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

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of defendant's motion to suppress and pro se motion to dismiss the indictment after defendant pleaded guilty to transporting, receiving, and possessing child pornography. The court held that, under the totality of the circumstances, defendant's pre-arrest interview was not custodial and the detective was not required to advise defendant of his Miranda rights. Therefore, these statements during the pre-arrest interview need not be suppressed. Furthermore, statements made during the post-arrest interview need not be suppressed because the court failed to find a clear and unequivocal assertion of the right to counsel. Finally, defendant's pro se motion to dismiss the indictment failed to cite legal authority for his argument and was thus properly denied. View "United States v. Giboney" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's 120 month sentence after he pleaded guilty to bank robbery. The court held that any potential error in applying a carjacking enhancement was harmless because the district court provided, at the suggestion of the government, an alternative basis for its sentence; the sentence was procedurally reasonable where the district court provided a clear explanation for the upward variance, and the court found no plain error seriously affecting the fairness, integrity, or reputation of judicial proceedings; and defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable where the district court considered the relevant 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and did not abuse its discretion. View "United States v. White" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of seven counts of interfering with commerce by means of Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that defendant's actions obstructed, delayed, or affected commerce in some way or to some degree. Defendant abandoned his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence for the firearm charges and the jury instructions because his brief did not support his assertions with any argument. View "United States v. Chaplain" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit reversed defendant's 41 month sentence after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court held that defendant's prior conviction for second-degree assault under Missouri Revised Statutes 560.060.1(3) was not a crime of violence under the Guidelines. United States v. Ossana, 638 F.3d 895 (8th Cir. 2011), remains dispositive for this case and neither Voisine v. United States, 136 S.Ct. 2272 (2016), nor United States v. Fogg, 836 FD.3d 951 (2016), considered whether a conviction under a statute that also criminalizes reckless driving was categorically a crime of violence under the Guidelines. Accordingly, the court remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Fields" on Justia Law

PPKM sought and obtained a permanent injunction against DHSS after DHSS attempted to revoke PPKM's license to provide abortion services. PPKM's license expired before the district court granted its motion for attorney's fees. The Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding PPKM attorney's fees or its work at all stages of this litigation, and PPKM's recovery in this case was not so technical as to render the award an abuse of discretion. In this case, PPKM was the prevailing party and DHSS offered no additional reason to conclude that PPKM was not entitled to the attorney's fees awarded by the district court. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Planned Parenthood Great Plans v. Dr. Randall Williams" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's 140 month sentence after he pleaded guilty to two counts related to methamphetamine distribution. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding defendant responsible for more than 500 grams of pure methamphetamine; the district court did not clearly err in crediting and considering his ex-wife's testimony about the rifle when determining defendant's sentence; and defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Madison" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, a former jail administrator, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and the Peace Officer Discipline Procedures Act (PODPA), alleging claims related to his termination. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the County and held that, regardless of whether plaintiff held a constitutionally protected interest in his employment, the process surrounding his termination satisfied the Due Process Clause. The court also held that plaintiff was not entitled to the additional protections of PODPA given his actual duties as Assistant Jail Administrator and given the fact that the County neither charged him with the duties of general law enforcement nor utilized his services for those purposes. View "Pena v. Kindler" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and 78 month sentence for theft of a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer. This circuit has held that proof of the act of stealing does not require proof of a defendant's specific intent to permanently deprive, and thus defendant's proposed additional jury instruction was unnecessary. The court held that the district court correctly concluded that defendant's base offense level was fourteen because he was a prohibited person, a drug user, at the time of the offense under USSG 2K2.1(a)(6)(A). Furthermore, the district court correctly increased that base offense level by two under USSG 2K2.1(b)(4)(A) because the firearm was stolen. Finally, the court held that the special condition prohibiting the use of alcohol and prohibiting defendant from entering bars or taverns was reasonably related to the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors. View "United States v. Glinn" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's 293 month sentence after he pleaded guilty to several federal criminal charges, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The court held that the government did not breach the plea agreement when it argued at sentencing that defendant was responsible for more than 149.93 grams of actual methamphetamine. In this case, defendant's agreement reserved to both parties the right to present at sentencing any evidence and argument on issues not explicitly agreed to or decided in the document. Furthermore, for a plea to be voluntary, a defendant need not understand precisely how the sentencing guidelines will apply to his case View "United States v. Guardado" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed an order denying a discharge on the grounds that debtor concealed his property in interest in a fishing boat and trailer, and made a false oath about the boat. The court rejected debtor's several procedural objections to the bankruptcy court's order denying the discharge and held that the bankruptcy court did not clearly err in finding the requisite intent. Therefore, the bankruptcy court properly denied the discharge under 8 U.S.C. 727(a)(2). The court need not address the bankruptcy court's alternative determination. View "Sears v. Sears" on Justia Law