173 results for 'cat:"Firearms" AND cat:"Sentencing"'.
J. Hutchinson finds that the lower court properly found that defendant is not entitled to credit against his sentence for time spent confined at home while on bond, but improperly summarily dismissed his postconviction petition. Time spent on home supervision as a condition of pretrial release is not required to be credited against his sentence. Affirmed in part.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Hutchinson, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 230099, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Bail
J. Stranch finds the undecided nature of the constitutionality of felon-in-possession charges based on previous convictions relative to the Second Amendment prevents this court from overturning defendant's conviction for possession of a firearm. Meanwhile, the trial court erroneously applied a four-level enhancement to defendant's sentence for reckless endangerment because there was no evidence to indicate any bystander was placed in a "zone of danger" when he fired his weapon outside. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 22-5459, Categories: Constitution, firearms, sentencing
J. Willett finds the district court properly convicted and sentenced defendant, by guilty plea, for being a felon in possession of a firearm based on sufficient evidence. Though the court failed to inform defendant of the punishment range, the presentence report specifically detailed it. The court properly applied career criminal sentencing enhancements for defendant's previous, violent felony convictions. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Willett , Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 23-50040, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Davis finds the trial court properly imposed a two-level flight enhancement to defendant's sentence. Although he was not the driver of the vehicle that led police on a high-speed chase through a residential area, he was an active participant in the crime that led to the chase and immediately fled from police when the car eventually crashed, which allowed the court to infer he actively participated in the reckless flight from police. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Davis, Filed On: March 11, 2024, Case #: 23-3078, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of unlawful possession of a firearm, and sentenced him to 96 months in prison. The verdict was supported by sufficient evidence he possessed a handgun and threw it away while running from police even if no dashcam video captured the handgun. The video does not contradict the police officer's testimony that defendant had the gun in his waistband. Further, the court did not err by sentencing defendant to a below-guidelines sentence. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 23-1878, Categories: firearms, sentencing
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J. St. Eve finds that the lower court properly applied a two-level sentencing enhancement for defendant's possession of a chewing tobacco can full of energetic powder, sealed with adhesive, and outfitted with a fuse. This "firework" qualifies as a destructive device for sentencing purposes on top of his possession of a firearm as a felon. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: St. Eve, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 23-1942, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Ginsburg upholds defendant's seven-year sentence for his guilty plea to firearms charges related to his purchase of an AK-47. The district court properly applied an upward departure based, in part, on evidence defendant had posted numerous times about carrying out violent attacks, and spoke of killing police officers and slaughtering non-Muslims. Affirmed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Ginsburg, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 21-3057, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly convicted defendant of three firearm offenses and sentenced him to serve 110 months in prison and pay a $25,000 fine for trying to ship a box of guns and ammunition to the Commonwealth of Dominica. Eleventh Circuit precedent forecloses defendant's challenge claiming the felon-in-possession law violates the Second Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen did not abrogate the precedent. Defendant's prior conviction for trafficking hemp is a controlled substance offense under the sentencing guidelines because Georgia law at the time of that conviction regulated hemp. Sufficient evidence was presented to support the jury's finding that defendant knew the box he tried to ship contained guns. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 22-10829, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 96 months in prison and three years probation. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in applying an attempted murder cross reference to his sentence to decide the level of his crime. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant shot a female associate in the leg after getting kicked out of a bar, intending to cause her death. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 23-1260, Categories: firearms, Probation, sentencing
J. Mathis finds defendant's previous conviction in Ohio for aggravated robbery did not constitute a crime of violence under federal sentencing guidelines. The conviction did not include an underlying theft offense that involves the use of force, while that state's definition of robbery is broader than the federal definition of extortion. Therefore, the lower court sentenced defendant on an incorrect guideline and his sentence will be vacated to allow for resentencing. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 22-4052, Categories: firearms, Robbery, sentencing
J. Carroll finds the trial court properly convicted a man of sexual assault, sexual exploitation by luring a child and carrying a weapon while committing a felony. The man argues the trial court erred by not instructing the jury carrying the gun and the sexual assault was related. The court also struck portions of his probation conditions, which he challenged for being unrelated to his conviction. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Carroll, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 23-AP-106, Categories: firearms, Probation, sentencing
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly applied sentence enhancements to the defendant. The court enhanced the defendant's sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon after determining that two of his prior convictions, including one for North Carolina assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation, count as crimes of violence. The defendant argued that following a Supreme Court ruling that said the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force is required to count as a crime of violence discounts the court's determination. North Carolina's crime of assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation remains a crime of violence, regardless of the ruling. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 22-4588, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Assault
J. McCool finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant for attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied automobile, but it improperly sentenced him on the firearm conviction. Because discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle is a Class B felony, his sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on that conviction was unlawful. Accordingly, the matter is remanded for a new sentencing hearing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: CR-2022-0934, Categories: firearms, Murder, sentencing
J. Bower finds that defendant was properly sentenced to incarceration for possession of a firearm as a felon based on his guilty plea because he had a criminal history and had absconded from probation in another case. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bower, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 23-0327, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Rovner finds that the lower court properly imposed a sentencing enhancement based on defendant's knowledge that he was selling a weapon to a felon. The plea agreement is ambiguous as to the timing of defendant's knowledge, so defendant cannot rely upon that plea agreement to establish a timeline. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Rovner, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 22-2538, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Plea
J. Murray finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant for receiving a stolen firearm while living in an apartment with her paroled, live-in boyfriend who was not allowed to have firearms at his residence. Because it is reasonably related to her rehabilitation, the record supports a no-contact condition barring her from associating with her boyfriend, since she has been linked to stealing other items to support his crack cocaine habit. Affirmed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Murray, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: J-S46025-23, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Theft
J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 123 months in prison and three years probation for distributing cocaine. The defendant, who signed a plea agreement, argued that his sentence is unreasonable. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that it varied upward based on his criminal history and a previous arrest for possessing cocaine alongside a loaded firearm. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 23-1514, Categories: Drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Ebel finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant on firearm convictions. The lower court used a prior conviction to help calculate his sentence after finding that the prior conviction was a "crime of violence," but the lower court used the incorrect approach in finding if that conviction was based on "intentional rather than reckless conduct." Because his prior conviction was improperly labeled for sentencing purposes, defendant's sentence needs to be recalculated. Vacated.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Ebel, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 22-1203, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Graves finds the district court properly sentenced defendant on his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant was on parole when, during an unemployed period, he relapsed into taking drugs and gambling. An acquaintance made during that time was approached by an ATF confidential informant, and the associate brokered a deal for the informant to purchase a firearm from defendant. Though defendant had retained employment, quit doing drugs and began spending more time with his family before his arrest, he has not shown how his prior years of drug dealing and gang participation were erroneously used as sentencing enhancements. Furthermore, defendant's sentence of 63 months in prison is within guidelines. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Graves , Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 23-10167, Categories: Drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Shepherd finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant to 110 months in prison and three years probation for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The government argued that his sentence was reasonable. However, the defendant sufficiently showed in court that he may be entitled to a lighter sentence over procedural errors. Vacated.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Shepherd, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: 22-3564, Categories: firearms, Probation, sentencing
J. Murphy finds the lower court properly applied sentencing enhancements after defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. His previous convictions for facilitation of aggravated robbery involved the use or threatened use of force and, therefore, qualified as violent felonies. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Murphy, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 23-5082, Categories: firearms, Robbery, sentencing
J. Detjen finds that substantial evidence supported the trial court's prior strike finding. A 2002 conviction was a gang-enhanced felony and statutory changes in 2022 to gang enhancements did not retroactively affect its application as a prior strike to a sentence on a firearms and drug possession conviction. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Detjen, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: F084952, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Gangs
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Kansas finds a lower court properly convicted a defendant for capital murder after he killed four people, including a 18-month-old toddler. The defendant, who submitted eight versions of his offenses, argued that his sentence is unreasonable based on his claims that only one of his crimes was considered "heinous, atrocious, and cruel." However, the state presented sufficient evidence in court that it did not have to show that all of the killings were heinous in order to obtain a conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 115,964, Categories: firearms, Murder, sentencing
J. Chamberlin finds the lower court properly convicted defendant on two counts of first-degree murder for a drive-by shooting that killed a man and a woman in their vehicle. Defendant was sentenced to life in prison for the murders with an additional five years for each count for a firearm enhancement. The instant court finds the firearm enhancement was improperly applied because a greater minimum sentence is already applied with the life sentence for murder. Portions of the sentencing related to the firearm enhancement should be vacated, but no error was found in any other aspects of sentencing. Reversed in part.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Chamberlin, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 2022-KA-00696-SCT, Categories: firearms, Murder, sentencing
J. Grasz finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 204 months after he was convicted for various firearms crimes, which included unlawfully possessing a firearm as a drug user and dealing firearms without a federal license. The defendant argued that the evidence in court was insufficient, and that he never intended to rob an informant. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that his "guilt is clear" based on evidence in video recordings that showed he was aware that the guns were stolen. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Grasz, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 22-3214, Categories: firearms, sentencing
J. Duncan finds the district court properly imposed an above-guidelines sentence for defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant's story about how he came to have the gun changed multiple times, culminating in his unsuccessful attempt to persuade an acquaintance to sign an affidavit saying it is hers. With 14 adult convictions at the age of 33, all but three of the convictions had no recorded disposition or had been dismissed. All testimony was properly admitted, and all sentencing enhancements were properly applied. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Duncan , Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 23-30053, Categories: Evidence, firearms, sentencing
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly applied a sentence enhancement to defendant's assault conviction for causing severe bodily harm. The defendant's sister accused their roommate of sexually assaulting her, leading to the defendant firing a shot near the roommate's foot that sent small shrapnel into the roommate's forehead. The defendant claims the injury suffered was ordinary, but the culmination of the roommate's need to go to an emergency room where he received strong painkillers along with his testimony on the pain, give enough to believe it was serious. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 22-4442, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Assault
J. Colloton finds a lower court properly dismissed a defendant's motion to vacate his sentence. The defendant argued that his 10 year prison sentence is unreasonable. However, the defendant engaged in a crime of violence when he shot and killed a civilian during an argument. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Colloton, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 22-3452, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Manslaughter
J. Heytens finds the lower court improperly did not provide a sufficient explanation of its rationale for applying an obstruction of justice enhancement. The defendant is accused of trading gunshots with another man late at night. When police arrived on the scene, they found the defendant, who claimed not to be a victim, rather than one of the two men firing shots. The defendant not sharing that he had also fired shots does not count as concealment to obstruct justice. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 21-4281, Categories: firearms, sentencing, Obstruction