mandatory-minimum

204 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6678 Isaac Ramirez Rodriguez v. Virginia Virginia 2026-01-30 Pending Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment mandatory-minimum proportionality sentencing Are the mandatory minimum life sentence provisions of Virginia Code §§ 18.2-61(B)(2) and 18.2-67.2(B)(2) unconstitutional as constituting Cruel and Un…
25-6599 Harry Whitman v. United States Fifth Circuit 2026-01-15 Pending IFP criminal-resentencing extraordinary-compelling-reasons first-step-act mandatory-minimum sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation Whether the fact that a prisoner is serving a sentence that is significantly longer than the law would now permit, in light of the First Step Act's no…
25-6386 Gavin Michael Harold v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-12-16 Pending Response RequestedResponse WaivedIFP child-pornography criminal-punishment jury-trial mandatory-minimum restitution sixth-amendment Does the Sixth Amendment require a jury to find the facts needed to justify a restitution order meeting or exceeding § 2259(b)(2)(B)'s $3,000 mandator…
25-6169 Elias Xavier Rosario Torres v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-11-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure firearm-statute mandatory-minimum mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether the presumption of mens rea applies to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(ii) requiring the government to prove a defendant knew of a firearm's automati…
25A535 Shawn Russell Sorensen v. United States Eighth Circuit 2025-11-07 Application controlled-substance drug-possession felony-drug-offense ineffective-assistance mandatory-minimum sentencing-enhancement Whether a defendant's prior state drug possession convictions qualify as 'felony drug offenses' under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) for purposes of imposing a ma…
25-6010 Karl Patrick Kluge v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-10-31 Pending Response RequestedResponse WaivedIFP child-exploitation criminal-punishment jury-finding mandatory-minimum restitution sixth-amendment Does the Sixth Amendment require a jury to find the facts needed to justify a restitution order meeting or exceeding the $3,000 mandatory minimum for …
25-5144 Gregory Michael Hawes v. Seth Norris, Warden Wyoming 2025-07-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof circuit-split constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process mandatory-minimum Whether the Supreme Court should resolve a circuit split regarding mandatory minimum imprisonment terms and the unconstitutional reallocation of burde…
25-5054 Eural Black v. United States Seventh Circuit 2025-07-08 Pending IFP circuit-split compassionate-release extraordinary-reasons first-step-act mandatory-minimum sentencing-reduction Whether a district court may consider disparities created by the First Step Act's prospective changes in sentencing law when deciding if 'extraordinar…
24-6608 Felix Pusey v. Florida Florida 2025-02-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP eighth-amendment firearm-possession juvenile-offender mandatory-minimum second-amendment sixth-amendment Whether a Florida statute criminalizing firearm possession for individuals under 24 with prior juvenile felony adjudications violates the Second Amend…
24-6387 Raymond Bradley v. Florida Florida 2025-01-24 Denied IFP constitutional-sentencing criminal-procedure juvenile-sentencing mandatory-minimum proportionality-principle youth-consideration Whether the mandatory penalty scheme prevents a sentencer from considering a juvenile offender's youth in imposing a life sentence with a 25-year mini…
24-6287 Sean J. Trahan v. United States First Circuit 2025-01-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP child-pornography federal-law mandatory-minimum predicate-offense sentencing-enhancement state-conviction Whether a district court may impose an enhanced mandatory minimum sentence under 18 U.S.C. 2252A(b)(2) based on a prior state conviction 'relating to'…
24-6192 Ladonta A. Tucker v. United States Seventh Circuit 2024-12-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-statute firearm-use mandatory-minimum predicate-offense sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether a person uses or carries a firearm 'during and in relation to' a predicate offense anytime the firearm has 'the potential to facilitate' the c…
24-6114 Davis Ennis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-12-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy-statute drug-quantity judicial-fact-finding mandatory-minimum rule-of-lenity sixth-amendment Whether judicial fact-finding of drug quantity for an enhanced mandatory minimum sentence violates the Sixth Amendment when the defendant and governme…
24-5972 Alex N. Morales-Velez v. United States First Circuit 2024-11-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure ineffective-assistance mandatory-minimum plea-agreement sentencing-recommendation strickland-standard Whether defense counsel's failure to object to a sentencing recommendation constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washingto…
24-5905 Huosheng Xian v. United States Tenth Circuit 2024-11-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure jury-verdict mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing Whether a sentencing judge can make safety-valve findings when a defendant's statements are inconsistent with the jury's verdict
24A423 Sean J. Trahan v. United States First Circuit 2024-10-30 Presumed Complete categorical-approach child-pornography circuit-split mandatory-minimum sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether a state child pornography statute that is broader than the federal statute can categorically qualify as an offense 'relating to' child pornogr…
24-5366 Marquise Thomas v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-08-22 Denied IFP child-exploitation criminal-punishment jury-determination mandatory-minimum restitution-order sixth-amendment Does the Sixth Amendment require a jury to find the facts needed to justify a restitution order meeting or exceeding the $3,000 mandatory minimum for …
24-5060 Bert Hudson v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole Pennsylvania 2024-07-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-interpretation cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-punishment eighth-amendment furman-v-georgia mandatory-minimum parole parole-review second-degree-murder sentencing-guidelines sentencing-statutes Whether Pennsylvania's sentencing statutes for second-degree murder, which provide for a mandatory maximum sentence of life imprisonment with a requir…
24-5016 Michael Medina v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-07-08 GVR Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-justice-reform first-step-act mandatory-minimum post-conviction-relief resentencing retroactivity sentencing-reduction sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation Whether the First Step Act's sentencing reduction provisions apply to a defendant initially sentenced prior to the FSA's enactment; whose sentence was…
24-5014 Aweis Haji-Mohamed v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-07-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split due-process ineffective-assistance mandatory-minimum plea-bargaining prejudice prejudice-analysis sixth-amendment sixth-circuit-error strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Ineffective-assistance-of-counsel
23A1167 Jay A. Liestman v. United States Seventh Circuit 2024-06-27 Presumed Complete child-pornography federal-criminal-law mandatory-minimum predicate-offense sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether state child pornography laws can serve as predicate offenses triggering enhanced mandatory minimum penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(b)(1)
23-7650 Samuel Cuellar v. Jeff Tanner, Warden Sixth Circuit 2024-06-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure constitutional-violation criminal-procedure ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel informed-decision mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences plea-bargaining plea-negotiations sentencing Whether petitioner is entitled to reinstatement of plea offer due to counsel's failure to inform him of mandatory minimum sentence
23-7643 Thomas Antonio Stuart v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-06-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP alien-smuggling criminal-penalty criminal-procedure legislative-history mandatory-minimum sentencing statutory-interpretation textualism Whether the five-year mandatory minimum penalty of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2) can be applied to first-time offenders
23-7453 William Garrido v. Florida Florida 2024-05-10 Denied IFP 10-20-life-statute criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-authority statutory-interpretation trial-court-authority What authority does the trial court have to sentence beyond the selected mandatory minimum of 25 years under § 775.087 (2), (the 10-20-life Statute)?
23-7283 Hector Manuel Gomez Rodriguez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-04-22 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 21-usc-841 constitutional-scrutiny criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences non-capital-sentences proportionality-review sentencing Whether the Ninth Circuit contravened Harmelin's plurality and Ewing by exempting all sentences imposed under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(vii) from Eight…
23-7061 Cody Dillon Hogan v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-03-22 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 8th-amendment child-pornography civil-rights criminal-law due-process eighth-amendment mandatory-minimum restitution statutory-interpretation Proximate causation, due process, conflicting interpretation, statutory interpretation, substantive due process
23A850 Benjamin F. Whiteman v. Kathy Jennings, Attorney General of Delaware, et al. Third Circuit 2024-03-20 Presumed Complete constitutional-challenge cruel-and-unusual due-process habitual-offender mandatory-minimum sentencing-statute Whether a state sentencing statute that mandates consecutive sentences for habitual offenders without judicial discretion violates due process and con…
23-7014 Stanley Ford v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-03-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1951 18-usc-924 aiding-and-abetting crime-of-violence elements-clause hobbs-act mandatory-minimum physical-force statutory-interpretation Whether Hobbs Act robbery and aiding and abetting Hobbs Act robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), are categorically crimes of violence under the elements clau…
23-1002 Tony R. Hewitt v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-03-12 Judgment Issued Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) circuit-split criminal-law first-step-act judicial-vacatur mandatory-minimum post-enactment-sentencing retroactivity sentencing sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation Whether the First Step Act's sentencing reduction provisions apply to a defendant originally sentenced before the FSA's enactment when that original s…
23-6953 Anthony Lamont Mason, II v. United States Tenth Circuit 2024-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP federal-court federal-sentencing indian-major-crimes-act mandatory-minimum mcgirt-v-oklahoma sentencing-guidelines state-court state-sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether federal sentencing courts should treat a sentence that is optional in state court as mandatory in federal court under the Indian Major Crimes …
23-6942 Paulino Granda v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-03-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus johnson-precedent johnson-v-united-states mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-minimum predicate-conviction sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether a petitioner demonstrates a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right warranting a certificate of appealability
23-6879 Christopher Sean Burrus v. Washington Washington 2024-03-01 Denied IFP 6th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-challenge cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-offense due-process eighth-amendment evidentiary-requirements ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum mental-health sentencing-law Questions Presented
23-6590 Johnny Eugene Holton v. Georgia Georgia 2024-01-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process equal-protection fourteenth-amendment jurisdiction mandatory-minimum res-judicata sentencing statutory-interpretation void-sentence Did the Georgia Court of Appeals err in vacating the petitioner's void sentence and barring him by res judicata from attacking the void sentence in an…
23-6424 Taquarius Kaream Ford v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-01-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1591 18-usc-1594 circuit-split criminal-sentencing double-jeopardy mandatory-minimum sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation When two Sex Trafficking statutes combine into a single Count, does the penalty for Sex Trafficking Conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. Section 1594(c) which h…
23-6399 Michael Salinas v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-12-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-conspiracy mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether, to prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, the government must pr…
23-6323 Ryan F. Duncan v. Florida Florida 2023-12-21 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process identification-evidence mandatory-minimum parole photo-array plea-bargaining sentencing witness-testimony Does a criminal court deprive a defendant of due process by accepting a guilty plea without informing them about a mandatory term of parole as a requi…
23-6091 Valentino Bernard Lee v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Florida 2023-11-22 Denied IFP criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process firearm-possession jury-instructions legal-principles mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence possession-of-firearm sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether the trial court erred in sentencing the defendant to a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence under Florida Statute § 775.087(2)(a)1 when the defe…
23-6087 Ronell Whitehead v. United States Third Circuit 2023-11-21 Denied IFP 21-usc-841 21-usc-846 circuit-split conspiracy-law controlled-substances drug-conspiracy drug-distribution mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation How is the quantity of controlled substances 'involved' determined for purposes of sentencing for conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846, when the offense o…
23-531 Timothy I. Carpenter v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-11-17 Denied Amici (2) criminal-procedure drug-offense federal-firearm-offense first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums retroactivity sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation Do the sentencing reforms in Section 403 of the First Step Act apply when a district court sentences an individual whose offense was committed before …
23-6014 Curtis Conway Bailey v. Bryan Morrison, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-11-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-sexual-conduct direct-appeal due-process immutable-fact ineffective-assistance-counsel judicial-notice mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence michigan-law sentencing Whether a trial court can find the fact of a defendant's age as an element of the offense of first-degree criminal sexual conduct under Michigan law
23-5868 Nicky S. Keo v. Massachusetts Massachusetts 2023-10-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2nd-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-penalty due-process felony firearm-licensing licensing mandatory-minimum second-amendment self-defense Whether the imposition of a mandatory eighteen-month jail sentence on a first offender for what might well be an entirely innocent regulatory infracti…
23-5691 Ricardo Garcia, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-10-02 Denied Relisted (3)IFP circuit-split criminal-history due-process mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a defendant is ineligible for relief from a mandatory minimum sentence if his criminal history runs afoul of any one of the disqualifying crit…
23-5619 Jordan Winczuk v. United States First Circuit 2023-09-20 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-sentencing mandatory-minimum rule-of-lenity sentencing sexual-exploitation statutory-interpretation What is the proper definition of 'relating to the sexual exploitation of children' in 18 U.S.C. §2251(e)?
23-5627 Ronald Rene Deleon, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-09-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure mandatory-minimum plain-error revocation sentencing sentencing-procedure supervised-release Whether application of a mandatory minimum term of supervised release following a revocation amounts to plain error?
23-5419 Seth Williams v. United States Third Circuit 2023-08-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure due-process jurisdiction jurisdictional-authority mandatory-minimum rehaif-doctrine sentencing sentencing-modification Does the District Court have authority to change a sentence after 12 years?
23-5304 Jaquantious Hutchison v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-08-09 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-history federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction statutory-interpretation Whether the 'and' in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) is conjunctive or disjunctive
23-5298 Edgar Sandoval Catarino v. California California 2023-08-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure fourteenth-amendment jury-trial mandatory-minimum sentencing sixth-amendment Do the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments confer a right to a jury trial with respect to a fact that has the dual effect of (1) increasing the mandatory …
23-88 Jerry L. Brown v. United States Seventh Circuit 2023-07-31 Denied Response Waived circuit-split compassionate-release extraordinary-compelling-reasons first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence resentencing sentencing-commission sentencing-reduction Whether non-retroactive changes in law can be 'extraordinary and compelling reasons' warranting resentencing under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)
23-5149 Javier Escalera, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-07-20 Denied Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-history fifth-circuit mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a defendant is ineligible for relief from a mandatory minimum sentence if his criminal history runs afoul of any one of the disqualifying crit…
23-2 Gerald Spruell v. United States Third Circuit 2023-06-30 Denied Response Waived appellate-review conspiracy criminal-procedure drug-conspiracy drug-quantities evidence evidence-sufficiency jury-verdict mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict and drug quantities attributed to the con…
22-7650 Nolan Washington v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-05-26 Denied Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-procedure mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation supreme-court Whether the Fifth Circuit erred in its interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1)
22-7630 Daniel Nathaniel McCall v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-05-24 GVR Relisted (3)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach federal-drug-schedules federal-firearm-offense mandatory-minimum prior-state-drug-offense sentencing sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-offense Whether the 'serious drug offense' definition in the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) incorporates the federal drug schedules in effect at the time of…
22-7436 Chad Robert Kolkman v. United States Tenth Circuit 2023-05-02 Denied Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-history criminal-sentencing legal-interpretation mandatory-minimum sentencing statutory-construction statutory-interpretation statutory-text Whether the 'and' in 18 U.S.C. §3553(f)(1) means 'and' consistent with the ordinary meaning of the word, so that the person remains eligible unless th…
22-7303 Patrick Dewayne Smith v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-04-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP compassionate-release extraordinary-and-compelling extraordinary-circumstances federal-law-change first-step-act mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-minimum retroactivity sentencing-reduction sentencing-reform Whether non-retroactive changes in federal law can serve as 'extraordinary and compelling reasons' warranting a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3…
22-7059 Aaron M. Haynes v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-03-21 Denied Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-history-points criminal-justice federal-sentencing first-step-act mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation Whether the 'and' in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) means 'and' or 'or'
22-828 Roger E. Pace v. United States Seventh Circuit 2023-03-01 Denied Relisted (2) circuit-split criminal-history federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the 'and' in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) means 'and' or 'or' for safety-valve relief from mandatory-minimum sentences
22-6843 Edgar Barrera v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process federal-jurisdiction mandatory-minimum mens-rea non-elemental-facts plea-bargaining preponderance-standard sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether the Constitution permits a sentencing judge to find non-elemental facts by a preponderance of the evidence and then rely on those facts to imp…
22-6803 Mario C. Thomas v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-02-16 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-history criminal-history-points criminal-procedure federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the 'and' in 18 U.S.C. §3553(f)(1) means 'and' or 'or'
22-6682 Ricky Douglas Haynes, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-02-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-occasions due-process jury-trial mandatory-minimum non-elemental-facts sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a sentencing judge may rely on non-elemental facts to impose a mandatory-minimum under ACCA
22-6391 Nonami Palomares v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-12-23 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (3)IFP criminal-history drug-crimes drug-offense federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a defendant is ineligible for relief from a mandatory minimum sentence if her criminal history runs afoul of any one of the disqualifying crit…
22-6076 Joseph Rauber v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-11-16 Denied Relisted (3)IFP circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offenses mandatory-minimum safety-valve sentencing-statute statutory-interpretation Whether 'and' means 'and' for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1)
22-5902 Monica Rodriguez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-10-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 circuit-split controlled-substance drug-conspiracy mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement To prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, does the government need to est…
22-5836 Laquan Kyle Duane Shakespeare v. United States Tenth Circuit 2022-10-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3583k consecutive-sentences constitutional-challenge double-jeopardy due-process mandatory-minimum marks-doctrine marks-v-united-states sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation united-states-v-haymond Whether Mr. Shakespeare's five-year mandatory minimum revocation term of imprisonment is valid
22-340 Mark E. Pulsifer v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-10-12 Judgment Issued Amici (4)Relisted (3) circuit-conflict circuit-split criminal-history criminal-justice-reform first-step-act mandatory-minimum rule-of-lenity safety-valve sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the 'and' in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) means 'and' or 'or' for determining eligibility for the federal sentencing 'safety valve
22-5680 Wigberto Viera v. United States Second Circuit 2022-09-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP drug-sting due-process judicial-authority mandatory-minimum reverse-sting sentencing-manipulation separation-of-powers stash-house Whether the Court should recognize the defense of sentencing manipulation
22-5584 Emru Kebede v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2022-09-15 Denied IFP 8th-amendment age-discrimination due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences roper-v-simmons Do the decisions of this Court in Roper v. Simmons and Miller v. Alabama establish a fundamental right for offenders under 18 years of age as it relat…
22-5458 Kenneth Lainell Davis v. Florida Florida 2022-08-29 Denied IFP criminal-defendant criminal-procedure criminal-trial due-process eighth-amendment felony jury jury-composition juvenile-sentencing mandatory-minimum sixth-amendment Whether the Sixth Amendment requires a twelve-person jury to try a criminal defendant accused of a felony offense
22-5365 David Steve Elias v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-08-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure mandatory-minimum plain-error retroactivity rule-11 sentencing Was the District Court's admonishment that the 25-year mandatory minimum sentence applies to Count 4 a Rule 11(b)(1) error that rises to the level of …
22-5378 Robert Collazo, Lino Delgado-Vidaca, Julio Rodriguez, and Steven Amador v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-08-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-penalties drug-distribution due-process mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing Whether, to prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, the Government must sh…
22-5147 Ortavious Devon Wilson v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2022-07-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP almendarez-torres-v-united-states certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights criminal-procedure jury-trial mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing prison-releasee-reoffender sixth-amendment Whether the Petitioner's sentence violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial
22-5043 Romeo Valentin Sanchez v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-07-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-law enhanced-sentencing indecent-acts mandatory-minimum military-justice sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation uniform-code-of-military-justice whether the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals erred in relying upon a now-excised provision to trigger a mandatory minimum penalty under 18 U.S.C. § 2…
22-5023 Sam Jones, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-07-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process eleventh-circuit judicial-discretion less-culpable-defendant mandatory-minimum sentencing-entrapment supervisory-jurisdiction Whether the Eleventh Circuit erred in affirming the district court's denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal and a motion for new trial on ground…
21-8201 Judel Espinoza-Gonzalez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-22 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appellate-waiver constitutional-violation conviction-review criminal-procedure district-court-authority due-process jurisdictional-challenge mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentence sentencing unconstitutional-conviction Whether a court can summarily enforce an appellate waiver to bar motions to vacate convictions and mandatory prison sentences under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)…
21-7975 Amir Karim Beigali v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-05-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 924-c consecutive-sentences constitutional-interpretation criminal-sentencing double-jeopardy due-process fifth-amendment mandatory-minimum section-924c sixth-amendment supervised-release Whether the Fifth and Sixth Amendment prohibit a consecutive mandatory penalty under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(C)(i) when the second § 924(c) offense was …
21-7867 Jasper B. Mackey, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-05-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-sentencing due-process fourth-circuit government-discretion mandatory-minimum plea-agreement sentencing substantial-assistance Whether the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals erred in affirming the district court's judgment which did not depart below the mandatory mi…
21-7773 Eric Middlebrook v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-05-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP consecutive-sentences constitutional-challenge constitutional-law double-jeopardy drug-crimes drug-offense guideline-range mandatory-consecutive-term mandatory-minimum sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines Does punishing an individual with both a statutory penalty that requires a mandatory consecutive prison term and a Guideline Range enhancement for the…
21-7414 Gregory M. Hawes v. Michael Pacheco, Warden, et al. Tenth Circuit 2022-03-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-procedure due-process mandatory-minimum sentencing statutory-maximum Whether Patterson v. New York has been abrogated by Apprendi and Alleyne
21-7086 William L. Whitefield v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-02-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3582c1a 18-usc-924c compassionate-release criminal-law criminal-sentencing district-court-discretion extraordinary-and-compelling-reasons mandatory-minimum sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation Whether a district court may consider the 2018 amendment to the sentences mandated by 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) in determining whether a defendant has shown …
21-940 Kentucky v. Jared McCarthy Kentucky 2021-12-27 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived blood-test criminal-procedure due-process evidence evidence-admission fourth-amendment impaired-driving mandatory-minimum search-and-seizure Whether the Fourth Amendment prohibits the admission of a defendant's refusal of a blood test in an impaired-driving prosecution
21-6685 Christopher Dominguez v. United States Tenth Circuit 2021-12-21 Denied IFP criminal-procedure due-process ineffective-assistance-of-counsel informed-consent mandatory-minimum plea-agreement plea-bargaining prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-trial sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether Mr. Dominguez's decision to plead guilty was knowingly and intelligently made when he was grossly misinformed about the risks attendant to goi…
21-6592 Donald Stanley v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-12-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-statute mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums mens-rea ninth-circuit-precedent rehaif-v-united-states sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction statutory-interpretation Whether the knowingly mens rea in 21 U.S.C. § 841 applies to the elements of drug type and quantity that establish mandatory minimum and enhanced maxi…
21-6397 Viengxay Chantharath, aka OG v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-11-23 Denied IFP 18-usc-3582 circuit-split extraordinary-and-compelling-reasons extraordinary-reasons first-step-act mandatory-minimum retroactivity sentence-reduction sentencing-law Can a nonretroactive change in the sentencing law satisfy the 'extraordinary and compelling reasons' standard for a reduction in sentence under 18 U.S…
21-6332 Daeron Johnson Merrett, aka Reez v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-11-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeals-court-split buyer-seller-instruction circuit-split conspiracy-distribution controlled-substance drug-conspiracy federal-drug-offenses mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-felony issue-being-raised
21-6282 Tannous Fazah v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-15 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-sentencing drug-conspiracy due-process federal-sentencing mandatory-minimum misdemeanor-reclassification prior-conviction prior-convictions retroactive-reclassification sentence-enhancement Whether the sentence enhancements for prior felony drug convictions apply to state felony convictions that have been recalled and resentenced as misde…
21-6253 Baltazar Aguirre-Rivera v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-11-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment jury-trial mandatory-minimum sentencing sixth-amendment special-interrogatory When a jury's answer to a special interrogatory negates an element of the charged offense, must a district court enter a judgment of acquittal when th…
21-6010 Robert D. Sutton v. United States Seventh Circuit 2021-10-20 Denied Amici (1)IFP circuit-split compassionate-release criminal-justice criminal-sentencing judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums retroactivity sentence-reduction sentencing statutory-interpretation Can a district court consider a defendant's disproportionately long sentence under the earlier version of § 924(c) to find 'extraordinary and compelli…
21-5825 Raqib Abdul Al-Amin v. South Carolina South Carolina 2021-09-29 Denied IFP compulsory-process constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment drug-offense due-process eighth-amendment evidence expert-witness mandatory-minimum sentencing-guidelines Whether the South Carolina Supreme Court erred in concluding that the trial court's decision to exclude the testimony of the defendant's expert witnes…
21-347 Michael Jackson v. Donald Hudson, Warden Tenth Circuit 2021-09-03 Dismissed circuit-precedent federal-prisoner habeas-corpus mandatory-minimum saving-clause section-2255 statutory-maximum Whether a federal prisoner is entitled to bring a habeas claim under the saving clause of Section 2255(e) to challenge the unlawful application of a m…
21-5503 Eric Henry Woodberry and Bradford Marselas Johnson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-08-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute firearm-length firearms mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums mens-rea prosecutorial-burden sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(i) requires the government to prove that a defendant knew of the length of the firearm carried during the commission …
21-5480 Charles Bryant v. United States Second Circuit 2021-08-25 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP circuit-split crack-cocaine fair-sentencing-act first-step-act judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a judge may impose a new sentence 'as if' only the change to the crack thresholds applies, ignoring other legal changes that have altered the …
21-5302 Roosevelt Rico Dahda v. United States Tenth Circuit 2021-08-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states criminal-sentencing drug-quantity jury-determination mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence sixth-amendment statutory-maximum statutory-maximum-sentence Whether a finding on the issue of drug quantity that increases the statutory maximum sentence requires the jury to make an individualized determinatio…
21-5100 Matthew James Haymond, Sr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-07-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP crack-cocaine criminal-sentencing drug-offenses fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-minimum plea-bargaining retroactive-application sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation Whether Mr. Haymond was improperly denied First-Step-Act-relief
20-8354 Lewis Wesley Hickman, III v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-06-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-history criminal-procedure due-process evidence-challenge felony-conviction judicial-review mandatory-minimum plea-bargaining sentencing-disparities sentencing-enhancements sentencing-guidelines Whether the sentencing enhancements were properly applied
20-8383 Franklin Antonio Rios v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-06-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-history criminal-history-category drug-conspiracy firearm-charges first-step-act fourth-amendment mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences offense-level sentencing-guidelines Whether the district court erred in raising the petitioner's criminal-history-category and offense-level to achieve a comparable sentence after the Fi…
20-8330 Ilmane Charone Campas Strong v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-06-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause constitutional-law criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-jurisdiction firearms judicial-fact-finding mandatory-minimum sixth-amendment supervised-release Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) permits conviction for the possession of any ammunition that has ever crossed state lines at any time in the indefinite past…
20-8285 Enrique Hurtado v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-06-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP bank-robbery crime-of-violence federal-armed-bank-robbery hobbs-act hobbs-act-robbery mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences physical-force statutory-interpretation Whether the Circuits have interpreted the actus reus of Hobbs Act robbery too narrowly by requiring violent physical force as an element of the offens…
20-8217 Donald R. Turner, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-06-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-claim due-process fifth-amendment ineffective-assistance just-compensation mandatory-minimum private-property procedural-error sentencing-enhancement takings Whether the government's seizure of private property without just compensation violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment
20-8039 Matthew J. O'Neal v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-05-17 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP child-pornography criminal-law eighth-amendment mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-enhancement sexual-abuse statutory-interpretation Whether the Sixth Circuit erred by expanding the scope of the 'relating to' language in 18 U.S.C. §2252A(b)(2) to include conduct under a state statut…
20-1586 Artavis Desmond McGowan v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-14 Denied Response Waived conspiracy constructive-amendment criminal-procedure drug-conviction evidence first-step-act mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-relief wiretap wiretap-evidence Whether the district court erred in denying the defendant's motion for a new trial based on a constructive amendment of the indictment
20-7851 Luis Noel Cruz, aka Noel v. United States Second Circuit 2021-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment contemporary-standards-of-decency criminal-procedure due-process individualized-sentencing juvenile-sentencing legislative-trends life-sentence mandatory-minimum miller-rule sentencing-discretion Should the protections of Miller v. Alabama be extended to 18-year-olds?
20-7575 In Re Ivory Lee Robinson 2021-03-26 Denied IFP 14th-amendment 5th-amendment due-process equal-protection mandatory-minimum sentencing Whether the mandatory minimum sentence of 45 years imposed on Petitioner violates his rights to due process and equal protection under the 5th and 14t…
20-7581 Michael Hernandez v. Florida Florida 2021-03-26 Denied IFP constitutional-rights fact-finding first-amendment judicial-discretion juvenile-sentencing life-sentence mandatory-minimum sentencing-factors sixth-amendment trial-judge Whether Florida's juvenile sentencing statute violates the Sixth Amendment
20-7465 Johnny Andres Asuncion, III v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-03-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP carachuri-rosendo-v-holder criminal-sentencing felony-drug-offense mandatory-minimum ninth-circuit-precedent predicate-offense recidivism sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the Ninth Circuit ruling is inconsistent with prior rulings and ignores Supreme Court precedent
20-7405 Jorge Rangel v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-03-10 Denied Relisted (2)IFP direct-appeal drug-cases first-step-act mandatory-minimum plain-error rehaif Does the First-Step-Act apply to defendants on direct-appeal?
20-7296 Dane Schrank v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-03-02 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP appellate-procedure due-process federal-rules-of-appellate-procedure judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum oral-argument reasoned-decision sentencing-guidelines standing Must Circuit Courts provide reasoned decisions to deny parties oral argument under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34(a)(2)?
20-7253 Nancy Cole v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-25 Denied IFP constitutional-limits criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-statutes due-process fifth-amendment mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation strict-liability Whether the knowingly mens rea in the federal drug statutes applies to the elements of drug type and quantity
20-7024 Randy Macario Ancheta v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924c certificate-of-appealability circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-sentencing due-process hobbs-act mandatory-minimum statutory-interpretation Whether Hobbs Act robbery qualifies as a 'crime of violence' under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A)
20-6943 Ronald Lewis Coleman, Jr. v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-01-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3582 circuit-split compassionate-release criminal-sentencing extraordinary-and-compelling-reasons first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences sentence-reduction sentencing Whether the changes in applicable mandatory minimum sentences worked by the First Step Act can provide extraordinary and compelling reasons to support…
20-6910 El-Asad Alsaedi v. Florida Florida 2021-01-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-procedure civil-rights criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection federal-jurisdiction judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum sentencing-authority sentencing-guidelines standing statutory-interpretation Whether the Eleventh Circuit erred in dismissing Petitioner's civil rights claims against Defendant for lack of standing
20-6870 Antonio Harris v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-01-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP crack-cocaine criminal-justice-reform first-step-act judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums retroactive-sentencing sentence-reduction sentencing-guidelines Can federal judges ignore the current United States Sentencing Guidelines calculation when considering whether to reduce a sentence for a 'covered off…
20-6832 Shannon Keith Harris v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-01-11 Denied IFP cocaine-sentencing criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums resentencing retroactivity sentencing-guidelines Whether district courts are required to apply the current, legally correct Sentencing Guideline range or the old Sentencing Guideline range that appli…
20-6571 Antonio W. Smith v. M. Brecken, Warden Fourth Circuit 2020-12-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 career-offender habeas-corpus judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum miscarriage-of-justice sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Did the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court err by not hearing Petitioner's 28 U.S.C. §2241 petition on the merits
20-5887 Charles Kunta Lewis, Jr. v. Michigan Michigan 2020-10-02 Denied IFP age-consideration brain-development constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment individualized-sentencing juvenile-offender juvenile-sentencing mandatory-minimum sentencing Whether the sentence given to Mr. Lewis was unconstitutional because it violated the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when his youthfu…
20-5407 Dominique Mack v. United States Second Circuit 2020-08-19 Denied Relisted (4)IFP confrontation-clause criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process evidence jailhouse-informant mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing plain-error sentencing statements-against-interest Whether the district court's admission of jailhouse informant testimony violated this Court's jurisprudence on statements against interest
20-5349 In Re Daryl L. Zimmer 2020-08-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-counsel due-process equal-protection ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum plea-agreement plea-bargain sentencing-guidelines Did the trial court deny the petitioner due process and equal protection rights by disregarding the plea agreement and imposing a mandatory minimum se…
20-5264 Lakento Brian Smith v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-08-05 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP crack-cocaine criminal-sentencing first-step-act guideline-range mandatory-minimum post-sentencing-conduct resentencing sentence-reduction sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation Should the district court have held a hearing to consider petitioner's post-sentencing conduct and any other arguments before ruling on the motion?
20-5041 Justin L. Sain v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-07-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-standard Alleyne-v-United-States burden-of-proof criminal-sentencing drug-statute federal-drug-statute mandatory-minimum Mullaney-v-Wilbur safety-valve Whether the government, instead of the individual, is required to prove at least one safety-valve fact beyond a reasonable doubt pursuant to Alleyne-v…
20-5015 James Latron Sumter v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-07-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment first-step-act guilty-plea mandatory-minimum plea-bargaining sentencing Whether the appellate court erred in affirming the district court's ruling not allowing Sumter to withdraw his guilty plea
19-1365 Ramon Hueso v. J. A. Barnhart, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-06-12 Denied Relisted (2) 28-usc-2255 circuit-law circuit-split federal-prisoner habeas-corpus mandatory-minimum post-conviction-relief retroactivity savings-clause sentence-enhancement sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether an individual serving a wrongfully enhanced sentence is barred from obtaining relief solely because the wrongfulness of the sentence was estab…
19-8694 Joseph D. Rouse v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-06-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-851 appeal-waiver appellate-review due-process mandatory-minimum notice-requirement plea-agreement sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Does the express language of 21 U.S.C. § 851 require prior written notice of the particular conviction the government seeks to use to enhance a mandat…
19-8645 Joe Cephus Ross v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-06-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP child-pornography due-process mandatory-minimum prosecutorial-discretion sentencing separation-of-powers statutory-interpretation void-for-vagueness Does 18 U.S.C. § 2252A violate the Due Process Clause and the void-for-vagueness doctrine?
19-8474 Brittany Dawn Thomas v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-05-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(e) 18-USC-3553e criminal-procedure district-court judicial-authority mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-discretion separation-of-powers statutory-interpretation Does a district court's inability to depart below a mandatory minimum under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e), for any factor other than defendant's substantial ass…
19-8469 Viengxay Chantharath v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-05-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-851 career-offender collateral-review criminal-procedure drug-convictions first-step-act mandatory-minimum retroactive-application sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether the First Step Act (FSA-2018) altered the statutes: 21 U.S.C. § 851 enhancement for prior drug convictions
19-8445 Freddie Lee Curry, aka King of da Hood, aka Rat v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-05-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 alleyne alleyne-ruling criminal-procedure drug-quantity fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-minimum sentence-reduction sentencing statutory-interpretation Did the District Court abused its discretion when it failed to to apply Alleyne to Appellant's sentence reduction under Section 404(b) of the First St…
19-8034 Whitney Atkinson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-03-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP crack-cocaine drug-offense fair-sentencing-act first-step-act mandatory-minimum retroactive-application sentence-enhancement statutory-interpretation Did Mr. Atkinson receive a sentence for a covered drug offense, such that he should be eligible for retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act…
19-8036 Odis Lee Jackson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-03-18 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP criminal-justice-reform criminal-resentencing district-court-procedure due-process federal-jurisdiction first-step-act judicial-review mandatory-minimum post-sentencing-conduct sentencing sentencing-modification sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation What procedures does Section 404 of the First Step Act require a district court to follow when conducting its statutorily required 'complete review of…
19-8013 Keith Alexander v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2020-03-17 Denied IFP criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-ineffective-assistance-of-couns criminal-sentencing due-process federal-appellate-review firearms ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-interpretation mandatory-minimum mental-capacity sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction whether-the-court-erred-by-denying-defendant's-petition-for-writ-of-coram-nobis
19-8005 Harrison Garcia v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-03-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing direct-appeal edwards-v-arizona first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums right-to-counsel sentencing sentencing-retroactivity statutory-interpretation Whether Section 403 of the First Step Act of 2018 applies where Petitioner's sentence is not final and he would no longer be subject to multiple, mand…
19-7951 Rashad Taylor v. Florida Florida 2020-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment juvenile-offender juvenile-sentencing mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence miller-v-alabama Whether the imposition of a mandatory 40-year sentence on a juvenile convicted of homicide violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments' prohibition …
19-7878 Joseph Ramon Santillan v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-03-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP conviction-classification criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense drug-offenses due-process equal-protection federal-sentencing felony-conviction mandatory-minimum misdemeanor-conviction sentencing sentencing-enhancement state-federal-interaction state-federal-law statutory-interpretation Did defendant's State of California marijuana conviction constitute a 'prior conviction for a felony drug offense,' increasing defendant's mandatory m…
19-7760 Jeremy Achey v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-02-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substance-analogue criminal-sentencing drug-conspiracy due-process federal-drug-law mandatory-minimum sentencing statutory-interpretation statutory-penalties Whether the government must prove that a defendant conspired to distribute the specific controlled substance analogues charged in the indictment
19-7298 James Lee Bell v. Florida Florida 2020-01-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP apprendi-precedent blakely-rule criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion jury jury-trial mandatory-minimum recidivism recidivist-treatment sentencing sentencing-enhancement Was the limitation of Almendarez-Torres and the dictates of Apprendi and Blakely violated?
19-7217 Rickey Thompson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-01-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP crime-of-violence criminal-law criminal-sentencing due-process elements-clause firearms johnson-davis-doctrine johnson-v-united-states mandatory-minimum second-degree-murder statutory-interpretation united-states-v-davis vagueness vagueness-doctrine Whether the residual clause of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(8) is unconstitutionally vague
19-7021 Otis Hunter and Deshawn Evans v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-12-19 Denied IFP bias confrontation-clause criminal-procedure cross-examination jury-instructions jury-nullification mandatory-minimum nullification sentencing sixth-amendment witness-cooperation Whether the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause is violated
19-6865 Delante L. Lunn v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-12-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP but-for-causation but-for-test causation criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-distribution drug-offenses drug-overdose mandatory-minimum overdose-causation sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether the but-for test in Burrage v. United States should be re-evaluated for mixed drug overdoses that result in death where no drug distributed by…
19-6774 Albert Allen, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-11-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-appeal due-process fair-sentencing-act ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum mens-rea prosecutorial-misconduct sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether the Court of Appeals Erred in Denying Petitioner's Application for a Certificate of Appealability
19-6420 Christopher Mark Heath v. United States Third Circuit 2019-10-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy conspiracy-law criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking firearm-possession firearms mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether the mere presence of a firearm at the scene of a drug trafficking offense constitutes possession of the firearm 'in furtherance of' the conspi…
19-6389 Quincy Dennis v. J. A. Terris, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-10-25 Denied IFP 28-usc-2255 categorical-approach drug-offense federal-procedure habeas-corpus habeas-corpus-relief-28-usc-2241 intervening-change mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence presidential-commutation presidential-pardon retroactive-application retroactively-applicable-decision sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction statutory-interpretation Whether petitioner Dennis is entitled to seek federal habeas corpus relief
19-6363 David Pearson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-10-24 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appeal-rights armed-career-criminal armed-career-criminal-act categorical-analysis drug-offense drug-offenses ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum plea-agreement sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-maximum Did the court of appeals erroneously dispense with the requisite categorical analysis of predicate prior convictions?
19-6372 Kelby Germaine Parson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-10-24 Denied IFP appellate-review certificate-of-appealability circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute due-process firearm-offense firearms mandatory-minimum statutory-interpretation statutory-vagueness vagueness Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is unconstitutionally vague
19-6328 Antonio Leonard Brown v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-10-22 Denied Relisted (2)IFP civil-rights constitutional-violation criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process equal-protection federalism habeas-corpus jurisdictional-issue jury-selection mandatory-minimum state-criminal-procedure Whether the same conduct can constitute both a state constitutional violation and a United States Constitutional violation
19-6230 Claudius L. Fincher v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-10-09 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP criminal-procedure due-process factual-question jury-determination jury-trial mandatory-minimum safety-valve safetyvalve-statute sentencing sixth-amendment Does the district court's resolution of a contested factual question under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) (safety-valve statute) for the purpose of determining w…
19-6115 Jose Manuel Aguirre-Ganceda v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP actual-innocence collateral-attack criminal-justice criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-conviction due-process federal-law federal-state-comity mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-minimum prior-convictions sentencing sentencing-enhancement state-court-reduction state-law Whether a defendant is actually innocent of a mandatory life sentence once a prior state drug conviction relied upon by the District Court is set asid…
19-6019 Marco Antonio Murillo v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process federal-defendants indictment indictment-right mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing sentencing sentencing-enhancement united-states-v-haymond Whether federal defendants enjoy the right to indictment as to some facts that alter the likely sentence within a mandatory range of punishment?
19-6005 Robert L. Malone v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-09-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-history drug-quantity due-process jury-instructions mandatory-minimum methamphetamine-distribution prosecutorial-discretion sentencing sentencing-guidelines supervisory-power Did the lower courts err when they imposed and affirmed Mr. Malone's sentence based on overreliance on his Criminal-History?
19-5996 Michael J. W. Potter v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-09-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment life-imprisonment mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing sentencing Whether entry of a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment violated Appellant's rights under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
19-5913 Sammie Lee Smith, IV v. Florida Florida 2019-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-crime aggravated-offense alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey constitutional-law criminal-charging criminal-procedure due-process jury-determination jury-trial mandatory-minimum sentencing sexual-felony Whether the facts triggering a mandatory minimum sentence under Florida's Dangerous Sexual Felony Offender Act, § 794.0115, Fla. Stat. (2016), togethe…
19-5871 Patrick Jones v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-09-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP attempt controlled-substance controlled-substances federal-crime federal-law guidelines-interpretation mandatory-minimum offer-to-sell preparatory-action sentencing-commission sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation substantial-step tenth-circuit-precedent Did the district court err in increasing the defendant's sentence based on the Guidelines definition of 'controlled substance offense'?
19-5889 Jonathan Torres-Arroyo v. New Jersey New Jersey 2019-09-10 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP alleyne-precedent alleyne-v-united-states criminal-procedure judicial-findings jury-trial mandatory-minimum ring-v-arizona sentencing sentencing-court state-v-kiriakakis Did the New Jersey Courts make an invalid distinction from Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013), in holding that the defendant's right to a ju…
19-5641 David Anthony Gordon v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver due-process government-breach judicial-assignment judicial-procedure mandatory-minimum plea-agreement safety-valve sentencing sentencing-discretion Whether the Eleventh Circuit erroneously dismissed portions of the appeal based on an invalid plea agreement waiver
19-5622 Cairo Lopez, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment booker cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process executive-power mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences sentencing separation-of-powers standing Whether combining in the Executive Branch the power to charge and the power to control sentences in statutory mandatory minimum cases violates the Fif…
19-109 Giovanni Montijo-Dominguez v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-07-25 Denied Amici (2) 18-usc-3553 circuit-split criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking fact-finding judicial-discretion jury-findings jury-verdict mandatory-minimum preponderance-of-evidence sentencing-discretion standard-of-proof Whether a district court's findings of fact under 18 U.S.C. 3553(f) are constrained by the findings of fact implied by the jury's verdict
19-5112 Rafael Jacob Stoffel v. Florida Florida 2019-07-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment juvenile-victim mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence sentencing sentencing-guidelines sexual-assault sexual-offense sexual-offenses Whether a minimum mandatory sentence of twenty-five years' imprisonment imposed for the offense of touching a minor's breast violates the prohibition …
19-5102 Dan Pizaro v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-07-08 Denied IFP criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense drug-offenses due-process federal-sentencing first-step-act mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums sentencing-reduction statutory-interpretation supreme-court supreme-court-precedent Whether the life sentence imposed on 21 U.S.C. § 846 and § 841(a)(1) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) and § 851 must be reduced to twenty-five (25…
18-1572 Matthew D. Priset v. Pennsylvania Third Circuit 2019-06-25 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) 8th-amendment constitutional-law criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment life-sentence mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence mental-illness sentencing Does a mandatory minimum life sentence for one convicted under the guilty-but-mentally-ill designation constitute cruel and unusual punishment?
18-9615 Shawn Russell Sorensen v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-06-12 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appeal conflict-among-courts-of-appeals drug-felony drug-felony-offenses drug-offenses eighth-amendment first-step-act mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-enhancement simple-possession Whether petitioner's prior simple possession drug convictions under Arizona and South Dakota state law qualify as 'prior drug felony offenses' under 2…
18-9549 Mauricio Lucas-Lopez v. Tony Trierweiler, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-06-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law cruel-and-unusual-punishment disproportionate-sentence eighth-amendment federal-court-decisions federal-courts guidance-needed mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence proportionality sentencing sentencing-guidelines Is petitioner's twenty-five year mandatory minimum sentence disproportionate to the offense committed violating the Eighth Amendment prohibition again…
18-9495 Jason Jones v. Martha Underwood, Warden Fifth Circuit 2019-05-31 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 28-usc-2241 28-usc-2255 federal-habeas-corpus federal-jurisdiction federal-statute habeas-corpus ineffective-remedy intervening-decision mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence post-conviction-relief retroactive-application retroactivity sentencing statutory-construction Whether petitioner is entitled to seek federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241
18-9070 Gabriel Urzua Sanchez v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-05-03 Denied IFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure direct-appeal district-court fifth-amendment first-step-act mandatory-minimum privilege sentencing witness-testimony Whether the district court abused its discretion in failing to properly determine that Mr. Sanchez's proposed witnesses had a valid Fifth Amendment pr…
18-9019 Lony Tap Gatwas v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-04-29 Denied IFP aggravated-identity-theft circuit-split criminal-law felony mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentence mandatory-sentencing rule-of-lenity statutory-interpretation Whether the Eighth Circuit erred in interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 1028A's prohibition on the 'use' of another's identity without lawful authority
18-8948 Angel Morales De-Jesus v. United States First Circuit 2019-04-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment 6th-amendment conspiracy due-process leadership-enhancement mandatory-minimum sentencing sixth-amendment Whether the court erroneously applied a four-level leadership enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a) in violation of Morales-De Jesus' Fifth and Sixth …
18-8892 Carlos Hernandez Machin v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-18 Denied IFP appellate-review certificate-of-appealability circuit-split constitutional-vagueness criminal-law criminal-statute due-process mandatory-minimum residual-clause samuel-johnson sessions-v-dimaya statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent vagueness Whether the Eleventh Circuit's denial of a certificate of appealability is in conflict with this Court's precedent when reasonable jurists are current…
18-8900 Juan Garcia Herrera v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-04-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states almendarez-torres-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process judicial-factfinding jury-trial mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence prior-conviction sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether the enhanced-penalty provisions of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b) and 851 that require judicial factfinding about a prior conviction to increase the mand…
18-8821 Sealed Appellant v. Sealed Appellee Fifth Circuit 2019-04-15 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-3582 18-usc-3582c2 5k1.1-motion criminal-sentencing judicial-discretion koons-v-united-states mandatory-minimum sentence-reduction sentencing-commission sentencing-guidelines substantial-assistance Can a defendant receive a 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) sentence reduction when the district court discarded the mandatory minimum because of a substantial-a…
18-8792 Mario Devant Cheers v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-04-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-robbery career-offender constitutional-law criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process fifth-circuit-precedent mandatory-guidelines mandatory-minimum residual-clause sentencing sentencing-guidelines vagueness vagueness-doctrine Whether the Fifth Circuit misapplied Beckles to Mr. Cheers's pre-Booker sentence in light of Supreme Court precedent
18-8737 Mario Bachiller v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-09 GVR IFP categorical-approach certificate-of-appealability constitutional-vagueness criminal-law criminal-law-procedure due-process eleventh-circuit johnson-retroactivity mandatory-minimum residual-clause retroactivity section-924c vagueness vagueness-doctrine Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)'s residual clause is unconstitutionally vague under Johnson v. United States
18-8472 James Allen Eapmon v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-03-19 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP constitutional-law criminal-procedure due-process first-step-act life-imprisonment mandatory-minimum sentencing statutory-interpretation whether-the-petitioner-was-denied-due-process
18-8224 Antonio Dickerson, aka Girbaud v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-01 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP child-pornography constitutional-challenge fifth-amendment first-amendment mandatory-minimum mens-rea strict-liability Whether the child pornography offense set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) should be interpreted as including at least a recklessly mens rea element regar…
18-8205 Elamin Bashir v. United States Third Circuit 2019-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process individualized-jury-finding jury-finding jury-instructions mandatory-minimum sentencing Whether the mandatory minimum sentence was improperly imposed for drug-trafficking conspiracy, because individualized jury finding as to quantity of d…
18-8044 Lois Brooks v. United States Second Circuit 2019-02-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure government-rights judicial-integrity judicial-proceedings mandatory-minimum plain-error sentencing sentencing-error substantial-rights Does the government have 'substantial rights' such that actions taken in derogation of them may constitute 'plain error' under Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 52(b…
18-8055 Kevin Ventura v. United States Second Circuit 2019-02-21 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-924c apprendi apprendi-v-new-jersey apprendi-violation circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process jury-consideration jury-instructions jury-trial mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Is Mr. Ventura is serving two life sentences imposed in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey?
18-7920 Harold A. Habeck, II v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-02-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP consecutive-sentences criminal-procedure criminal-procedure,sentencing,mandatory-minimums,d criminal-sentencing discretion drug-offense drug-offenses firearms mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums predicate-crime sentencing-discretion statutory-interpretation Whether the district court has discretion to consider less than the mandatory sixty month consecutive sentence for a predicate drug offense under 21 U…
18-7860 Timothy L. Barnes v. Michigan Michigan 2019-02-08 Denied IFP collateral-review constitutional-law criminal-procedure due-process fourteenth-amendment jury-finding mandatory-minimum retroactivity sixth-amendment substantive-rule watershed-rule Does the Alleyne rule apply retroactively on collateral review?
18-7818 Marcos Castaneda v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-02-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states criminal-procedure drug-offense due-process judicial-finding jury-trial mandatory-minimum preponderance-of-evidence preponderance-of-the-evidence sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether a district court commits procedural error by basing its sentencing guideline calculation on a discretionary judicial finding by a preponderanc…
18-7767 Joshua Sanchez v. Texas Texas 2019-02-05 Denied IFP constitutional-interpretation court-of-appeals due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence supreme-court-precedent supreme-court-precedents texas-court-of-appeals Whether the interpretation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments by the Texas Court of Appeals is in conflict with preceden…
18-7745 Alrick A. Evans v. Connecticut Connecticut 2019-02-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP affirmative-defense alleyne-precedent criminal-statute element jury-determination mandatory-minimum sixth-amendment united-states-v-alleyne Whether a state court may interpret a criminal statute so that a fact that triggers a mandatory minimum is termed an 'affirmative defenses' rather tha…
18-7623 James Goolsby v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-01-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3582-c-2 appellate-procedure dillion-v-united-states exceptional-circumstances judicial-discretion mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing misapplication-of-guidelines miscarriage-of-justice official-victim-enhancement recall-of-mandate retroactive-amendment sentencing-guidelines Whether the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals abused its discretion in refusing to recall the mandate on the direct appeal to prevent a miscarriage of j…
18-7587 Biven Hudson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 11th-circuit 28-usc-2255 certificate-of-appealability district-court eleventh-circuit magistrate-court mandatory-minimum minimum-mandatory-enhancement reasonable-jurists sentencing-enhancement sentencing-review Whether the appellate court erred in denying Mr. Hudson's motion for certificate of appealability
18-7496 Nemiah Allan v. Connecticut Connecticut 2019-01-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP affirmative-defense alleyne-precedent criminal-statute element jury-determination mandatory-minimum sixth-amendment united-states-v-alleyne Whether a state court may interpret a criminal statute so that a fact that triggers a mandatory minimum is termed an 'affirmative defenses' rather tha…
18-7417 Omari Robinson v. Illinois Illinois 2019-01-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2nd-amendment 8th-amendment constitutional-challenge criminal-law criminal-sentencing due-process illinois illinois-law mandatory-minimum sentencing statutory-vagueness vagueness weapon-enhancement Is the mandatory 25-year-to-life weapon enhancement imposed by Illinois courts unconstitutionally vague?
18-7351 Rahmad Lashad Geddes v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-01-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne appellate-review apprendi civil-rights criminal-procedure due-process ex-post-facto habeas-corpus mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-guidelines sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent Can a court of appeals sanction a lower court's departure from this court's well-established precedents that effectively conflates the standard of rev…
18-7340 Eric Dillon v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-01-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split consecutive-sentences criminal-law criminal-procedure-sentencing due-process federal-statute mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation united-states-v-battle Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) requires a minimum 10-year consecutive sentence
18-7098 Amos Junior Scott v. Heriberto H. Tellez, Acting Warden Ninth Circuit 2018-12-20 Denied IFP 28-usc-2241 28-usc-2255 federal-habeas-corpus federal-statute habeas-corpus inadequate-or-ineffective ineffective-assistance ineffective-remedy mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence nonexistent-prior-conviction prior-conviction sentencing-enhancement Whether Petitioner is Entitled to Seek Federal Habeas Corpus Relief Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, From an Erroneous Mandatory Minimum Sentence, That Was Bas…
18-7032 Reginald L. Lomax v. United States Third Circuit 2018-12-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act controlled-substances criminal-law drug-offense federal-drug-law federal-preemption mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences state-criminal-law statutory-interpretation Whether a state statute criminalizing possession of 'counterfeit' controlled substances qualifies as a 'serious drug offense' under the Armed Career C…
18-7000 Luis Rolando Bueno Jimenez v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-12 Denied IFP 18-usc-3553(f) circuit-split criminal-law drug-enforcement mandatory-minimum maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act maritime-law safety-valve sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a defendant convicted of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act is eligible for relief from a mandatory minimum sentence under the 's…
18-6801 Van McDuffy v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-11-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP accidental-killing bank-robbery criminal-law criminal-statute felony-murder intent mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation What intent, if any, beyond the intent to commit bank robbery, is required to sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(e), which imposes a mandator…
18-6737 Jose Lopez-Castillo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-11-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP booker booker-decision constitutional-law criminal-law criminal-procedure federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guidelines judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent title-21 Whether the mandatory-sentencing regime of Title 21 has been abrogated by United States v. Booker and its progeny
18-614 In Re George Houston 2018-11-09 Denied alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey collateral-review conspiracy conspiracy-liability criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-quantity jurisdictional-error mandatory-minimum retroactivity sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether the individualized drug quantity or the amount of drugs attributable to the conspiracy as a whole can trigger the mandatory minimum sentence f…
18-6472 James Gibson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP almendarez-torres criminal-procedure drug-offenses jury-trial mandatory-minimum prior-convictions reasonable-doubt recidivism sentencing sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Whether the Petitioner's sentence violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial
18-6482 Roger Alfred Anchundia-Espinoza v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-10-29 Denied IFP 18-usc-3553(f) criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-enforcement mandatory-minimum maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act maritime-law safety-valve sentencing statutory-interpretation statutory-safety-valve united-states-v-mosquera-murillo Whether a criminal defendant convicted of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, 46 U.S.C. § 70501 et seq., and subject to a mandatory minim…
18-6358 Alj Hilton v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP and Are Plain and Affect Petitioner's Substantial -and-Are-Plain-and-Affect-Petitioner's-Substantial 18-usc-3661 5th-amendment appeal-waiver appeal-waiver,sentencing-guidelines,criminal-histo criminal-history criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum plain-error sentencing-guidelines substantial-rights trial-court-error Whether the mandatory five-year minimum sentence u Whether Petitioner's Appeal Waiver Is Inapplicable to Issues of Trial Court Error in Applying Sentencing Guidelines' Enhancements or in Calculating Cr…
18-6359 Uriel Gomez-Saavedra v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-10-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3661-3553 5th-amendment 5th-circuit-law constitutional-challenge criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion mandatory-minimum sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent Whether the mandatory five-year minimum sentence under which Mr. Gomez-Saavedra was sentenced is unconstitutional and contravenes 18 U.S.C. 3661 and 3…
18-6169 Tracy L. Johnson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-10-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 924(c)-statute conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure double-jeopardy drug-conspiracy drug-crimes due-process firearm-possession informant-testimony law-enforcement-conduct mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether a defendant should be subject to a mandatory 25 year consecutive 924(c) sentence for the same drug Conspiracy
18-6212 Thomas Burgess v. Nicole English, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-03 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 28-usc-2255e amendment-782 criminal-procedure intervening-arrest mandatory-minimum miscarriage-of-justice precedent-change savings-clause sentencing sentencing-modification sentencing-relief-28-usc-2255e Whether a defendant can seek relief under the savings clause of 28 U.S.C. § 2255(e) when the court of appeals changes its binding precedent to what th…
18-6162 Lyanne Lemeunier-Fitzgerald v. Maine Maine 2018-10-02 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 4th-amendment 5th-amendment blood-test civil-rights consent-coercion criminal-penalties due-process implied-consent mandatory-minimum sentencing-enhancement warrantless-search Does a motorist voluntarily consent to a warrantless blood draw if she has been warned that refusal to submit will result in a mandatory minimum perio…
18-374 Wuilson Estuardo Lemus Castillo v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-09-21 Denied 18-usc-3553(f) 21-usc-960 circuit-split criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-enforcement mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentences maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act safety-valve sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether a criminal defendant convicted of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act is eligible for relief from a mandatory minimum sentence und…
18-5992 Amilcar C. Butler v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-09-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP amendment-782 commutation criminal-resentencing criminal-sentencing executive-branch executive-commutation judicial-branch judicial-discretion judicial-executive-branch-interaction mandatory-minimum sentencing-guidelines Does Butler's statutory mandatory minimum sentence initially imposed by the judicial branch and later commuted by the executive branch bar him from se…
18-5770 John Denton Rouse, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-08-28 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP but no text of a SCOTUS petition was provided in I cannot generate a question presented or identif please include the full text of the petition. chapman-v-united-states criminal-procedure drug-quantity due-process mandatory-minimum market-oriented-approach sentencing statutory-interpretation Whether the government may commingle substances that pose an identifiable danger of misidentification to produce an aggregate mixture or substance con…
18-5680 Reginald McGee v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-08-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-assault armed-career-criminal armed-career-criminal-act commerce-clause criminal-procedure indictment mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence plea-colloquy sentencing-enhancement violent-felony Whether the defendant's prior conviction for aggravated assault qualifies as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act
18-5663 Curtis Lee Dale v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-08-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-precedent alleyne-v-united-states criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-sentencing,mandatory-minimum,ju drug-quantity due-process eighth-circuit-error fourth-amendment,search-and-seizure,drug-sniffing- fourth-amendment,search-and-seizure,reasonable-exp jury-findings jury-rejection mandatory-minimum sentencing sentencing-enhancement Did the U.S. Court of Appeals For The Eighth Circuit err when it increased the Defendant's mandatory minimum sentence on the basis of a drug quantity …
18-188 Ivy T. Tucker v. United States Seventh Circuit 2018-08-10 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) circuit-split constitutional-deficiency constitutional-law criminal-procedure ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum offense-of-conviction out-of-circuit-precedent procedural-default sentencing sentencing-guidelines trial-counsel Whether trial counsel's failure to make an argument that courts of appeals outside the circuit have accepted amounts to constitutionally deficient ass…
18-5384 Wendell Rivera-Ruperto v. United States First Circuit 2018-07-30 Denied IFP 8th-amendment due-process due-process-clause eighth-amendment government-manipulation mandatory-life-sentence mandatory-minimum sentencing-enhancement sentencing-enhancements statutory-manipulation sting-operation sting-operations Whether the Eighth Amendment forbids the creation of a de-facto mandatory life without parole sentence through stacking 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) charges
18-5214 David R. McGinley v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2018-07-11 Denied IFP collateral-review constitutional-error constitutional-law due-process ex-post-facto mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentencing new-substantive-rules retroactive-application retroactivity substantive-rules supreme-court-holdings Whether the state courts erred in not declaring the unconstitutional mandatory minimum sentencing statute retroactively applicable to cases on collate…
18-5112 Benjamin Fredrick Charles Robinson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-07-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP base-offense-level criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing dismissed-count due-process mandatory-minimum restitution sentencing-guidelines statutory-minimum upward-departure Whether a four-level upward departure for conduct underlying a dismissed count is reasonable when the conduct was already accounted for in the base of…