In U.S. v. Glover, the defendant pled guilty to two bank robbery counts. In exchange for his plea the remaining counts were dismissed and the government agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of the sentencing guideline range. At sentencing the district court determined the range to be…
In U.S. v. Glover the defendant moved to reduce his sentence under 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(2) based on a retroactive amendment to the sentencing guidelines that lowered base offense levels for certain crack cocaine crimes. Glover pled guilty to 50 grams or more of crack cocaine violation 18 U.S.C. §841, but…
In U.S. v. Daniels the 11th Circuit took up the issue of whether a conviction under 18 U.S.C. 2422(b) requires the government to prove that the defendant knew the victim was a minor. The statute makes it a crime for someone to use any interstate of foreign commerce to knowingly…
In U.S. v. Haile defendants Haile and Beckford were convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, possession of five firearms, including a machine gun, in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, possession of an unregistered machine gun, and with possession of a firearm with obliterated serial number.…
In U.S. v. Merrill, the defendant was convicted in federal court in Miami of the federal crime of knowingly selling ammunition made by a Communist Chinese military company to the U.S. Army. Here are the facts. AEY, a munitions dealership based in Miami Beach, Florida, placed a bid with U.S.…
In U.S. v Pena the defendant was charged with a federal crime of conspiracy to knowingly fail to maintain an accurate oil record book on board the vessel, in violation of 33 U.S.C. §1908; for failing to conduct a complete survey of the vessel Island Express in violation of 33…
In U.S. v. Jimenez, the 11th Circuit addressed a federal sentencing guidelines issue involving grouping counts. The district court grouped Jimenez’s conviction for illegal reentry after deportation and his conviction for firearm possession by an illegal alien, giving him more jail time. The 11th Circuit denied Jimenez’s challenge and held…
In U.S. v. House the defendant was charged with the federal crimes of depriving a person of the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure by a law enforcement officer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §242, and with making false statements within the a matter within the jurisdiction of…
In U.S. v Woods the defendant was charged with violating federal child pornography laws. In his defense he raised Constitutional challenges under the Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendments for failure to advise him pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona and he challenged the law the under the Due Process Clause for…
In U.S. v. Cochran the issue before the jury was whether drugs and drug related materials inside of a house belonged to a defendant or someone else who could have had access to the house. Though this happened in the Middle District of Florida, it is a common issue seen…