Where a defendant challenged his sentence in an illegal reentry case, arguing that the district court failed to give sufficient weight to his difficult childhood, the court properly weighed the mitigating factors against the lengthy criminal history, and the court ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Defendant’s Childhood sentencing Substantive Reasonableness

Where a defendant in a felon-in-possession case challenged the imposition of an enhancement at sentencing for the possession of a firearm in connection with a drug offense and its refusal to grant a reduction for the acceptance of responsibility, sufficient ...

Tagged with: Acceptance Of Responsibility Criminal Law Enhancement sentencing

Where a defendant who pleaded guilty to the interstate communication of a threat argued that the district court erred in calculating his criminal history, the court fashioned a sentence that would allow the defendant time for mental health treatment and ...

Tagged with: Criminal History Calculation Criminal Law sentencing

Where a defendant challenged his under the Armed Career Criminal Act, based on his two prior North Dakota convictions for willful aggravated assault, the convictions do not qualify as violent felonies for the purposes of Section 924(e), so the denial ...

Tagged with: Armed Career Criminal Act Criminal Law North Dakota Convictions sentencing

Where a defendant challenged his sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act, arguing that prior Minnesota convictions for aggravated robbery no longer qualified as predicate violent felonies, the judgment is affirmed because the defendant was properly sentenced. Judgment is affirmed. ...

Tagged with: Armed Career Criminal Act Criminal Law Minnesota Convictions sentencing

Where a defendant challenged his sentence in a drug case, the plea agreement contained a valid and enforceable appeal waiver that was applicable to the issue raised, so the appeal is dismissed. Appeal is dismissed U.S. v. Bonner (MLW No. ...

Tagged with: appeal waiver Criminal Law sentencing

Where a defendant in a death-penalty case argued that his counsel was ineffective for failing to adequately investigate and present mitigating evidence, counsel’s investigation satisfied his obligation, and his decision to investigate by himself was reasonable, as was the decision ...

Tagged with: Capital Case Criminal Law effectiveness of counsel Mitigating Evidence

Defendant pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine. In his plea agreement, defendant waived his right to appeal unless the district court imposed more than 10 years, the statutory minimum for his offense. Although the district court did not impose a ...

Tagged with: appeal waiver Criminal Law Distribution of CDS plea agreement

Where a defendant challenged her conviction for concealing a person from arrest, the judgment is affirmed because the evidence was sufficient Judgment is affirmed. U.S. v. Waloke (MLW No. 73229/Case No. 18-1122 – 8 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th ...

Tagged with: Concealing Fugitive Criminal Law Sufficiency Of Evidence

Where a defendant in a child-pornography case challenged the denial of his motion to suppress evidence, the warrant was void but the good-faith exception applied to the agents’ use of the warrant. Judgment is affirmed. U.S. v. Johnson (MLW No. ...

Tagged with: Child Pornography Criminal Law Motion To Suppress Warrant

Defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old son following her infliction of a fatal beating on her son. On appeal, defendant argued that her 480-month sentence was substantively unreasonable because the district court failed to ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Defendant’s ‘Personal History and Characteristics’ second-degree murder Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence