U. S. Supreme Court Happenings and Favorable Federal Circuit Opinions and for the Week of October 9-13, 2023--
U. S. Supreme Court Happenings for the Week ending October 13, 2023, 2023 –
The Justices met for their October 13, 2023 conference today. Hopefully, they will grant some cases that have to do with criminal justice.
We are looking forward to the oral argument in United States v. Rahimi, (No. 22-915), which will be on November 7, 2023. In Rahimi, the 5th Circuit declared the 18 USC 922(g)(3) prohibition on people with domestic protection orders possessing guns to be unconstitutional under New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. According to Thomas Root of Lisa Law, once Rahimi passed a filing deadline last week, there were no fewer than 60 separate amicus curie briefs on both sides of the debate. We will be closely following this important case.
Favorable Federal Circuit Opinions for the Week of October 9-13, 2023 –8th Circuit
United States v. Harris, (No. 22-2368) (8th Cir. October 11, 2023)– Harris used fake deeds to gain possession of three houses. He now attempts to overturn his identity-theft convictions and vacate his 41-month sentence. Harris ended up with a total offense level of 22 and a range of 41 to 51 months in prison. Several enhancements played a role, including one for causing $153,000 in actual losses to the owners of the three properties he acquired from Carrothers. U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(1)(F) (adding ten levels for losses of “[m]ore than $150,000”). The question for was whether this figure was a “reasonable estimate.” The district court tried to measure the losses through “[t]he fair market value of the property unlawfully taken.” U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 cmt. n.3(C)(i). Except it used Realtor.com’s online valuation tool, which gave a market-value estimate of the three properties at the time of sentencing, more than two years after the fraudulent transactions took place, rather than “at the time of” the crimes. The mismatch presented a problem because Harris had already renovated each of the homes by then. The record reveals that Harris sank tens of thousands of dollars into the three homes he acquired from Carrothers. And yet, dropping the loss estimate a little, from $153,000 to $150,000, would have reduced his total offense level by two and lowered the range by nearly 20%, from 41 to 51 months to 33 to 41 months in prison. On remand, the Court instructed the lower court to adopt “a reasonable estimate of the” fair market value at the time of the transfer, either by using a measure that reflects the value at that point or by accounting for Harris’s post-fraud improvements and market changes during the intervening period. Harris’ sentence was vacated and the case remanded for the district court to adopt “a reasonable estimate of the” fair market value at the time of the transfer of the home.
11th Circuit
United States v. Pate, (20-10545)(11th Cir. October 11, 2023)– Pate filed liens against property owned by a slew of people he thought had wronged him—including, as relevant here, a former Commissioner of the IRS and a former Secretary of the Treasury. Pate was thereafter charged with and convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1521, which criminalizes the filing of retaliatory liens against the property of “an individual described in” 18 U.S.C. § 1114, which, in turn, refers to “any officer or employee of the United States.” To resolve Pate’s appeal, the Court had to decide whether a former civil servant counts as an “officer or employee of the United States” within the meaning of § 1114 and, thus, of § 1521. The Court held that the answer was no and vacated Pate’s convictions on four counts and remanded for resentencing.
DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE – Latest Inmate Rumors to Not Believe –
■ Congress or the Sentencing Commission or the BOP are putting together some kind of deal to give federal prisoners time off because of how
miserable doing time was during COVID – Not True.
■ Parole is returning to the federal system, and inmates will only do 65% of their time – Not True.
■ A year off for COVID – Letting nonviolent people all do their time at home – Not True.
Remember, a reduction in sentences can only come from Congress. The Republican Congress can’t seem to get their act together and certainly has no plans to help inmates. The Sentencing
Commission has no proposal to do such a thing. The BOP is incapable of doing it. President Biden has the power to commute sentences, and he has the power to pardon every federal prisoner.
However, his commutation and pardon record so far sucks.
Fair Sentencing/Retroactive Sentence Reductions 3,990 Orders Granted to date.
Elderly Offender Home Confinement 1,243 Approved to date.
First Step Act Releases 23,751 granted to date.
Compassionate Releases/Reduction in Sentences 4,622 granted to date.
Population in RRC’s 8,115.
Population in Home Confinement 5,662.
Another slim week as far as positive federal circuit cases.
Anyone who wants to find out if the proposed Sentencing Guideline Amendments may apply to you, or if you believe you have a Dubin, Range/Bruen, Rehaif, Taylor, Concepcion, Ruan, Davis, Earned Time Credit or any other claim and want to see if you have relief coming should opt for a Written Case Evaluation (“WCE”).
Anyone who thinks that they may also qualify for compassionate release under Amendment 814 or any other remedy should request a WCE (we no longer offer Free Lookups). For the last 29 years, we have been very successful on direct appeals, 2255 motions, 2241 Petitions, First Step Act and Compassionate Release Motions, DC Superior Court Petitions, State Post Conviction, Clemencies and Pardons to mention a few avenues for relief. We also can help you with Earned Time Credits and other specialized motions. The WCE is an excellent 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 with our recommendations of any remedies available 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.