cyrano R. Irons v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-09-14 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure district-court harmless-error judicial-discretion procedural-error sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure Whether errors in calculating the Sentencing Guidelines are rendered categorically harmless by the district court's assertion that the Guidelines woul…
22-5400 Maurice D. Bell v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-08-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure judicial-discretion plain-error-review preservation-of-error procedural-error sentencing sentencing-procedure Whether an appellate court errs under Fed. R. Crim. P. 51 by applying plain error review to a claim of procedural error brought to the sentencing judg…
22-5341 Ted Amparan v. M. Eliot Spearman, Warden Ninth Circuit 2022-08-11 Denied IFP alleyene-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey criminal-sentencing due-process exhaustion habeas-corpus jury jury-determination sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment 1) Did the State Violate Supreme Court precedent of Apprendi v. New Jersey and Alleyne v. United States by having a sentencing judge not the jury make…
21-8025 Christopher Thieme, aka John Thieme v. United States Third Circuit 2022-06-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3664 all-writs-act criminal-law criminal-procedure illegal legal-relief restitution restitution-order sentencing sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation writ-of-audita-querela 1.) Does 18 U.S.C. §3664(k) and (0). which allows a sentencing court to consider motions to "adjust" a restitution order without anv time limits. perm…
21-7988 Donald Tarnawa v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-05-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure financial-factors financial-resources restitution restitution-modification sentencing sentencing-procedure standard-of-review 1. Whether the controlling standard of review for modification under 18 USCA § 3664(k) should be de novo or abuse of description. The Panel Opinion re…
21-7526 Adam C. Morris v. Illinois Illinois 2022-04-01 Denied IFP criminal-procedure due-process firearm-enhancement interrogatory-issue jury-instructions material-fact material-facts right-to-jury-trial sentencing-enhancement sentencing-procedure verdict-control 1) DID THE COURT AVOID CONSIDER THE ARGUMENT THAT THE SEPARATE GROUND INTERROGATORY IS AN ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT AND THAT THE JURY HAD NO KNOWLEDGE IN…
21-7227 Daniel Isaiah Thody v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-challenge due-process jury-trial sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation supervised-release As a case of first impression, whether the current implementation of Supervised Release, (18 U.S.C. §3583), as a "separate sentence " in addition to t…
21-1185 Rufino Valdez-Lopez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-02-28 Denied circuit-split collateral-attack criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment judicial-vindictiveness sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment This case turns on whether the Pearce presumption of judicial vindictiveness applies—for the Government to then rebut with new evidence—when a second …
21-7185 Brian Arthur Tate v. Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr., Governor of Maryland, et al. Maryland 2022-02-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process eighth-amendment juvenile-offender juvenile-offenders liberty-interest parole parole-hearing sentencing-procedure Whether the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, applicable to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, extends beyond a juvenile o…
21-6884 Hermin Rodriguez-Monserrate, aka Cano, aka Canito v. United States First Circuit 2022-01-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP coronavirus-act coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-act criminal-procedure defendant-absence due-process educational-condition learning-disability sentencing sentencing-procedure supervised-release 1. Should certiorari be granted because the district court conducted Petitioner's sentence and revocation hearing in his physical absence, even though…
21-6583 Roger Edward Picard v. United States First Circuit 2021-12-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion jurisdiction jurisdictional-challenge mental-health-assessment rule-35 rule-35-motion sentencing sentencing-procedure i. Did the First Circuit err in denying a jurisdictionally sound motion filed pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 35(a), where the district court simply ignored…
21-6573 Michael Roy Sharpe v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-12-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-guarantees criminal-law due-process judicial-factfinding jury-trial maximum-sentence sentencing sentencing-procedure supervised-release trial-by-jury When Congress created the novel system of supervised release for federal criminal defendants, it authorized district judges to act as factfinders and …
21-5937 Odilon Martinez-Rojas v. United States Second Circuit 2021-10-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver due-process fifth-amendment plea-agreement sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment Whether a plea agreement's appeal waiver can bar a defendant from challenging the unconstitutionality of a sentencing procedure that deprives the defe…
21-5930 Albert M. Ranieri v. Vicky Moser, Warden Third Circuit 2021-10-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3613(b) ex-post-facto mandatory-victims-restitution-act mvra plea-agreement restitution restitution-order sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation victim-witness-protection-act vwpa 1) Is the VWPA the controlling law regarding payment of the Order of Restitution in the underlying criminal action and is the Ex Post Facto Clause of …
21-5755 Kevin L. Frost v. Kansas Kansas 2021-09-22 Denied IFP 14th-amendment 6th-amendment aggravating-factors constitutional-rights due-process mitigating-factors sentencing sentencing-procedure Petitioner contends that the sentencing court did not follow the proper statutory procedure with the improper weighing of mitigating and aggravating…
20-8204 Severiano Martinez-Rojas v. United States Second Circuit 2021-06-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review appellate-waiver circuit-split criminal-procedure judicial-review plea-bargaining restitution restitution-calculation sentencing sentencing-procedure vulnerable-victim-enhancement I. Whether the Second Circuit failed to follow Supreme Court precedent in Rosales-Mireles v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 1897, 1900 (2018) when it enfor…
20-8124 Lance Mitchell Owens v. Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction Arkansas 2021-05-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection fourteenth-amendment plea-agreement plea-agreements sentencing sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation 1. Are courts violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by excluding defendants who enter pl…
20-7118 Terry Allen Miles v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-02-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment 6th-amendment constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidence fifth-amendment sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment Did the trial court violate the 5th and 6th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States in overruling Petitioner's objection to the inclusion …
20-745 Ismael Lechuga v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-12-01 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) abuse-of-discretion circuit-split due-process federal-procedure fifth-circuit impartiality judicial-impartiality judicial-recusal sentencing sentencing-procedure standard-of-review I. Whether a federal circuit court reviews the denial of a motion to recuse a district judge under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) de novo or for an abuse of discr…
20-6486 Rakeem Asaad Davis v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-12-01 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-history firearm-possession jury-instructions rehaif-error rehaif-v-united-states second-amendment sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation substantial-rights When determining whether a defendant's substantial rights were affected by an indictment and jury instructions that omitted an essential element of a …
20-6434 Julian Madero-Diaz, aka Hector Ramon Castillo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-11-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3583 constitutional-punishment fifth-amendment jury-trial punishment-scheme sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment supervised-release Whether a judge's decision to revoke a person's supervised release and send him to prison subjects him to an unconstitutional punishment scheme under …
20-6406 Jeffrey Neal Cuddington v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-11-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review circuit-split history-and-characteristics preservation-of-error procedural-reasonableness sentencing sentencing-procedure substantive-reasonableness I. In Holguin-Hernandez v. United States, this Court reserved whether a formal objection at the time of sentencing is required to preserve abuseof-dis…
20-5976 Dean Reynolds v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-10-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-sentencing obstruction-of-justice procedural-unreasonableness profit-calculation remand resentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure IS DEFENDANT'S SENTENCE PROCEDURALLY UNREASONABLE BECAUSE THE DISTRICTCOURT INCORRECTLY SCORED THESENTENCING GUIDELINES, ERRONEOUSLYCALCULATING THE PR…
20-5936 Mark Phillip Carter, II v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-10-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-conflict circuit-split factual-objections judicial-discretion presentence-report sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure undue-influence (1) Whether the undue influence enhancement in USSG §2G1.3(b)(2)(B) should be expanded, indirect conflict with precedent from the Sixth, Eighth, and N…
20-415 Pablo Javier Aleman v. Maryland Maryland 2020-10-01 Denied Response Waived criminal-responsibility detainer-transfer interstate-agreement interstate-agreement-on-detainers jurisdictional-authority mental-health-adjudication not-criminally-responsible receiving-state sending-state sentencing sentencing-procedure treatment 1. Under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers ("IAD"), MD. CODE ANN., CORR. SERVS. § 8-401 et seq., does the receiving state have the authority to co…
20-5554 Kenton Dayne Eagle Chasing v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-09-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3583 8th-circuit circuit-split criminal-offense criminal-revocation public-importance sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment subject-matter-jurisdiction 1) Whether the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals erred on a matter of public importance and created a circuit split when it ruled that subject matter ju…
20-5411 Kwame Anderson v. United States Second Circuit 2020-08-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights effective-assistance-of-counsel federal-law presentence-report resentencing sentencing-procedure sentencing-proceeding 1. Whether the Court must settle an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, regarding Petitioner's resentence that was imp…
20-5300 Victor Santana-Gonzalez v. United States First Circuit 2020-08-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process federal-rules federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure judicial-error plain-error sentencing sentencing-procedure Does plain error apply to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 32(i)(4)(a)(ii) when the error is caused by the sentencing court
19-8799 James Johnman, Jr. v. United States Third Circuit 2020-06-25 Denied IFP appeals circuit-split criminal-assessment criminal-law judicial-review sentencing sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation victims-rights victims-trafficking-act Whether the "additional special assessment" in the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3014, imposes a per-offender or per-count asses…
19-8450 Scott Leslie Carmell v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2020-05-12 Denied IFP civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-violation due-process fourteenth-amendment fourth-circuit habeas-corpus procedural-due-process sentencing-procedure standing 1. whether the Court of Appeals forthe Fifth Cireuit erred by denying a certificate of appealability regarding the united States District court issuin…
19-8239 Robert Ybarra, Jr. v. William Gittere, Warden, et al. Nevada 2020-04-10 Denied IFP aggravating-factors constitutional-rights death-penalty due-process jury-determination jury-trial mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt sentencing sentencing-procedure Under Nevada law, a jury may consider imposing a death sentence only after finding at least one statutory aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt…
19-8097 Jay Eugene Reed v. United States Third Circuit 2020-03-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-rule-52(b) criminal-rule-52b evidence-rule-103 expert-testimony forfeiture plain-error plain-error-review sentencing sentencing-procedure Under Evidence Rule 103 and Criminal Rule 52(b), once a party informs the court of the substance of the evidence at issue, and the court rules, counse…
19-7848 Barton Joseph Adams v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-03-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP binding-plea-agreement criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-rule-11-c-1-c criminal-procedure-rule-32-2-e-1-a district-court-misconduct due-process forfeiture plea-agreement property-forfeiture property-rights protective-order rule-11 rule-32.2 sealed-court-order sealing-orders sentencing sentencing-procedure Whether the lower court violated the mandatory requirements of Rule 32.2(e)(1)(A) and breached the Rule 11(c)(1)(C) binding sentence, when the distric…
19-7680 Samuel Howard v. Nevada Nevada 2020-02-14 Denied IFP appellate-review capital-punishment constitutional-law criminal-procedure death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing due-process hurst-v-florida judicial-precedent retroactivity sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment 1. Whether appellate reweighing is constitutional after Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016). 2. Whether Hurst is retroactive.
19-7059 John Kenneth Schiefer v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-12-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-law criminal-procedure district-court due-process judicial-discretion legal-reasoning plain-error procedural-error respect-for-law sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure Did the district court plainly procedurally err when it selected and imposed sentence based on its desire to promote the defendant's respect for the l…
19-7056 Robert Keith Kinsey v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure district-court judicial-objection objection preservation-of-error procedural-reasonableness reasonableness sentencing sentencing-procedure I. Must challenges to the procedural reasonableness of a sentence be preserved by a separate "reasonableness" objection in district court?
19-6953 Donovan G. Davis, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-proceeding critical-stage direct-appeal new-trial new-trial-motion right-to-counsel sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure The Constitution guarantees the assistance and choice of counsel for a critical-stage in a criminal proceeding. Ancient statute guarantees every indiv…
19-6935 Rickie James King v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review certiorari criminal-procedure district-court due-process fifth-circuit leniency-arguments preservation-of-error procedural-reasonableness reasonableness remand sentencing sentencing-procedure united-states-v-haymond I. Must challenges to the procedural reasonableness of a sentence be preserved by a separate "reasonableness" objection in district court? II. Whethe…
19-6932 Dustin Larmon McDonald v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-13 Dismissed Response RequestedResponse WaivedIFP appellate-review certiorari criminal-procedure district-court due-process fifth-circuit leniency-arguments preservation-of-error procedural-objection reasonableness sentencing-procedure sentencing-reasonableness united-states-v-haymond I. Must challenges to the procedural reasonableness of a sentence be preserved by a separate "reasonableness" objection in district court? II. Whethe…
19-6716 Israel C. Isbell v. Steven Merlak, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-11-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law administrative-mistake civil-rights consecutive-sentence due-process federal-government federal-jurisdiction interstate-transfer jurisdiction pardon primary-jurisdiction prisoner-custody prisoner-transfer sentencing-procedure sixth-circuit-precedent sovereign-immunity state-custody Does one sovereign - specifically the federal government - lose or surrender its primary jurisdiction when they release an inmate who is serving their…
19-6295 Antonio Flores v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver appearance-of-partiality circuit-split constitutional-due-process constitutional-review district-court due-process judicial-bias judicial-impartiality miscarriage-of-justice plea-agreement sentencing-procedure Does a broad appeal waiver included in a plea agreement between a defendant and the United States preclude appellate review of the district court's fi…
19-6102 Roosevelt Brian Moore v. Debbie Asuncion, Warden Ninth Circuit 2019-10-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-challenge court-review due-process graham-v-florida habeas-corpus juvenile-offenders legal-standards prisoner-rights resentencing sentencing sentencing-procedure standing state-court-decision GRANTED PETITSONER A CERTI FICATE of APPEAlAbIty PORSUANT TO MILlER -EL V.COCKER, 537 U.S.3a2 ON. QUESTIONS OF HIS THE U.S. CONSTITUIONAl RIGHTS? PERT…
19-5741 Jose Marin Saldana-Reyes v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-08-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process judicial-consideration non-frivolous-arguments procedural-reasonableness reasonableness sentencing sentencing-procedure sentencing-standard In contrast with the Ninth Circuit, at least seven other circuits apply a standard which requires a sentencing judge provide some express treatment to…
19-5678 John T. Beyers v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-08-22 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-privacy due-process eighth-circuit-review habeas-corpus pro-se pro-se-review sentencing-procedure standing supervised-release John Beyers was sentenced in part, under a statute held unconstitution, 18 USC § 3583(k). Rather than wait until this court's ruling in Haymond, as th…
19-5159 Quinetta Grant v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-07-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP should this Court vacate and remand for reconside was Ms Grant denied her rights under U.S.S.G. § 1 binding-authority criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-plain-error-sentencing-right-to criminal-procedure-supervisory-power-conviction-se due-process judicial-discretion mail-fraud plain-error right-to-be-present sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-relevant-conduct-scope-of-cr sentencing-procedure Where Ms Grant's sentence was enhanced by attribut Where multiple additional errors affected petition 1) Where the Court of Appeals failed to consider binding authority holding that a defendant's absence from a material sentencing proceeding constitute…
18-9691 Dwayne Lee Stallings v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-06-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-rule-32-violations criminal-rule false-statement false-statements federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure obstruction-of-justice plain-error plain-error-analysis sentencing sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure standard-of-review structural-error Whether the Court's plain error analysis is properly applied to violations of Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(i)(1)(A), and, if so, whether such violations are st…
18-9672 Jill Andras LeBlanc v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-rights appellate-waiver circuit-split criminal-sentencing due-process involuntary-waiver judicial-integrity judicial-process plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing-procedure statutory-rights The right to appeal a criminal sentence is a statutory entitlement under 18 U.S.C. § 3742. But in many federal jurisdictions—including the Eastern Dis…
18-9578 James Jacob Parrish, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-06-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process firearm-enhancement ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prior-conviction procedural-reasonableness sentencing sentencing-departure sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure sentencing-reasonableness sentencing-variance sixth-amendment substantive-reasonableness Whether Parrish's sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable because the district court imposed an unsupported departure and/or variance…
18-9274 William Lee Thompson v. Florida Florida 2019-05-14 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection retroactivity sentencing-procedure teague-v-lane In Hurst v. Florida this Court struck down Florida's longstanding capital sentencing procedures because they authorized a judge, rather than a jury, t…
18-9233 Michael Perales v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-appeals criminal-procedure district-court-discretion due-process plain-error procedural-reasonableness reasonableness sentencing sentencing-explanation sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure Is a district court's gross failure to explain an above-range sentence or to respond to arguments for a lesser sentence reversible on plain error? Mu…
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…
18-8493 Jeremel Remymartin Smith v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-03-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-921 18-usc-922 appellate-review certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights criminal-firearm-statute criminal-law-procedure due-process felon-in-possession firearms juvenile-delinquency juvenile-justice sentencing sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation youthful-offender WHETHER A YOUTHFUL OFFENDER CONVICTION CAN BE USED FOR PURPOSES OF A STATUTE UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) WHERE THE PREVIOUS ADJUDICATION WERE JUVENILE…
18-8400 Travis Demond Johnson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-03-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion acceptance-of-responsibility criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure sentencing-reasonableness statutory-purposes-of-sentencing upward-departure 1. WHETHER THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN DEPARTING UPWARD UNDER THE UNITED STATES SENTENCING GUIDELINES §4A1.3 RESULTING IN AN UPWARD DEPARTURE DURING T…
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…
18-7478 Lloyd Michael Blair v. Michigan Michigan 2019-01-17 Denied IFP constitutional-error criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus jurisdiction jurisdictional-defect jury-trial post-conviction-relief relief resentencing sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment 1. Are the sentencino proceedinos that was found to be urconstitutionel made to be invalid? 2. Did the 'trial court ebuse its discretion by refusinn …
18-6946 Sergio Louis Trevino v. Texas Texas 2018-12-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal appeal-rights constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure due-process plea-bargaining presentencing-waiver right-to-appeal sentencing sentencing-procedure waiver waiver-of-appeal waiver-validity Constitutionally, when a presentencing waiver of appeal is not bargained for in exchange for an agreed upon sentence, can that waiver be knowingly and…
18-6904 Oree Roberson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-12-03 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP burden-of-proof chavez-meza chavez-meza-v-united-states circuit-conflict due-process fifth-circuit judicial-review mitigation presentence-report sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure standard-of-review I. Whether the defendant bears the burden to establish that objected to information in the Presentence Report is materially untrue, or whether, instea…
18-6882 Willie Seth Crain, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2018-11-30 Denied IFP remedies prior constitutional defects in capital which requires unanimous jury findings of aggrava advisory-sentencing-panel aggravating-circumstances caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing civil-rights constitutional-error death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing due-process harmless-error Hurst-decision hurst-v-florida jury-instructions jury-role jury-unanimity mitigating-circumstances sentencing sentencing-procedure On remand from the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. Florida, the Florida Supreme Court held, as a state constitutional consequence, that a…
18-6826 Carlos David Caro v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-11-26 Denied IFP §-2255-claim bop-data brady-violation criminal-procedure-brady death-penalty due-process exculpatory-evidence federal-prison government-misconduct procedural-bar sentencing sentencing-procedure suppression-of-evidence Whether the Fourth Circuit erred in ruling Caro was procedurally barred from raising a § 2255 claim that the Government's suppression of available exc…
18-642 Morris E. Zukerman v. United States Second Circuit 2018-11-19 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (2) 18-usc-3742 appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing district-court-discretion sentencing-explanation sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure sentencing-reasonableness sentencing-variance shocks-the-conscience substantive-reasonableness substantive-unreasonableness Whether a court of appeals that finds that a district court has failed adequately to explain a sentence can simply request further elaboration without…
18-6588 Lesley Eugene Warren v. Edward Thomas, Warden Fourth Circuit 2018-11-06 Denied IFP capital-punishment character-evidence circuit-split civil-rights death-penalty due-process future-dangerousness parole parole-ineligibility prosecutorial-misconduct sentencing sentencing-procedure simmons-v-south-carolina Is it an unreasonable application of Simmons v. South Carolina for a State court to deny a parole ineligibility instruction where the prosecution repe…
18-6445 Tracy Lebron Vick v. Tennessee Tennessee 2018-10-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus judicial-review plea-bargaining public-interest sentencing sentencing-procedure unconstitutional I. WHETHER THE PROVISIONS OF RULE 36.1 OF THE TENNESSEE RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, TENNESSEE CODE ANNOTATED § 29-21-101, AND TENNESSEE LAW ARE UNCON…
18-6404 Tomas Ramirez-Cruz v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-10-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-review non-frivolous-arguments procedural-due-process procedural-reasonableness reasonableness rita-v-united-states sentencing-policy sentencing-procedure sentencing-reasonableness In contrast with the Ninth Circuit, at least seven other circuits apply a standard which requires a sentencing judge provide some express treatment to…
18-6349 Daniel Israel Palomino v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-10-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-procedure district-court-review due-process guideline-commentary judicial-discretion judicial-review legal-interpretation sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation Whether a district court abuses its discretion in misapplying a sentencing guideline when it refuses to consider a factor expressly provided for in th…
18-288 Philip A. Mearing v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-09-05 Denied Amici (3) appellate-review appellate-waiver criminal-appeal criminal-defendant-waiver criminal-procedure due-process plea-agreement plea-bargaining restitution restitution-order sentencing sentencing-procedure statutory-interpretation 1. Whether, or under what circumstances, a criminal defendant's waiver in his plea agreement of the right to appeal his "sentence" covers an appeal of…
18-113 Jeremiah Rodgers v. Florida Florida 2018-07-25 Denied Amici (1) constitutional-rights death-penalty due-process hurst-v-florida jury-trial jury-waiver retroactivity sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment waiver Does waiving a state-law right to have a jury make an advisory sentencing recommendation constitute a knowing and intelligent waiver of the federal co…
18-5189 Glenvert Green v. United States Third Circuit 2018-07-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP confrontation-clause criminal-procedure cross-examination due-process fifth-amendment hearsay hearsay-evidence sentencing sentencing-procedure sixth-amendment victim-impact-statement victim-impact-statements A. Do the Sixth and Fifth Amendments provide a criminal defendant with a right to cross-examine a government witness who testifies during a sentencing…
18-5081 Alvin Leroy Morton v. Florida Florida 2018-07-03 Denied IFP binding-precedent capital-sentencing criminal-procedure death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing federal-constitutional-rights judicial-discretion jury-instructions jury-responsibility jury-role sentencing-procedure structural-error unanimous-verdict 1. Whether structural error occurs when, after having been affirmatively misled regarding its role in the sentencing process so as to diminish its sen…