259 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Sentencing"'.
J. Rowland finds the district court improperly dismissed defendant's application for post-conviction relief in connection with his drug and firearms convictions and 77-year sentence. Defendant's application for post-conviction relief was dismissed as time-barred, having been filed more than one year after the convictions were finalized. No time limit existed when the convictions were affirmed, though a new statute later imposed the limit. A 1-year grace period is appropriate, as it affords affected petitioners as much time as their counterparts whose convictions became final after the limitations statute. Reversed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Rowland , Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: PC-2023-176, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
J. Murphy finds the lower court properly upheld defendant's 262-month sentence for his drug distribution conviction. Although its four-paragraph decision denying defendant's request for a reduced sentence under the First Step Act was not exhaustive, the court properly considered all required factors, including rehabilitation and prior criminal conduct, and the sentence was at the bottom of the sentencing range. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Murphy, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 22-5845, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Baldwin finds the detective's testimony at trial identifying the voices of he and defendant on an audio recording of the arrest that led to drug charges properly authenticated the recording and allowed the trial court to enter it into evidence. Meanwhile, the trial court properly imposed consecutive sentences because it not only made all required findings, but defendant's lengthy history of criminal conduct, coupled with the variety and amount of drugs found in his possession, supported the sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Baldwin, Filed On: November 27, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4263, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 132 months in prison and five years probation after he conditionally pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to sell fentanyl. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized by authorities at a Greyhound Bus station, which resulted in a drug sniffing dog alerting to narcotics in his backpack. However, authorities properly obtained a warrant based on suspicion that the defendant was armed and dangerous, his nervous demeanor, and the probability that he may attempt to flee. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 22-3006, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Mays finds the trial court improperly imposed consecutive sentences for an aggregate term of 71 years after defendant pleaded guilty to various drug, weapons and assault charges. The punishment is not proportionate to the conduct at issue in his case, which resulted in physical harm to a single victim. Therefore, defendant's sentence will be modified and reduced to 36 years upon remand to the trial court. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mays, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4119, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
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J. Flaum finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant on multiplicitous firearm convictions, but properly sentenced him for drug offenses. Defendant's two firearm convictions should have been merged for sentencing purposes. Reversed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2805, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that concurrent prison terms were properly imposed based on defendant's guilty plea to selling cocaine because defendant, at the age of 24, was a second felony offender who had already accumulated a lengthy criminal history and repeated probation violations. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 112827, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Cruel And Unusual Punishment
J. Griffis finds the lower court improperly affirmed the trial court judgment in this matter of alleged drug possession. A jury found defendant guilty of possession of a controlled substance after a grand jury indicted him for knowingly, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously possessing 30 grams or more of ethylone, a Schedule I controlled substance, discovered during the course of a traffic stop. Defendant was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment with 10 years suspended and 20 to serve. But the instant court finds that ethylone is not a Schedule I controlled substance, and as such the indictment does not charge a crime, and defendant's motion for post-conviction relief was timely filed. Defendant’s conviction and sentence are reversed, and the judgment dismissed. Reversed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Griffis, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 2021-CT-00306-SCT, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Ahlers finds that defendant was properly sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and other charges because the lower court was not bound to follow the presentence report recommendation to impose suspended sentences. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Ahlers, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 22-2105, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. VanDyke finds that the district court properly entered a sentence for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Defendant alleges that his sentence was improper because of a lesser sentence given to his co-conspirator. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a longer sentence on defendant than his co-conspirator because the two were not similarly situated. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: VanDyke, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 22-10300, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Bunn affirms the lower court's order revoking the probationer's supervised release from a 2018 sexual assault conviction, and sentencing him to two years imprisonment after he tested positive for cocaine and was charged with conspiracy to deliver crack cocaine following a traffic stop in November 2021. The trial judge did not abuse her discretion by conducting a hearing on the petition for revocation and making her own findings instead of empaneling a jury. Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bunn, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 22-0197, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Loken finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 100 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in applying a four- level increase for using the firearm in a previous crime. However, the defendant has two prior offenses for controlled substances in Illinois, and one in Iowa for intimidating a person with a dangerous weapon. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-3394, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
J. Readler finds the trial court properly classified defendant as a career offender when it sentenced him on drug convictions. His previous sentences were imposed for similar crimes that involved separate arrests and could not be combined under sentencing guidelines to count as a single offense. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Readler, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-5837, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the trial court properly sentenced defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Since the possession charge was in relation to a drug trafficking offense, guidelines require courts to use sentencing guidelines for the drug offense. Though defendant says the court improperly used the gross weight of pills containing meth in a mixture, guidelines for meth require that the court use either the gross weight of the mixture or the specific weight of the drug, whichever is greater. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-50857, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
Per curiam, the Seventh Circuit finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant to a 15-year mandatory minimum for selling meth after finding his prior robbery conviction qualified as a "serious violent felony." Defendant challenged this finding for the first time on appeal and therefore forfeited it. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 21-3224, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Schock finds the trial court properly sentenced defendant as a level 1 drug offender after he pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine. Although conspiracy charges require level 2 sentences under Colorado law, the crime of which defendant was convicted was not a conspiracy charge, but rather a level 1 offense that required a corresponding level 1 sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schock, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 2023COA98, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Griffin finds that while defendant did not own or reside at the property owned by his girlfriend and used to traffic controlled substances, his continued storage of heroin, fentanyl and other illegal drugs at the home showed a degree of control that allowed the trial court to apply the "drug-house" sentencing enhancement. Additionally, the overwhelming evidence of defendant's control over the trafficking ring, including testimony from accomplices that he directed them to distribute drugs and collect payments, allowed for the leadership sentencing enhancement. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Griffin, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 23-5064, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. McCullough finds the lower court improperly determined it was precluded from reconsidering a case after another court granted the defendant's motion to strike. The defendant, accused of drug distribution, argued against a sentence enhancement because he claimed he was not the person with prior convictions in another state that shared his name. The lower court granted his motion to dismiss the evidence regarding the other convictions despite the defendant providing no proof that the other person wasn't him. While Virginia law directs a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal upon striking the evidence, the initial decision to strike was interlocutory, and the court had the authority to reconsider it. Reversed.
Court: Virginia Supreme Court, Judge: McCullough, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 220715, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Menetrez finds that defendant's convictions for possessing an unregistered, loaded firearm and for possessing a controlled substance while armed with a firearm pass constitutional tests. But the trial court erred in imposing two sentences for the offenses, as the crimes were completed by a single act. Vacated in part.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Menetrez, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: E079475, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
J. Bunn vacates the portion of the lower court's order sentencing defendant to a term of one to three years' incarceration for possession of pseudoephedrine in an altered state as part of a conditional plea agreement. The evidence provided by the prosecution failed to not only show the accused's intent to possess pseudoephedrine in an altered state, but also any acts toward committing the crime. Vacated.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bunn, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: 22-0023, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Rogers finds the trial court properly applied the 2-point drug house sentence enhancement after defendant pleaded guilty to several counts of fentanyl distribution. Although none of the drugs were manufactured at the property, the high number of sales, including three controlled buys from law enforcement in a 2-week period, gave the court sufficient evidence the house was primarily used to facilitate drug deals. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Rogers, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 22-1961, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Russel finds that the lower court properly denied the prisoner's habeas petition. The prisoner, convicted of federal drug charges, argued that his earned sentence credits were undercalculated when accounting for a new provision passed by the state's legislator. The provision did not take affect until after the time in question. Affirmed.
Court: Virginia Supreme Court, Judge: Russel, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 230172, Categories: drug Offender, Habeas, sentencing
J. Jensen finds that the district court properly issued an order revoking sentencing and judgment imposing a new sentence against defendant, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen , Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 2023ND192, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Arnold finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant, who pleaded guilty of assault by a habitual offender on a Native American reservation, to 24 months in prison after he violated probation. The defendant argued that the imposition was excessive. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the defendant abruptly disappeared, tested positive for meth, and then dodged authorities who were investigating whether or not he stole a van. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Arnold, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 23_1513, Categories: drug Offender, Probation, sentencing