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Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Brady Violation
Where a defendant’s convictions including first-degree assault were vacated when the habeas court granted relief based on an undisclosed and exculpatory fingerprint, and the state then filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, the habeas court did not abuse its authority in finding that the defendant’s procedurally defaulted Brady violation claim could be heard […]
Criminal Law: Death Penalty Case-Habeas Relief-Actual Innocence
Where a defendant scheduled for execution sought a writ of habeas corpus arguing that he was actually innocent and incompetent to be executed, the defendant failed to offer sufficient evidence to show actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence to support a gateway claim of actual innocence, and there was no clear and convincing […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Early Release Date-Mootness
Where a defendant in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus claimed that the Bureau of Prisons should not have changed his early release date, the case became moot when the defendant was released from prison, so the appeal is dismissed. Appeal is dismissed. Blakeney v. Huetter (MLW No. 74618/Case No. 19-1474 – 2 […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Successive Petition-Jurisdiction
Where a defendant challenged the denial of his third successive federal habeas corpus petition from his state law murder conviction, the district court properly found that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition because the defendant failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that it was more likely than not that no reasonable jury […]
Criminal Law: Murder-Habeas Relief-Juvenile Offender
Plaintiff appealed from the district court’s denial of plaintiff’s application for habeas relief after the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed plaintiff’s sentence for three murders plaintiff committed while he was a juvenile but old enough to be tried as an adult, for which plaintiff received a sentence of at least 90 years. Where the cumulative effect […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Dismissal
Where appellant challenged the dismissal of his Section 2241 petition, the judgment is affirmed for the reasons stated by the district court. Judgment is affirmed. Weang v. Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (MLW No. 74510/Case No. 19-2111 – 2 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Actual Innocence
Where a defendant who was found guilty of first-degree sodomy and incest challenged the denial of his 28 U.S.C. Section 2254 petition, arguing that he was actually innocent, the judgment is affirmed because the defendant failed to satisfy the standard for an actual innocence claim. Judgment is affirmed. Turner v. Cassady (MLW No. 73928/Case No. […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Timeliness
Where a defendant challenged his sentence based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States with the filing of a pro se letter seeking Section 2255 relief, the petition was untimely, and the judgment is affirmed because the defendant did not show an extraordinary circumstance and did not exercise reasonable diligence. Judgment […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-ACCA-Prior Convictions
Where a defendant argued that he lacked the requisite prior convictions to qualify for an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act, remand is unnecessary on the unlawful-use claim because the conviction has been established as a violent felony under current law, so any error was harmless, but remand is required on the claim that […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-First-Degree Robbery-Sufficiency of Evidence
Where the state challenged the grant of habeas corpus relief to petitioner in a first-degree murder and robbery case, the order granting relief in part is reversed because the appellate court did not unreasonably apply clearly established federal law when it found that the largely circumstantial evidence was sufficient to support the convictions. Reversed. Harden […]
Criminal Law: Habeas Relief-Successive Petition
Where a defendant in a drug-distribution case sought habeas relief, arguing that a second amended judgment was a substantive change and a new judgment, the judgment is affirmed because a correction in the second amended judgment did not create a new sentence for purposes of the Section 2255 petition, so the petition was successive and […]
Criminal Law: Sentencing Habeas Relief Resentencing
Where a defendant sought to vacate a 200-month sentence seeking remand for a resentencing hearing to consider his rehabilitation efforts, the judgment is affirmed because the district court followed clearly established resentencing procedures, and his convictions for second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer were violent felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Judgment is […]
Latest Opinion Digests
- Criminal Law: Child Abuse-Sufficiency Of Evidence-Closing Argument
- Civil Rights: Religious Freedom-RLUIPA-Res Judicata
- Civil Practice: Res Judicata-Stop Work Order
- Immigration: Drug Conviction-Removability-Overbreadth of State Offense
- Civil Practice: Asset Forfeiture-Sanctions
- Civil Rights: Due Process-Failure to State Claim
- Probate : Revocable Trust – Amendment – Reformation
- Employer – Employee : Unpaid Commissions – At-Will Status
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Effectiveness Of Counsel – Conflict Of Interest
- Appellate Practice : Jurisdiction – Final Judgment
- Domestic Relations : Parenting Plan – Child Support
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Guilty Plea – Sentence Advice
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