Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

After Defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, the district court designated him an armed career criminal and sentenced him to 180 months in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that his predicate offenses were not committed on different occasions, a requirement for the armed career criminal sentencing enhancement. Alternatively, Defendant argued that the Sixth Amendment required a jury to find that he committed his predicate offenses on different occasions.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. Defendant’s PSR shows a 2004 burglary conviction and two 2006 battery convictions. According to charging documents, the battery offenses involved different victims and occurred on different days, one on or about March 8 and the other on or about March 11. Defendant argued that the 2006 convictions were committed on the same occasion because he was arrested and convicted on the same dates for both offenses. The court explained that the multi-day gap separating the battery offenses strongly supports a finding that Defendant committed them on different occasions. Accordingly, the court held that all things considered, the district court did not err when it concluded that Defendant committed his prior offenses on different occasions. View "United States v. Christopher Stowell" on Justia Law

Defendant was indicted on three counts of drug possession with intent to distribute. On the morning of the trial, he decided to plead guilty to two of them in exchange for dismissal of the third. The district court performed the usual change-of-plea colloquy. Defendant said that his mind was “crystal clear” and that he was not on any medications or drugs. Yet some of his responses showed hesitation. He said he had little time to go over the plea agreement with his lawyer and felt rushed. On top of that, he regretted not taking an earlier plea offer made while his mother’s recent death weighed heavily on him. Still, the court found Defendant competent to proceed with his proposed plea and confirmed that he was satisfied with his attorney. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel at sentencing when it allowed his lawyer to withdraw, neglected to appoint another one, and failed to warn Defendant about the risks of proceeding on his own.   The Eighth Circuit dismissed his appeal, finding that Defendant waived his right to challenge these issues. The court explained that recognizing the validity of appeal waivers provides defendants with an important bargaining chip. The court wrote that applying the miscarriage-of-justice exception here would weaken that presumption of validity and reduce Defendant's bargaining power. As such, the court found that in this case, there is a valid appeal waiver and no showing that a miscarriage of justice would result from its enforcement. View "United States v. Rashaun Williams" on Justia Law

Defendant and co-Defendant were convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Co-Defendant was also convicted of illegal re-entry. Defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence against her, and co-Defendant contends the district court abused its discretion when it refused to allow witnesses who are Mexican nationals to testify by Zoom and admitted evidence of an unrelated assault with a firearm.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal and vacated her conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The court reversed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion for a new trial on the drug trafficking and firearms counts and remanded for proceeding. The court affirmed with respect to co-Defendant. The court explained that it is unable to determine whether the district court abused its discretion by not considering a matter that should have been given significant weight by giving significant weight to something improper or irrelevant or if it committed a clear error of judgment. Therefore, the court remanded to the district court for consideration of Defendant’s motion for a new trial as it relates to the drug trafficking conspiracy and related firearms count. View "United States v. Maria Nava" on Justia Law

Defendant shot a man in the chest and led police on a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood before his eventual capture. When arrested, he possessed a pistol, ammunition, and bags containing methamphetamine and fentanyl. One of the bags appeared to have been opened using teeth, and officers observed Walker becoming lethargic and losing consciousness. Officers administered two doses of Naloxone to revive him before transporting him to a hospital. Defendant eventually pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g). The district court determined Defendant was an armed career criminal pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 924(e), and also determined his extensive and violent criminal history merited an above-Guidelines-range sentence. The district court ultimately varied from a guideline range of 188–235 months and imposed a sentence of 300 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release.   The Eighth Circuit vacated the sentence imposed in this case and remanded for resentencing. The court explained that the district court’s failure to specifically address the standard conditions of supervised release and the third special condition, which relates to the two special conditions that were orally pronounced, was a matter of mere oversight. As such, the court vacated that portion of the judgment and commitment order imposing the standard conditions of supervised release and the third special condition and remand to the district court for a resentencing, limited to the standard conditions and third special condition. View "United States v. Bradley Walker" on Justia Law

A jury found Defendant guilty of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, facilitating prostitution, and distributing methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”) to a person under twenty-one. Most relevant for this appeal, the government relied on evidence related to the trafficking of A.E., who, at the time, was a college student and under twenty-one. According to the indictment, Defendant trafficked A.E. between approximately February 2 and March 14, 2020. Defendant argued he is entitled to a new trial on two of the three counts because the district court made evidentiary errors and the government deprived him of a fair trial.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that there was no plain error. While Defendant relies on United States v. Johnson, 968 F.2d 768 (8th Cir. 1992), for the proposition that a prosecutor may not urge the jury to convict so as to protect community values or deter other criminal conduct, this is not what occurred here. Rather, the government referenced Defendant’s victims, tracking the evidence presented at trial. And although the government stated someone should end Defendant’s behavior by telling him “no” and “enough is enough,” the context was recounting the evidence presented at trial. Indeed, the government concluded by urging the jury to rely on the evidence. The district court did not plainly err by failing to sua sponte correct the government’s closing argument. View "United States v. Darrius Redd" on Justia Law

A jury found Sherman and Smith guilty of conspiracy to commit witness tampering resulting in death. The jury also found Smith guilty of witness tampering, resulting in death, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime.  The district court denied Defendants’ motions for judgment of acquittal on those counts and sentenced both men to life imprisonment.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. First, the court considered whether the district court erred in denying Sherman’s repeated requests to be tried separately from Smith. The court explained that it was convinced that the district court’s repeated limiting instructions sufficiently cured whatever risk of prejudice existed. Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motions to sever.   Further, the court explained that Sherman and Smith argue that the Government failed to establish a nexus between their conduct and an official proceeding. However, the court held that sufficient evidence demonstrates a nexus between the murder and the upcoming revocation hearing, as well as a potential future federal prosecution for distributing drugs.   Moreover, Smith claimed that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and the related firearms charge. The court explained that because Smith’s challenge to his conviction on the firearms offense rests entirely on his argument that the evidence was not sufficient to prove a drug-distribution conspiracy, the court found the evidence sufficient to prove Smith’s guilt on the firearms offense as well. View "United States v. Samuel Sherman" on Justia Law

Defendant sexually abused C.M. and E.A.H. in his mother’s basement on separate occasions. L.M., the legal guardian of C.M. and E.A.H. and sister of Defendant’s mother, often brought the two children to the house for visits. At trial, the jury heard testimony from C.M., E.A.H., L.M., and a forensic examiner. The Government introduced evidence of Defendant’s prior conviction of abusive sexual contact of a person incapable of consent. Defendant moved for judgment of acquittal, which the district court denied, and was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and one count of witness tampering. The district court sentenced him to life in prison for each sexual abuse count and 20 years for witness tampering, running concurrently. On appeal, Defendant alleged insufficient evidence to support the verdict, improper joinder of charges, improper introduction of evidence of his prior conviction, and procedural and substantive sentencing errors.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that Defendant argued that because the sexual abuses of C.M. and E.A.H. involved different methods of penetration, victims of different ages, and different occurrences, the charges were improperly joined. However, the court explained that the victims do not have to be the same age. Further, the court wrote that joinder was proper because the offenses were of a similar character. “In applying the same or similar character standard, we have found joinder of offenses to be proper when the two counts refer to the same type of offenses occurring over a relatively short period of time, and the evidence as to each count overlaps.” View "United States v. Jerome Goodhouse, Jr." on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of attempted Hobbs Act robbery and three firearm charges, including possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). Defendant argued that there is insufficient evidence to support his attempted Hobbs Act robbery conviction and that his Section 924(c) conviction should be vacated in light of United States v. Taylor, 142 S. Ct. 2015 (2022). He also challenged his sentence’s substantive reasonableness.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed his attempted Hobbs Act robbery conviction but vacated his Section 924(c) conviction under Taylor. The court also vacated Defendant’s sentence and remanded for resentencing. The court explained that here Defendant repeatedly surveilled L.B.’s home. He donned a disguise and scripted his false entry. He had a rifle and planned to neutralize, if necessary, those he found inside. But he preferred to wield a handgun and told his fake accomplice he wouldn’t rob the house without one. Just before the trade, he was arrested. All told, the district court did not clearly err by finding the circumstances showed Defendant was about to complete all the acts he believed necessary to complete the Hobbs Act robbery but for the police’s intervention. The court explained that after Defendant’s trial, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Taylor and held that “attempted Hobbs Act robbery does not satisfy the elements clause” of Section 924(c). This means that Defendant’s attempted Hobbs Act robbery conviction no longer qualifies as a predicate crime of violence for his Section 924(c) conviction. Thus the court vacated his Section 924(c) conviction in accordance with Taylor. View "United States v. Rufus Dennis" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted by a jury of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. The charge arose from Defendant’s response to an online advertisement and his dialogue with an undercover detective who posed as a fourteen-year-old girl. At trial, the district court declined Defendant’s request to instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of entrapment, and Defendant appealed that decision.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed the judgment. The court concluded that the evidence was insufficient to warrant the requested instruction. The court explained that the evidence here shows that the government presented Defendant with an opportunity to entice an arguably sexually precocious minor whose appearance was arguably more mature than average. Defendant responded to an advertisement, and broached the topic of unlawful sexual activity with a fourteen-year-old girl. The detective posing as a minor carried on a lengthy dialogue with Defendant, but did not employ the tactics most likely to warrant an entrapment instruction: pressure, assurances that a person is not doing anything wrong, persuasion, fraudulent representations, threats, coercive tactics, harassment, promises of reward, or pleas based on need, sympathy, or friendship. Without more, there was not sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that the government impermissibly induced Defendant to commit the offense. View "United States v. Darren Lasley" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a citizen of Africa who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2012, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft predicated on wire fraud. In the plea agreement, Petitioner admitted that she “aided and abetted” her mother in the mother’s scheme of “defrauding” the State of California of $475,350.28.The Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") charged Petitioner as removable, characterizing her conviction as a conviction for an offense involving “fraud or deceit” with a loss to the victim exceeding $10,000, thus qualifying as an “aggravated felony” under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(M)(i). In so holding, the BIA determined that the elements of the identity theft offense included a reference in the alternative to several qualifying felony offenses, and required as an element that the identity theft be committed “during and in relation to” one of the other qualifying felonies.Petitioner appealed, arguing her conviction did not qualify under the categorical approach as an offense involving fraud or deceit. She also sought relief under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). An immigration judge rejected Petitioner's arguments, as did the BIA. Petitioner appealed.On appeal, the Eighth Circuit held that the BIA appeals did not err in concluding that Petitioner's conviction was a qualifying aggravated felony based on her express admission that she had aided and abetted a scheme to defraud a victim of more than $475,000. Further, the Eighth Circuit found that the BIA did not apply the wrong legal standard in finding Petitioner ineligible for withholding of removal and did not err in denying CAT relief. View "Chantelle Robbertse v. Merrick B. Garland" on Justia Law