The California Court of Appeal ordered Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samah Shouka removed from presiding over a Racial Justice Act evidentiary hearing in a capital murder case, holding that her prior role as a homicide prosecutor in the same...
The Nevada Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that a defendant who completes a mental health court program but fails to pay restitution due to financial hardship is not entitled to have her felony conviction set aside, distinguishing between excusing a probation...
A per curiam panel of the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the drug-trafficking convictions and sentences of three men caught aboard a stateless vessel carrying nearly 375 kilograms of cocaine in the Dominican Republic's exclusive economic zone. The court held...
The Justice Department unsealed indictments against a Georgia man and a UK-Nigeria resident, charging them with orchestrating a five-year scheme to defraud the IRS of more than $100 million by filing over 300 false tax returns using stolen taxpayer identities.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit upheld a 212-month prison sentence for Moreno Lee Jackson, ruling that he waived his right to challenge the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement that added years to his term. Circuit Judge Alice Batchelder...
The D.C. Circuit vacated preliminary injunctions that had stopped the Federal Bureau of Prisons from moving eighteen transgender women to men's facilities, holding the district court record lacked individualized factual findings about the plaintiffs'...
A unanimous Fourth Circuit panel vacated the 19-month supervised release revocation sentence of Naeem Deonte Jones on Saturday, holding that the district court committed plain error by treating his positive drug tests as a Grade B violation when the...
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the 180-month prison sentence imposed on Rickey Lee Miller, Jr., who pleaded guilty to attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. The court rejected Miller’s arguments that the district court...
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the civil commitment of Joshua Potenza, a man found not guilty by reason of insanity after threatening to kill his former college roommate and coworker.
Jason Lopez, who pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare and the Small Business Administration, had his forty-eight-month prison sentence vacated by the Eleventh Circuit. The appellate court held that the district court erred in calculating Lopez's sentencing...
The Sixth Circuit affirmed the 198-month prison sentence imposed on Reginald Brown for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The court rejected Brown’s appeal arguments regarding the...
Troy Baker’s motion to dismiss a federal indictment charging him with felon-in-possession of a firearm was denied by Judge Charles E. Fleming of the Northern District of Ohio.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction of Trent Russell, a hospital contractor who accessed and posted Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s private medical records to the anonymous message board 4Chan. Chief Judge Diaz, writing for a unanimous panel, rejected...
A federal judge granted Ocean Shores firefighter and Army reservist Travis Bearden summary judgment on his claim for 21 days of paid military leave for the 2020–21 fiscal year but denied his bid for leave through 2026, finding a factual dispute over whether...
The First Circuit vacated the excessive force conviction of Puerto Rico police officer José Cartagena, holding that the government violated his Confrontation Clause rights by introducing a teenage victim's hearsay statements without allowing cross-examination.
Richard Dale Wright pleaded guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) based on a prior Washington fourth-degree assault conviction, and the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s denial of his motion...
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Nathaniel Broughton’s 87-month sentence for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, rejecting his claims that the term was procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The court also remanded the case for the district...
A San Benito, Texas man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy that used extortion and price-fixing to seize control of a niche cross-border freight sector near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court order authorizing the involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication to a federal drug defendant found incompetent to stand trial, holding that the government satisfied all four factors required under...
The Supreme Court heard argument in a case that could reshape how federal courts handle appeal waivers in plea agreements, with justices across the ideological spectrum skeptical of both parties' positions.