261 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Sentencing"'.
Per curiam, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacates and remands the judgment of the court of appeals for the opportunity to conduct a reasonable suspicion analysis without the citizen’s lawful refusal to consent. The citizen was arrested and charged for possession with intent to deliver between 4 and 200 grams of methamphetamine, but she had refused to consent to the police officers’ search of her vehicle.
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: PD-0700-22, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Brunner finds the trial court made all required findings before it imposed consecutive sentences for defendant's convictions on drug and gun charges, including a recitation of his extensive criminal history that involved 36 arrests and his refusal to accept responsibility for his conduct. Furthermore, the consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future harm. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Brunner, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1083, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
J. Forrest finds that the district court properly entered conviction after a jury found defendant guilty of knowingly importing cocaine and methamphetamine. However the matter is remanded for resentencing. The district court erred by not making an explicit reliability finding related to an expert’s testimony about the value of the drugs found in defendant's vehicle, but the error was harmless. However, the matter is remanded for resentencing in line with recent authority clarifying the process for conducting a "mitigating role inquiry." Affirmed in part.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Forrest, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 22-50069, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Neville finds that the appeals court properly held that defendant's negotiated plea agreement for possession of cannabis waived his claim to presentence custody credit. The agreement only provided credit for the 54 days he had spent in custody, not for time he spent on home detention prior to the plea, and this deal deserves the presumption that both parties came to a negotiated agreement over defendant's amount of sentence credit. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Supreme Court, Judge: Neville, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 129402, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Plea
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J. Smith finds the district court properly convicted defendant for charges related to an armed robbery of a drug house, during which three people were non-fatally shot. Defendant says the court improperly accepted his plea, with the sentencing report cross-referencing attempted murder. The court properly accepted the plea and sufficiently explained its sentencing calculation. However, the attempted-murder cross-reference without considering questions of self-defense is clear error. Affirmed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 23-30149, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
J. Floyd finds the lower court improperly opted not to lower the defendant's sentence under the First Step Act. The court originally sentenced the defendant in 1996 to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment on a continuing criminal conspiracy count and a federal crack cocaine offense. The defendant is worthy of a time education because he has displayed good conduct, is unlikely to commit crimes, spent half his life in prison and other co-defendants have received sentence reductions. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Floyd, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 22-6748, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Conspiracy
J. Kagan finds that the trial court properly sentenced defendant to the mandatory minimum for drug possession because prior convictions prevented him from receiving relief in the form of a reduced sentence. Affirmed.
Court: US Supreme Court, Judge: Kagan, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 22-340, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Gruber finds the circuit court properly revoked defendant's suspended imposition of sentence. After defendant's convictions for use or possession of paraphernalia to manufacture meth or cocaine, drug possession and providing prohibited articles, she was found with fentanyl and drug paraphernalia when stopped for driving left of center. The search of defendant's vehicle was properly made, as the officer knew she was on parole. All sentencing factors were properly considered. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gruber , Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: CR-23-565, Categories: drug Offender, Search, sentencing
J. Thapar finds the lower court's revocation of defendant's supervised release and imposition of a 60-month prison sentence was not substantively unreasonable. The court addressed all necessary factors, including the sentencing guidelines and defendant's criminal history, and did not exceed the maximum penalty. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 23-3189, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Wozniak finds that the trial court properly declined to suppress evidence that defendant possessed cocaine and paraphernalia. However, it must correct its written order of probation to include a condition that he is subject to search only on the basis of reasonable suspicion. Reversed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wozniak, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 6D23-393, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant based on her guilty plea to selling drugs in a multi-county heroin trafficking ring. Defendant contends her sentence was harsh in light of her limited criminal history and that she had been abused by the criminal ringleader, her boyfriend, but she had been heard on wiretaps selling heroin to other dealers and users and she permitted loaded guns and drug-packaging paraphernalia in her home. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 112546, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Traxler finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant. The defendant, convicted of selling fentanyl, argued his prior conviction of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon isn't a violent felony for the purpose of sentence enhancements. The statute at issue, however, does not create an inchoate attempt offense and instead defines the crime of robbery with a firearm or other dangerous weapon and includes within that definition of robbery cases where the defendant attempted but did not succeed in taking personal property. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Traxler, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 21-4434, Categories: drug Offender, Robbery, sentencing
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly convicted defendant based on his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Defendant claimed the plea was involuntary because he expected a below-guidelines sentence, but that belief had been subjective since the plea colloquy clearly confirmed that no particular sentence had been promised. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 22-1539-cr, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Plea
J. Wood finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant for dealing meth, sentencing him to a below-guidelines term of 240 months in prison. The sentencing judge took defendant's mitigating arguments into account, including his assault in jail. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 23-1426, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
Per curiam, the Seventh Circuit finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant for trafficking meth without accounting for whether the drugs in question were actual, pure methamphetamine or a mixture containing methamphetamine. Had the court done so, defendant's guidelines range would have been lower, so the error prejudiced defendant. Vacated.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 22-2174, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
Per curiam, the Fourth Circuit upholds the revocation of defendant’s supervised release and his sentence to 35 months’ imprisonment after he was found possessing, with intent to sell or distribute, marijuana. The evidence did not rely on mere hearsay. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 22-4596, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court erred in sentencing defendant after he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. While the lower court considered many factors and found them to be aggravating when it imposed a 5-year prison sentence, it also specifically found that defendant does not pose a significant risk to the public. Under that framework, the circuit court should have entered a sentence of probation. Vacated.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 2024SD13, Categories: drug Offender, Probation, sentencing
Per curiam, the Fourth Circuit upheld the conviction of defendant after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and his possession of more than 500 grams of cocaine. The court neither imposed an unreasonable sentence, nor erred in calculating the drug weight. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: 23-4200, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Rovner finds that the lower court properly rejected defendant's habeas petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant has proven that his counsel was ineffective for failing to consult a toxicologist, who would have revealed that the government could not prove that the heroin defendant supplied was the cause of the drug user's death. However, defendant was not prejudiced by this failure because he would have faced a mandatory life term based on his prior felony drug conviction and the fact that two individuals suffered serious bodily injuries when they overdosed on heroin that he supplied. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Rovner, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 22-2666, Categories: drug Offender, Ineffective Assistance, sentencing
J. Shepherd finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 92 months in prison following a conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The defendant argued that he is entitled to suppress evidence located by authorities in a traffic stop. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that a patrol officer discovered meth, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia inside the defendant's vehicle with the help of a drug sniffing canine, and had reasonable suspicion to pull him over for running a stop sign and speeding. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Shepherd, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 23-2121, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Gruender finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 15 months in prison for obtaining marijuana following a previous conviction for selling crack cocaine. The defendant argued that he was entitled to obtain marijuana with his marijuana card. However, the defendant engaged in private distribution of the drug by sharing it with his girlfriend. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 23-2421, Categories: drug Offender, Probation, sentencing
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 292 months in prison after a jury convicted him for possession with intent to distribute meth. The defendant argued that he was entitled to an acquittal for lack of evidence on two drug convictions. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he constructively possessed and distributed meth which was located in his apartment, and that he established dominion over the residence by paying utilities and a power bill in his name. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 22-3573, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Bahr finds that the district court properly entered criminal judgment after the district court revoked defendant's probation and resentenced her. A search of defendant's residence yielded evidence which led to five counts, including one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and one count of endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Bahr, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 2024ND33, Categories: drug Offender, Probation, sentencing
J. Mathis finds defendant's sentence for methamphetamine possession must be vacated and the case remanded for resentencing. The trial court failed to adequately explain how it determined the base sentencing level, which was not supported by the physical evidence, including the amount of meth found in defendant's possession when he was arrested and charged. Meanwhile, even though the grenade found in defendant's truck was inert, the lower court properly applied a sentencing enhancement for possession of a dangerous weapon because defendant could have used the grenade to threaten violence and avoid arrest. Reversed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 22-2080, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Higginbotham finds the district court properly convicted defendant by guilty plea for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams of meth. Defendant says the judge coerced him into withdrawing his objections to the presentence report's calculation of drug amounts by threatening to deny his acceptance of responsibility points. Even assuming the court coerced defendant, he still does not show the error affected his substantial rights. Furthermore, his contention as to how his sentencing range was affected is factually incorrect. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginbotham , Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 22-50837, Categories: drug Offender, Judiciary, sentencing