Recent Criminal Law Decisions

District court's order to destroy 34 firearms and for the defendant to collect just compensation from the government arising from his conviction of aiding and abetting the possession of firearms by a felon, is vacated and remanded as, because the government did not commence a timely forfeiture proceeding, defendant's property interest in the firearms continues even though his possessory interest has been curtailed, and as such, if the government does not want to sell the firearms for his account, then it must offer defendant some other lawful option, such as having a trustee sell or hold the guns, or giving them to someone who can be relied on to treat them as his own.   

Read US v. Miller, No. 09-2256

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division

Decided November 19, 2009

Judges

Before:  Easterbrook, Chief Judge, and Kanne and Tinder, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Easterbrook, Chief Judge

Conviction of defendant for possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(9) is vacated and remanded where: 1) on the facts of the case, the intermediate scrutiny applies; and 2) the government has done almost nothing to discharge the burden of establishing a reasonable fit between the statute's means and its end.   

Read US v. Skoien, No. 08-3770

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Decided November 18, 2009

Judges

Before:   Bauer, Sykes, and Tinder, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Sykes, Circuit Judge

In a prosecution of defendant for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and for using the Internet to attempt to transfer obscene material to a minor, district court's exclusion of prosecution's Rule 413 evidence of two prior instances of similar conduct, is reversed and remanded as the record causes doubt whether the district court fully appreciated the legal relation between Rules 413 and 403. 

Read US v. Rogers, No. 08-1516

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

Decided November 10, 2009

Judges

Before: Cudhay, Flaum, and Wood, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Wood, Circuit Judge

Defendant's conviction for concealing, harboring, or shielding from detection illegal aliens and hiring illegal aliens is affirmed where: 1) the district court's supplemental jury instruction on the meaning of "shielding" was not erroneous; and 2) the evidence was sufficient to prove defendant intended to prevent government authorities from detecting the presence of the illegal aliens. 

Read US v. Ye, No. 08-1333

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Decided November 17, 2009

Judges

Before:  Bauer, Manion, and Sykes, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Manion, Circuit Judge

District court's denial of defendant's motion to suppress a statement he gave to law enforcement agents implicating himself in criminal firearms trafficking is affirmed as, district court did not commit clear error in finding that defendant initiated conversation with law enforcement, and thus, the law enforcement agents did not interrogate defendant in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to counsel, and the court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress his incriminating statements.   

Read US v. Robinson, No. 08-4251

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

Decided November 10, 2009

Judges

Before:  Posner, Manion, and Evans, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Manion, Circuit Judge

Convictions and sentences of defendants, members of the Earth Liberation Front which has been identified by the FBI as domestic eco-terrorist group, for destroying government property is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in holding that defendants' conduct caused the Forest Service to suffer a loss in its loss-amount calculation; and 2) defendant's argument that he's not the sort of person who should be labeled a terrorist and that the terrorism enhancement does not apply unless his crime transcended national boundaries is without merit.     

Read US v. Christianson, No. 09-1526

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Decided November 9, 2009

Judges

Before:  Posner, Manion, and Tinder, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Manion, Circuit Judge

District court's imposition of an enhancement under U.S.S.G. section 2G2.2(b)(3)(B) on a defendant convicted of transportation and possession of child pornography is affirmed where, although defendant did not have an explicit agreement or precise bargain with the woman, the content of his conversations lead to the conclusion that he reasonably anticipated or believed that his exchange of child pornography would result in a sexual encounter with the woman and her children.     

Read US v. Owens, No. 09-1279

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Bend Division

Decided November 6, 2009

Judges

Before:  Ripple, Kanne, and Sykes, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Kanne, Circuit Judge

District court's conviction of defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed where: 1) the 18 U.S.C. section 921(a)(20)(A) exclusion does not apply to defendant's predicate conviction; 2) section 921(a)(20)(A) is not impermissibly vague, as an ordinary individual would have notice that the exception applies only if he or she committed an enumerated or similar offense related to the regulation of business practices; 3) the district court did not clearly err in denying defendant's request to conduct a Franks hearing; and 4) defendant's claim that district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the statements that he made when his home was searched is without merit.  

Read US v. Schultz, No. 09-1192

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division

Decided November 5, 2009

Judges

Before:  Bauer, Rovner, and Williams, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Bauer, Circuit Judge

Denial of defendant's motion to suppress evidence of crack cocaine and firearm found during search of his home is reversed as the warrant was not supported by probable cause because an affidavit failed to establish the reliability of the informants, and law enforcement officers did not sufficiently corroborate the informants' reports.     

Read US v. Bell, No. 07-3806

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Decided November 5, 2009

Judges

Before:  Manion, Wood, and Williams, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Wiliams, Circuit Judge

Defendant's conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon is affirmed where: 1) officers had reasonable suspicion to stop the SUV in which defendant was riding; and 2) there was sufficient evidence to show that the defendant constructively or actually possessed the gun. However, the sentence of 387 months' imprisonment is vacated and remanded where, although the district court was correct that a conviction for residential entry in Indiana qualifies as a "violent felony" for the purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act, defendant's conviction for criminal recklessness in Indiana does not qualify. 

Read US v. Hampton, No. 07-3134

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division

Decided November 4, 2009

Judges

Before:  Easterbrook, Chief Judge, and Posner and Williams, Circuit Judges

Opinion by Wiliams, Circuit Judge