Recently in Criminal Law Category

In a petition for attorney's fees pursuant to the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA) after petitioner prevailed in an asset forfeiture proceeding pursuant to 21 U.S.C. section 853(n), denial of the petition is affirmed where the arguments for and against permitting a prevailing section 853(n) petitioner to receive attorneys' fees from the government were too closely balanced to allow the court of appeals to conclude that Congress's waiver of sovereign immunity clearly and unequivocally applied in this situation.

Read US v. Moser, No. 08-2909

Appellate Information

Submitted: April 17, 2009

Filed: November 18, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Melloy

Defendant's drug possession conviction is affirmed where the district court did not err in finding there was no Fourth Amendment violation in a search of defendant's vehicle because the stop was properly administered under the authority of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and defendant was not unlawfully detained when he consented to the search.

Read US v. Parker, No. 08-2883

Appellate Information

Submitted: April 14, 2009

Filed: November 18, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Shepherd

In a drug possession prosecution, dismissal of petitioner's habeas petition as untimely is affirmed where the Arkansas Court of Appeals was not a "state court of last resort," and therefore the statute of limitations began running immediately after the Arkansas Court of Appeals denied petitioner's motion for a rehearing.

Read Parmley v. Norris, No. 08-3107

Appellate Information

Submitted: September 24, 2009

Filed: November 16, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Melloy

Defendant's child pornography sentence is affirmed where: 1) although the district court committed Gall error by requiring extraordinary circumstances to justify the requested non-Guidelines sentence, defendant failed to establish a reasonable probability that he would have received a lower sentence absent the error; and 2) the sentence was not outside the range of choice dictated by the facts of the case.

Read US v. Bain, No. 07-2981

Appellate Information

Submitted: June 9, 2009

Filed: November 16, 2009

Judges

Per Curiam

In a murder prosecution, the denial of petitioner's habeas petition is affirmed where the Arkansas Supreme Court identified and reasonably applied the correct legal standard for assessing whether the minor made a knowing and intelligent waiver of his Miranda rights.

Read Bell v. Norris, No. 07-3432

Appellate Information

Submitted: June 9, 2009

Filed: November 16, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Melloy

Defendant's tax fraud conviction is affirmed where: 1) even if the burden were on the government to prove defendant's competence to stand trial, the government met its burden; and 2) the district court's finding by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant was competent to stand trial was not arbitrary, unwarranted, or clearly erroneous.

Read US v. Whittington, No. 08-3698

Appellate Information

Submitted: September 25, 2009

Filed: November 12, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Riley

Defendant's drug conspiracy sentence is vacated where the Supreme Court's decisions in Gall and Burns changed the law of the circuit and granted authority to district courts that they lacked under the Eighth Circuit's pre-Gall precedents, including the authority to make certain major reductions in the absence of extraordinary assistance.

Read US v. Jensen, No. 06-2284

Appellate Information

Submitted: April 23, 2008

Filed: November 12, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Colloton

In a robbery prosecution, denial of petitioner's habeas petition is affirmed where: 1) the record clearly showed that defense counsel based his decision not to seek a severance of petitioner's trial on his general denial defense, not on any mistaken understanding about the admissibility of petitioner's conviction prior to trial; and 2) thus, counsel did not render ineffective assistance.

Read Flowers v. Norris, No. 09-1083

Appellate Information

Submitted: September 25, 2009

Filed: November 10, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Gruender

Denial of defendant's motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2) is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to explicitly state what sentence it would have imposed had Amendment 706 to the Sentencing Guidelines been in effect when defendant was originally sentenced; and 2) the district court's observation that defendant's 100-month sentence was the product of negotiation was an accurate reflection of the record and not speculation regarding what might otherwise have occurred.

Read US v. Curry, No. 09-1325

Appellate Information

Submitted: September 24, 2009

Filed: November 9, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Wollman

Defendant's drug conspiracy conviction is affirmed where: 1) the government offered sufficient evidence that the conspiracy involved fifty grams or more of crack cocaine; 2) the government proved that defendant aided and abetted the conspiracy; and 3) the jury was equipped to evaluate the motivations of the government's cooperating witnesses without the aid of additional testimony.

Read US v. Coleman, No. 09-1454

Appellate Information

Submitted: September 22, 2009

Filed: October 30, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Gruender