The defendant in U.S. v Fries was convicted of transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident which is a violation of federal criminal laws when neither the seller nor the buyer was a licensed firearms dealer. 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(5) make a crime for a seller to sell a weapon to…
In U.S. v. Hall, the defendant pled guilty to the charge of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. The district court enhanced his sentence after the court determined that a prior felony conviction for possession of an unregistered shotgun qualified as a crime of violence under the sentencing…
In U.S. v. Gandy the defendant was convicted of possession of a firearm and sentenced to 180 months. His sentence had been enhanced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) because he had been convicted of at least three prior violent felonies. In challenging the sentence he argued that the…
In U.S. v. Carrillo the 11th Circuit dealt with question whether a defendant convicted of a drug offense and receiving a 2-point guidelines increase for the possession of a firearm can be eligible for a safety valve reduction. The court ruled that that the provisions are not mutually exclusive but…
In U.S. v. McGuire, the defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction of attempting to damage, destroy, disable, set fire to, or wreck an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States in violation of 18 U.S. C. §32(a)(1). After McGuire shot of several…
First, you need the background facts of McIntosh’s first trip to the 11th Circuit. In U.S. v. McIntosh, the defendant was indicted in federal court for distributing crack cocaine and for a firearm related offense. The charges arose from a November 2005 traffic stop when an officer found the drugs…
Happy New Year everybody. Sandra Day O’Connor, retired Supreme Court Justice participated on the panel for U.S. v. Petite, the first criminal decision for 2013 from the Eleventh Circuit. Judge Marcus wrote the opinion. In U.S. v. Petite the defendant was indicted in a federal court in Florida with federal…
In U.S. v. Thompson the defendant appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the federal criminal charge in federal court of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §922(g) The defendant in U.S. v Thompson became a convicted felon following his…
In U.S. v. Dortch the Defendant was charged in federal court in Florida with the federal crimes of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and carrying and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug offense after a search warrant executed at the defendant’s house turned up traces of drugs…