262 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Sentencing"'.
J. Lee finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant to 150 months in prison after applying two sentencing enhancements. The record does not support a finding that defendant used his home for the primary purpose of making meth, so this enhancement was improperly applied. The enhancement for his role as a supervisor of the conspiracy is supported by the evidence. Vacated.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Lee, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 22-3015, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Easter finds the lower court improperly dismissed defendant’s motion for a new trial. Defendant was convicted on multiple drug-related offenses, including the sale and delivery of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, and received an effective 33 year sentence. The Governor of Tennessee subsequently partially granted defendant executive clemency, his sentences for the sale and delivery of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school were commuted and he immediately became eligible for parole on those counts. The lower court found defendant ineligible for resentencing based on his commutation order and dismissed the pending motion for new trial. The instant court finds defendant was denied his day in court for his motion for resentencing and the lower court should have continued with the scheduled evidentiary hearing. The matter is remanded for a hearing. Reversed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Easter, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: E2023-00149-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Due Process
J. Henderson upholds defendant's 120-month sentence for his conviction for conspiracy to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine. Contrary to defendant's claim, the safety valve provision does not support his contention defense counsel should have argued he was eligible for sentencing without considering the statutory minimum. Affirmed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 20-3083 , Categories: drug Offender, Ineffective Assistance, sentencing
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly denied the defendant's appeal for compassionate release without fully considering each of his arguments. The defendant, serving a 210-month prison sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, petitioned the court for compassionate release on the grounds that there has been a change in the law regarding his career offender status. Virginia robbery no longer constitutes a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act, invalidating his career offender guidelines designation. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory , Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 21-7325, Categories: drug Offender, Robbery, sentencing
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant based on his guilty pleas to drug possession in two indictments. Defendant contends the concurrent parts of his sentence were harsh, but he secured a "highly advantageous" plea agreement despite having an extensive criminal history. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 112056, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Plea
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J. Witt finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of delivering and selling .5 grams or more of methamphetamine for selling to a confidential informant in a controlled buy conducted by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. The lower court considered defendant’s criminal history, and applied applicable enhancements, as she was classified as a Range III persistent offender. Evidence is sufficient to support her conviction and sentence of 25 years incarcerated. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Witt, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: M2023-00225-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
[Consolidated.] J. St. Eve finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant for conspiracy to distribute meth based on a finding that the conspiracy involved 737 grams of "ice" meth. The state only tested a small amount of the drug for purity, and cannot simply rely on co-conspirators' statements to calculate the total drug weight. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 22-2994, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for possession of codeine. Defendant was arrested after officers saw him "hanging out" by a dumpster in a parking lot. Officers discovered three pills containing codeine after defendant consented to a search, and database documentation regarding codeine levels is sufficient to show the codeine content falls within a particular penalty group. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00145-CR, Categories: drug Offender, Evidence, sentencing
J. Thompson finds that defendant was properly resentenced to the same maximum sentences on each of his five counts related to drug and gun convictions. The sentences are within the statutory range, and the record shows that defendant had a long and continued history of criminal activity and convictions spanning over 30 years. Further, defendant was arrested for the charges he is currently appealing while he was already on parole. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Thompson , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 55,592-KA, Categories: drug Offender, Firearms, sentencing
J. Douglas finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant following her guilty plea to unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. The lower court abused its discretion in imposing "an unsuspended, three-year prison sentence" based on an "interconnection of drugs with homicides" that had no basis in the record. Defendant's alleged conduct did not involve violence, and there was no evidence she had ever been violent. Additionally, the court failed to reconcile the sentence at issue with a previously imposed sentence. Vacated.
Court: Maine Supreme Court, Judge: Douglas, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2024ME24, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Ripple finds that the lower court properly convicted defendants of conspiracy to distribute illegal drugs. The government is not required to proceed to trial on all charges of the conspiracy named in the indictment, but may elect to proceed on a subset of the allegations in the indictment and prove a conspiracy smaller than the one originally alleged. Further, the court properly sentenced defendants to a substantial, though below-guidelines sentence, including firearms enhancements. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Ripple, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 22-2060, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing, Conspiracy
J. Waterman finds that defendant was properly sentenced to prison based on his guilty plea to a felony even though the lower court mentioned the possibility of parole during sentencing because defendant was a recidivist drug offender who required a structured setting during rehabilitation. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Supreme Court, Judge: Waterman, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 22-1507, Categories: drug Offender, sentencing
J. Lynch finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant based on his guilty plea to possessing and selling drugs and conspiracy. Defendant contends the sentence was harsh, but exposure at trial would have been much greater. However, $16,000 in fines imposed on drug possession counts should be reduced to $12,000 because two counts arose from a single act. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Lynch, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 109796, Categories: drug Offender, 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
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