In U.S. v. Welch the 11th Circuit found the entry into a defendant’s home was illegal, but the illegal entry did not taint the subsequent consent by the defendant to a search. Welch was charged with being a felon in possession and sentenced to 15 years as an Armed Career…
In Kendrick’s first trial where he faced federal charges of trafficking in marijuana and possession of a firearm he was acquitted. Shortly after his acquittal, he was indicted for the charge of smuggling an alien into the U.S. for purpose of financial gain 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii). The Defendant claimed his…
Again the 11th Circuit addressed a common sentencing issue facing Miami federal criminal courts as well as federal courts nationwide: whether a prior offense is considered a crime of violence under the sentencing guidelines. Defining a crime as a crime of violence will determine whether a defendant will receive an…
In U.S. v. Schneider, the defendant at age 71 had the misfortune of selling oxycodone pills to an undercover police officer. Things for him got worse when his federal sentence was enhanced the statutory mandatory minimum 15 years because he was caught with a pistol and charged with possession of…
The issue in U.S. v. Zuniga-Arteaga is whether the defendant can be convicted of aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. §1028A(a)(1) where the person whose identity was stolen is no longer living. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held in this decision that the person whose identity was stolen does…
In U.S. v. Chitwood, the defendant pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and was sentenced to 188 month because the federal district court found Chitwood was a career offender under sentencing guideline §4B1.1(a). Under this provision a defendant with two or more drug offense or a crime…
Pertuz-Pertuz pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking on the high seas. Specifically, his offense involved a conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine while aboard a vessel subject to the U.S. jurisdiction, in violation of Title 46 U.S.C. §70503(a)(1). In U.S. v. Pertuz-Pertuz, the 11th Circuit said the…
Defendant Register pled guilty to 17 counts of tax related offenses. Thirteen counts concerned his failure to pay to the I.R.S. taxes that had been withheld from wages of his company’s employees. The remaining counts concerned falsifying his individual federal income tax return. The defendant challenged the district court’s guideline…
Deportation is always a common problem for alien criminal defendants in Miami and other parts of Florida who a convicted of a crime. In U.S. v. Figueroa-Sanchez, the 11th Circuit faced two issues: 1) whether the district court properly denied defendant’s 2255 motion for federal habeas post-conviction relief as successive,…
In U.S. v Acuna-Reyna, the 11th Circuit held an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction resulting in probation and a fine would still be counted for criminal history points under the guidelines. The defendant was convicted of illegal reentry after deportation and at his sentencing he was assessed a criminal history point for…