U. S. Supreme Court Happenings, Favorable Federal Circuit Opinions and Presidential Pardons: A Historical and Contemporary Perspective for the Week of December 2-6, 2024--

U. S. Supreme Court Happenings– Week Ending December 6, 2024 –

The Justices met for their December 6, 2024 conference today. We expect orders on Monday as the Justices will have oral argument on December 9-11 next week.

Favorable Federal Circuit Opinions for the Week of December 2-6, 2024 –

4th Circuit

United States v. Turner, (No. 22-4055)(4th Cir. December 4, 2024)– Robert Keshaun Turner pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm after the police seized a gun from a car in which Turner was sitting. At the sentencing hearing, the parties agreed that Turner’s criminal history score was seven, placing him in criminal history category IV and resulting in a Guidelines range of 46 to 57 months’ imprisonment. That was a mistake. One of Turner’s criminal history points was assigned for a 45-day sentence imposed in 2011, nine years before the current conviction. See U.S.S.G. §§ 4A1.1(c), 4A1.2(e) (assigning, as a general rule, one criminal history point for a sentence of less than 60 days imposed within 10 years of the instant offense). But because Turner was under 18 when his 45-day sentence was imposed, it should have been counted in his criminal history only if it was imposed within five years of the instant offense, see id. § 4A1.2(d)(2)(B), which it was not. Turner’s criminal history score should have been six, not seven; his criminal history category III, not IV; and his Guidelines sentencing range 37 to 46 months’ imprisonment, not 46 to 57. On appeal, because, as the government concedes, Turner’s criminal history score was miscalculated, resulting in a too-high Sentencing Guidelines advisory range, the Court vacated Turner’s sentence and remanded for resentencing.

8th Circuit

United States v. Lozier, (No. 24-1200)(8th Cir. December 5, 2024)– Wayne Lozier, Jr., a licensed bounty hunter in Louisiana, went to Missouri and detained a fugitive who failed to appear for her Louisiana court date. Based on this act, a federal grand jury indicted him for kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. At Lozier’s trial, the case hinged on whether he acted “unlawfully” in seizing, detaining, and carrying away the fugitive, specifically whether Lozier’s detention of the fugitive was justified or excusable despite his failure to comply with two provisions of Missouri law regulating surety recovery agents. Lozier argued the jury instructions deprived the jury of its ability to decide that crucial element. The Court agreed and vacated Lozier’s convictions and remanded for a new trial.

9th Circuit

United States v. Knight, (No. 23-962)(9th Cir. December 4, 2024)--The panel vacated the district court’s judgment, and remanded, in a case in which Knight appealed his conviction and sentence. In accordance with United States v. Montoya, 82 F.4th 640 (9th Cir. 2023) (en banc), the panel vacated the conditions of supervised release that were referred to as standard conditions in the written sentence, but were not orally pronounced, and remanded to the district court for the limited purpose of reconsidering the vacated conditions.

11th Circuit

United States v. Graham, (No. 19-10332)(11th Cir. December 2, 2024)– Daniel Jones and several other co-defendants appealed their convictions and sentences for committing numerous crimes in connection with their membership in a Miami-based gang—the Dub Street Blood Family or DSBF. For nearly two decades, the gang operated in and tyrannized a community through its drug operations. When narcotics did not prove fruitful enough, its members turned to armed robberies. The FBI, the ATF, the City of Miami Police Department, and the Miami Dade County Police Department invested considerable resources to investigate the DSBF and take it down. Their collective work culminated in a broad indictment charging the defendants with numerous offenses including a racketeering conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and numerous substantive offenses. After a 38-day trial, a jury found the defendants guilty of many of the charges. The defendants appealed, raising a host of issues. The Court vacated the Count 1 RICO conspiracy convictions due to the district court’s erroneous and wholesale exclusion of the defendants’ gang expert and the government’s complete failure to brief harmless error, an issue on which it bears the burden and and remanded for a new trial. The government conceded that Jones did not personally use violence or make threats but contended that the fact that the co-conspirators brought the spoils of the robbery to Jones supported an inference that he directed or encouraged their violence. The Court disagreed based on the language of § 2D1.1(b)(2), the Court focused on Jones’ own conduct. Absent any use or threatened use of violence by Jones, or his directing the use of violence, the district court could not base this enhancement on the actions of co-conspirators. Jones’ sentence was vacated for resentencing due to the improper application of a use-of-violence enhancement.

COMMENT:

With regard to clemencies, we suggest that January 6th defendants file their clemencies materials to President-Elect Trump and his team well before he takes office on January 20, 2025. In order to help anyone who is interested in filing the new clemency papers and clemency package, Alert2020 is offering a special in order to get them completed ASAP before Biden leaves office and Trump takes office. Our clemency evaluation telephone number for the above is (832) 346-0220.

We have also received a lot of inquiries about 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) & 924(c) convictions based on the recent Rahimi decision and circuit decisions such as Range and Williams based on last year’s Bruen Supreme Court decision. We are still evaluating cases for the new Amendments and/or the firearm convictions. However, contrary to inmate rumor at inmate.com, there are no changes to § 924(c) convictions. We will need an outside contact’s name and telephone number, where you went to court, and your case number. We will contact your contact and let them know if you have any potential relief available from the above remedies. Our case evaluation telephone number for the above is (832) 346-0220. ASK ABOUT OUR CHRISTMAS SPECIAL.

For the last 30 years, we have been very successful on direct appeals, 2255 motions, 2241 Petitions, First Step Act and Compassionate Release Motions, Earned Time Credits, DC Superior Court Petitions, State Post Conviction, Clemencies and Pardons and other specialized motions to mention a few avenues for relief we cover. The WCE is an excellent low-cost tool to see what can be done for you at any stage of the proceedings. It is thorough and detailed from day one of your case to present with our recommendations of any remedies available to you to gain relief.

If you are serious about fighting your case and want us to evaluate your case to see if you may have relief coming, request a Written Case Evaluation.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

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