sentencing-review

142 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6790 Diego Castillo-Pedraza v. United States Third Circuit 2026-02-11 Pending IFP appellate-decision circuit-court-review evidence-rule-404b judicial-procedure legal-standard sentencing-review 1. Was the Third Circuit decision to affirm the District Court's 404(b) Ruling and sentencing correct?
25A848 Mohamed Ahmed Hassan v. United States Ninth Circuit 2026-01-23 Application case-load criminal-conviction federal-defenders ninth-circuit sentencing-review writ-of-certiorari Question not identified.
25A826 Marco Antonio Naranjo-Aguilar v. United States Tenth Circuit 2026-01-20 Application court-of-appeals criminal-procedure federal-conviction procedural-challenge sentencing-review tenth-circuit Question not identified.
25-5896 Shawn Travis Paschal v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-10-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure imprisonment reasonableness-standard sentencing-review supervised-release Whether sentences of imprisonment following the revocation of supervised release should be reviewed for reasonableness or plain unreasonableness?
25-5877 Samson Diamonte Xavior Smith v. United States Eighth Circuit 2025-10-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure harmless-error non-elemental-facts presentence-report sentencing-review shepard-documents Whether a reviewing court may properly rely on non-elemental facts in presentence reports and Shepard documents when conducting harmless-error review …
25-5504 Justin Everett Kessler v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-08-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-conditions district-court-discretion lifetime-supervision sentencing-review supervised-release vagueness-doctrine I. Did the District Court Abuse Its Discretion by Imposing an Unconstitutionally Vague and Overbroad "Loitering" Supervised Release Condition? II. Di…
25-5149 Jerrell Sims v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-07-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure imprisonment reasonableness sentencing-review supervised-release Whether sentences of imprisonment following the revocation of supervised release should be reviewed for reasonableness or plain unreasonableness?
24-7316 Miguel Yepson-Cortez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-05-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily requires the court of appeals to reweigh the sentencing factors?
24-6726 Jason Krumback v. Amber Pirraglia, Acting Warden, et al. Eighth Circuit 2025-03-10 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (3)IFP court-jurisdiction habeas-corpus innocence-claim procedural-default sentencing-review witness-testimony Whether a pro se petitioner can challenge multiple procedural aspects of a habeas corpus petition and court proceedings
24-6663 Darrell Turner v. United States Seventh Circuit 2025-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-right fifth-amendment habeas-corpus sentencing-review statutory-interpretation vacatur Does a defendant meet the 'substantial denial of a constitutional right' standard under 28 USCS § 2253(c) when challenging a sentence based on a vacat…
24-6411 Holly Kaye Hibbler v. Jeremy Howard, Warden Sixth Circuit 2025-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP amendment-violation constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process sentencing-review unreasonable-sentence Whether Petitioner is entitled to resentencing where her minimum term was an unreasonable and disproportionate sentence violating her Constitutional r…
24-6284 Christopher Duncan v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-01-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure imprisonment reasonableness sentencing-review supervised-release Whether sentences of imprisonment following the revocation of supervised release should be reviewed for reasonableness or plain unreasonableness?
24-695 Bill Cool, Warden v. Nathaniel Jackson Sixth Circuit 2024-12-30 Denied criminal-procedure death-penalty lockett-precedent mitigation-evidence remand sentencing-review Whether state courts must reopen mitigation evidence in every death-penalty remand when the original error did not affect the defendant's opportunity …
24-5995 Manuel Espinoza-Camacho v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-11-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily requires the court of appeals to reweigh the sentencing factors?
24-5794 Juan Daniel Sierra-Jimenez v. United States First Circuit 2024-10-21 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP breach-of-agreement circuit-split plain-error-rule plea-agreement prejudice-prong sentencing-review Whether a Circuit Split exists related to how lower courts examine Defendants' compliance with the third prong of the plain error rule in cases involv…
24-5303 Eric Krieg v. United States Seventh Circuit 2024-08-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP deficient-performance habeas-corpus judicial-review precedent-ambiguity sentencing-review strickland-standard Could 'jurors of reason' disagree with the district court's conclusion that precedent is ambiguous when a derivative case is remanded for reconsiderat…
24-5180 Lemuel S. Whiteside v. Arkansas Arkansas 2024-07-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP aedpa criminal-procedure cumulative-error habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sentencing-review strategic-decision-making strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Arkansas courts applied an incorrect standard for resolving petitioner Whiteside's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in sentenci…
23-7165 Emiliano Emmanuel Flores-González v. United States First Circuit 2024-04-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP article-iii article-iii-jurisdiction circuit-court-procedure criminal-procedure due-process en-banc en-banc-procedure judicial-review sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation Did the court's fealty to ministerial en banc procedures justify abdication of its constitutional and statutory obligations to adjudicate an as-of-rig…
23-7145 Richard Dewayne Lewis v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-04-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3583 appellate-review circuit-split extra-statutory-factors revocation-sentences sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review statutory-interpretation supervised-release Proper-standard-of-review-for-supervised-release-revocation-sentences
23-6908 Shawn Christy v. United States Third Circuit 2024-03-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP court-procedure criminal-procedure due-process ineffective-assistance judgment-of-acquittal judicial-discretion judicial-error pro-se right-to-counsel self-representation sentencing-review Did the district court error in not permitting Mr. Christy to represent himself?
23-6884 Alexander Yoichi Duberek v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-03-04 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily requires the court of appeals to reweigh the sentencing factors?
23A767 Emiliano Emmanuel Flores-González v. United States First Circuit 2024-02-22 Presumed Complete appellate-procedure circuit-precedent criminal-sentencing en-banc-review procedural-reasonableness sentencing-review Whether a federal appellate court can affirm a criminal sentence by an equally divided en banc court when the original panel found the sentence proced…
23-6589 Reginald L. McCoy v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-01-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-resentencing drug-quantity first-step-act judicial-discretion prior-finding sentencing sentencing-review statutory-threshold Whether a First Step Act movant's entitlement to review hinges on the statutory sentencing threshold for his offense, or may be foreclosed by a prior …
23A654 Isaiah Glenndell Tryon v. Christe Quick, Acting Warden, Oklahoma State Penitentiary Tenth Circuit 2024-01-16 Presumed Complete capital-case constitutional-error death-penalty eighth-amendment fair-trial sentencing-review Whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of a death sentence that may involve constitutional error warranting further judicial review
23-6406 Jamal Eberhardt v. United States Third Circuit 2024-01-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-court-standard criminal-procedure due-process excessive-sentence judicial-discretion reasonableness-standard sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review third-circuit Did the Third Circuit error by not finding Mr. Eberhardt's sentence was harsh and excessive?
23-6335 Devonne L. Walker v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-12-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-leadership criminal-organization criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing firearm-possession guideline-enhancement leadership sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review Whether the lower court erred in applying a 4-level increase pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 3B1.1(a) in determining the Petitioner to be an o…
23-5776 Andrea Lamont Medlock v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-10-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure federal-authority imprisonment-review judicial-discretion plain-error reasonableness revocation sentencing-review sentencing-standards standard-of-review supervised-release Whether sentences of imprisonment following the revocation of supervised release should be reviewed for reasonableness or plain unreasonableness?
23-5276 German Martinez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-08-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review appellate-standard circuit-split criminal-procedure judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily requires the court of appeals to reweigh the sentencing factors?
22-7768 Nidal Ayyad v. United States Second Circuit 2023-06-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure direct-appeal double-jeopardy habeas-corpus resentencing section-2255 sentencing sentencing-review vacatur Whether, following the vacatur of a count of conviction (either on direct appeal or via a § 2255 motion), the district court must resentence the defen…
22-7725 James Earl Green, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-06-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeals appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process federal-sentencing-guidelines judicial-discretion reasonableness-review sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily requires the court of appeals to reweigh the sentencing factors?
22-7519 Daniel A. Rodriguez v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-court-procedure civil-procedure due-process judicial-discretion judicial-recusal sentencing-review standing statutory-interpretation structural-error Whether it is a Structural Error for a District Judge to preside over proceedings that he has been directly recused from
22-7501 Leon Caril, II v. Washington Washington 2023-05-09 Denied IFP appeals-process criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process improper-witness-testimony ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-errors sentencing-errors sentencing-review sixth-amendment witness-testimony Whether the petitioner's constitutional rights were violated by the issues raised regarding double jeopardy, ineffective assistance of counsel, improp…
22-966 Cavanta McLilly v. Adam Douglas, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-04-05 Denied Response Waived alleyne-violation criminal-procedure due-process evidence harmless-error jury-instructions jury-verdict police-testimony sentencing-review standard-of-review surveillance-video Whether police testimony identifying Mr. McLilly as the perpetrator seen on a surveillance video from the crime scene had a substantial and injurious …
22-7135 Victoria Michelle Drain v. Ohio Ohio 2023-03-29 Denied IFP 8th-amendment capital-punishment capital-sentencing defense-counsel eddings-v-oklahoma eighth-amendment mitigating-evidence ohio-supreme-court sentencing-review strategic-choice Whether defense counsel has discretion to present mitigating evidence in a capital case
22-6879 Bobby O. Williams v. Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District Illinois 2023-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravating-factors due-process fair-warning judicial-expansion jury-determination jury-findings retroactivity sentencing-review statutory-interpretation sufficiency-of-evidence Whether the court's resolution represents an unforeseeable and retroactive judicial expansion of narrow and precise statutory language that denied pet…
22-6844 Eladio Loya-Palma v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-02-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily requires the court of appeals to reweigh the sentencing factors?
22-6697 Ervin Harris v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-02-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP actual-innocence aggravated-assault borden-precedent borden-v-united-states criminal-conviction criminal-law due-process forcible-assault sentencing-review supreme-court Whether Petitioner is actually innocent of his aggravated and forcible assault offense, in light of Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021)?
22-6659 Armando Lopez-Rivera v. United States First Circuit 2023-01-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review appellate-standard concurrent-sentence gall-precedent gall-v-united-states individualized-assessment intellectual-disability judicial-explanation sentencing-courts sentencing-explanation sentencing-review Whether a sentencing court must provide a reasonable explanation, on the record, as to why it is not considering a sentencing factor advanced by a def…
22-5985 Islam Yaser-Abdel Said v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-11-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review constitutional-challenge criminal-defendants criminal-procedure facial-attacks facial-vagueness first-amendment johnson-v-united-states sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness substantive-reasonableness-review unconstitutionally-vague Whether criminal defendants challenging a statute as unconstitutionally vague may raise facial attacks in cases not involving the First Amendment?
22-5825 Ahmed R. Morning v. Tim Hooper, Warden Fifth Circuit 2022-10-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process judicial-discretion jurisdiction ramos-v-louisiana retroactive-application retroactivity sentencing sentencing-review Whether the State trial court erred by imposing an unconstitutionally harsh and excessive sentence?
22-5712 Ramona I. Morgan v. Gloria Geither Tenth Circuit 2022-09-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability criminal-procedure district-court-jurisdiction double-jeopardy due-process habeas-corpus jurisdiction motion-to-vacate prosecutorial-discretion sentencing-review statutory-interpretation Should the United States Court of Appeals for the [oth Circuit have granted a Certificate of Appealability to the Petitioner Ramona Morgan?
22-5500 James R. LaPoint v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2022-09-02 Denied IFP 14th-amendment appellate-record constitutional-rights criminal-procedure direct-appeal due-process fair-trial Hardy-v-United-States incomplete-record Mayer-v-City-of-Chicago sentencing-review Do the State courts violate a defendant's 14th-Amendment-right-to-due-process-and-to-a-fair-and-complete-direct-appeal-when-they-become-aware-of-a-mat…
22-5405 Perry Sawano v. Colorado Colorado 2022-08-19 Denied IFP 8th-amendment aggregate-sentence constitutional-interpretation constitutional-law criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment proportionality-analysis proportionality-review sentencing sentencing-review Does the Eighth Amendment require a sentencing court to consider a defendant's overall/aggregate sentence when conducting a proportionality review?
22-5245 Pamela McCoy v. Florida Florida 2022-08-01 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process equal-protection fair-proceeding juvenile-sentencing manifest-injustice sentencing-review Does the decision of the Florida State Courts to deny the Petitioner relief violate the Petitioner's rights under the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Am…
22-5079 Steven Martinez v. Christopher Gomez, Warden Sixth Circuit 2022-07-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-4001(a) constitutional-rights detention-authority false-imprisonment habeas-corpus indefinite-detention prison-program-statement-5380.06 sentencing-review void-judgment void-judgment-and-commitment Did the court of appeals apply the wrong model form motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255(e)
21-8206 Noble Laverne Bennett v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-06-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal appellate-review constitutional-interpretation criminal-procedure due-process extraordinary-circumstances habeas-corpus judicial-discretion procedural-error sentencing sentencing-review Whether the Eighth Circuit erred in denying Bennett's appeal without an opportunity to be heard
21-8092 Nicole R. Bramwell v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-06-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-U.S.C.-3553a 18-usc-3553(a) 18-usc-3661 abuse-of-discretion appellate-review below-guideline-sentence collateral-consequences downward-variance sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review When can a court of appeals reverse a below-guideline sentence based on its own view that a different, more severe sentence is appropriate?
21-7809 Urshawn Eric Miller v. Tennessee Tennessee 2022-05-09 Denied IFP arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious capital-punishment comparative-proportionality-review death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment proportionality-review sentencing-review Whether Tennessee's comparative proportionality review satisfies the Eighth Amendment
21-7221 Alfred Lavoris Moody v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-justice criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion juvenile-justice mitigating-factors mitigation-factors proportionality rehabilitation sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review Whether the 78-month sentence imposed on Mr. Moody was 'greater than necessary' considering his troubled childhood
21-7097 Sinmyah Amera Ceasar v. United States Second Circuit 2022-02-10 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-3553(a) appellate-standard circuit-split criminal-sentencing gall-v-united-states sentencing-review standard-of-review statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness terrorism terrorism-cases Does the application of a stricter standard of review in assessing the substantive reasonableness of terrorism sentences contravene Gall and 18 U.S.C.…
21-6207 Philip Bernard Friend v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-11-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review comparable-cases comparative-sentencing criminal-procedure federal-sentencing-guidelines juvenile-offenders sentencing-disparities sentencing-reasonableness sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness substantive-review Whether an appellate court reviewing a sentence for substantive reasonableness should consider, when presented, a comparison between the instant case …
21-6135 Jesus Ramirez-Barrera v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-11-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP bail community-danger criminal-procedure detention district-court-review due-process extraordinary-reasons judicial-discretion public-safety relief-standard sentencing sentencing-review Whether the district court erred in deciding that petitioner has not shown extraordinary and compelling reasons and that he was a danger to the commun…
21-5999 Steven Dewayne Gilbert v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-10-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure career-offender-guideline circuit-split criminal-sentencing district-court-discretion guideline-interpretation holguin-hernandez procedural-reasonableness sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether the holding in Holguin-Hernandez that a defendant's argument in the district court for a lower sentence preserves appellate review of the subs…
21-5899 Joseph Vasquez, Jr. v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-10-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender guidelines individualized-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reasonableness sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness substantive-review Whether a below guidelines sentence can still result in a substantively unreasonable sentence?
21-5812 Carlos Velazquez-Fontanez v. United States First Circuit 2021-09-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924(c)(1)(A) actual-innocence crime-of-violence davis-precedent davis-v-us first-step-act jurisdiction jurisdictional-challenge sentencing sentencing-review Whether the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals erred in failing to find that appellant Carlos Velazquez-Fontanez is 'actually innocent' of violating …
21-5634 Michael D. Forbes v. United States Third Circuit 2021-09-09 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-resentencing criminal-sentencing first-step-act guideline-range reasonableness-standard section-404 sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review Should the reasonableness standard apply on appellate review of a ruling on a motion under Section 404 of the First Step Act?
21-5475 Derrick Jerome Spencer v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-08-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-resentencing due-process fifth-amendment first-step-act sentencing-review standing Whether Petitioner is being deprived of his civil-rights,due-process,fifth-amendment,first-step-act
21-5324 Michael Dasean Robinson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-08-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure district-court due-process harmless-error rule-32 sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review Whether an explanation inconsistent with Rule 32(i)(3)(B) can inoculate an otherwise unreasonable sentence from appellate review
21-5229 Jevante Marcus Richmond and Arthur Gene Evans, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-07-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-sentencing district-court fourth-circuit procedural-reasonableness sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether the Fourth Circuit failed to apply substantive reasonableness review of the sentences imposed by the district court?
21-5210 Trojan Hart v. United States Second Circuit 2021-07-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process evidentiary-restrictions jury-instructions right-to-counsel sentencing sentencing-review shackling Whether the district court erred when it shackled Hart and codefendant Sharpe?
20-8405 Robert Allen Vestal v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-06-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
20-8334 Jerome Williams v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-06-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2255-motion acca armed-career-criminal-act burden-of-proof eleventh-circuit habeas-corpus johnson-precedent johnson-v-united-states legal-landscape section-2255 sentencing-review Where a § 2255 movant relies on evidence of the legal background at the time of his sentencing to prove he was sentenced under an unconstitutional law…
20-7966 James L. Rudzavice v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP 3582(c)(1)(a)(i) compassionate-release constitutional-rights due-process first-step-act judicial-bias judicial-discretion procedural-fairness sentencing-review Did the courts misconstrue the First Step Act and 3582(c)(1)(A)(i)
20-7956 Bryan Montalvo v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-05-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP advisory-guidelines appellate-jurisdiction criminal-procedure downward-departure federal-courts judicial-discretion motion-for-departure sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation Whether a circuit court of appeals has jurisdiction to review the denial of a motion for downward departure?
20-7703 Gary Lamont Robinson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-04-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-court-procedure criminal-sentencing district-court fourth-amendment fourth-circuit individualized-assessment judicial-discretion procedural-reasonableness sentencing-review Whether the Fourth Circuit's decision is in conflict with the Court's decision in Gall v. United States
20-7409 Eduardo Pena-Garcia v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
20-7306 Agustin Madrid, aka Augustin Madrid v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-03-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure case-preservation circuit-split criminal-procedure holguin-hernandez-v-united-states judicial-interpretation legal-objection preservation-of-error procedural-unreasonableness sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review Whether Holguin-Hernandez v. United States is relevant to the objections necessary to preserve claims of procedural unreasonableness
20-7276 Russell Lawayne Montague v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance criminal-procedure due-process protective-order sentencing-disparities sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review supervised-release Whether the district court ordered an unreasonably long 114-month prison sentence
20-7091 Ray Anthony Chaney v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-02-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act johnson-decision johnson-v-united-states jurisdictional-challenge residual-clause section-2255 sentencing sentencing-review violent-felony Whether Mr. Chaney should be resentenced without applying the armed career criminal provisions of the Armed Career Criminal Act
20-6971 Jason Alfred Martinez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure plain-reasonableness revocation-of-supervised-release revocation-sentence sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether the court of appeals erred in reviewing the district court's sentence for plain reasonableness
20-6883 Christopher Brent Garner v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-01-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure constitutional-challenge due-process federal-authority jury-trial legal-error sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review supervised-release trial-by-jury Whether 18 U.S.C. §3583(g) unconstitutionally deprives federal supervised releasees of the right to trial by jury?
20-6808 Thomas Traficante v. United States Second Circuit 2021-01-08 Denied IFP constitutional-challenge constitutional-challenges courts-of-appeals direct-appeal due-process ripeness risk-condition second-circuit sentencing-reform-act sentencing-review supervised-release Whether the Second Circuit Court of Appeals erred in denying Traficante's constitutional challenges to his risk condition of supervision as unripe on …
20-6743 Neil Dussard v. United States Second Circuit 2020-12-31 Denied IFP circuit-split constitutional-challenge criminal-procedure due-process federal-jurisdiction plain-error sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation united-states-v-davis Whether the Supreme Court should correct the Second Circuit's split from other Circuit Courts in addressing the recurring question of the validity of …
20-6474 Pedro Fermin Barajas v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-11-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
20-6437 Tommy Pena v. United States Tenth Circuit 2020-11-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review circuit-split criminal-sentencing reasonableness reasonableness-standard sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review upward-variance Whether the Tenth Circuit's toothless standard for reviewing the reasonableness of an upward variance is contrary to this Court's case law, United Sta…
20-6417 Edwin Omar Almonte-Nunez v. United States First Circuit 2020-11-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2112 abuse-of-discretion counsel-substitution crime-of-violence double-jeopardy due-process party-presentation resentencing sentencing-review Did the district court adequately vet Mr. Almonte-Nufiez's dissatisfaction with his counsel?
20-6425 Scott Meece v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-11-24 Denied IFP 18-usc-2113 18-usc-924(c) bank-robbery brandishing-a-firearm crime-of-violence dimaya-precedent firearm-brandishing johnson-ruling johnson-v-united-states sentencing-review sessions-v-dimaya Whether under this Court's rulings in Johnson and Dimaya, Mr. Meece's conviction and sentence for brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of viol…
20-6213 J. Santos Mondragon-Benitez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-11-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure federal-authority imprisonment-revocation plain-error reasonableness reasonableness-standard revocation sentencing-review standard-of-review supervised-release Whether sentences of imprisonment following the revocation of supervised release should be reviewed for reasonableness or plain unreasonableness?
20-5851 John Christopher Badgett v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-09-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-court criminal-procedure due-process fifth-circuit judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness united-states-v-haymond Whether this Court should grant certiorari, vacate the sentence and remand to the Fifth Circuit for reconsideration in light of United States v. Haymo…
20-5825 Larry Lamar Nance v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-09-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review central-thesis circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion mitigation mitigation-arguments sentencing sentencing-review Whether a sentencing court must address all material, non-frivolous arguments in mitigation
20-5655 Casye Necole Richardson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-09-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
20-5488 Franklin Rafael Lopez Toala v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-08-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-Amendment appellate-record due-process evidentiary-hearing fifth-amendment Gardner-v-Florida judicial-procedure presentence-investigation sentencing sentencing-review Whether the Eleventh Circuit may consider new materials not presented to the sentencing court
20-5433 Gregory Wind v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-08-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-deference circuit-split deference district-court federal-courts-of-appeals federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Did the district court impose a substantively unreasonable sentence upon Mr. Wind?
20-71 Stephen P. Brown v. United States Second Circuit 2020-07-24 Denied Response Waived appeal-waiver certificate-of-appealability criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment ineffective-assistance section-2255 sentencing sentencing-review sixth-amendment Whether the Second Circuit erred in denying a certificate of appealability on petitioner's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and due process…
20-5007 Anthony Ray Foley v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-07-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review appellate-standard booker-standard circuit-split due-process federal-sentencing sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review supervised-release Is the 'reasonableness' standard or the 'plainly unreasonable' standard the proper standard for appellate review of a sentence imposed upon revocation…
19-8897 David Lee Smith v. North Carolina North Carolina 2020-07-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP civil-rights constitutional-challenge covid-prison-conditions due-process emergency-relief fair-trial ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prisoner-rights pro-se pro-se-petition sentencing sentencing-review Whether a pro se petitioner is entitled to a liberal construction of their court papers or fair amendment, when the prosecutor presented no evidence t…
19-8563 Michael Lee v. United States First Circuit 2020-05-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure appellate-review criminal-law criminal-review due-process first-time-offender life-sentence sentencing sentencing-review sex-crimes Whether a circuit court is presented with a substantial question warranting full appellate review rather than summary disposition when a petitioner wi…
19-8530 Sacorey L. Clark v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-05-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process government-duty government-liability judicial-remand legal-claims rehaif rehaif-precedent remand sentencing sentencing-review Whether CLARK's Affirmed Sentence & Judgment Must be Vacated in light of REHAIF, 139 S.Ct. 2191 (2019), Then Remanded, Where it is Warranted that CLAR…
19-8403 Juan Miguel Lopez v. Stuart Sherman, Warden Ninth Circuit 2020-05-05 Denied IFP appellate-jurisdiction constitutional-review criminal-justice-reform criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process equal-protection judicial-oversight jurisdictional-challenge retroactivity sentencing-review Whether the Court can exercise its encompassing jurisdiction to redress the imposition of a disproportionate amount of time added to a primary base te…
19-8390 Do Kyun Kim v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-05-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-7799 Desmond Baker v. Florida Florida 2020-02-27 Denied IFP criminal-procedure eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment juvenile-offender juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-sentence life-without-parole mandatory-sentencing parole sentencing-review Do the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit mandatory sentencing laws which require sentencing every j…
19-7470 Agustin Martinez-Lopez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553a appellate-review appellate-standard circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing criminal-sentencing,appellate-review,18-usc-3553(a federal-sentencing gall-v-united-states judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-review statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness Can appellate courts reweigh the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
19-7427 Rodolfo Perez-Jimenez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference due-process federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-7293 Desmond Bowen v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) appellate-review booker-v-united-states federal-sentencing gall-v-united-states judicial-standard sentencing-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness What standard should appellate courts use to review claims of substantively unreasonable sentences under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)?
19-7182 Cirilo Mancilla Lopez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-06 Denied IFP appeal appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process legal-objection preservation-of-error sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-unreasonableness Whether claims of substantive unreasonableness must be preserved by specific objection?
19-7105 Miguel Jilberto Vazquez-Chavarria v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553a abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion remand sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness whether-substantive-reasonableness-review-requires-or-permits-the-courts-of-appeals-to-reweigh-the-18-usc-3553a-factors
19-6882 Zackary Ikaika Bryton Thompson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference due-process judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-6792 Victor Sanchez v. Patrick Nogan, Administrator East Jersey State Prison, et al. Third Circuit 2019-12-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-intervention plea-bargaining procedural-due-process right-to-appeal sentencing sentencing-review Where trial counsel admits to ineffective advice that lead to this petitioner being sentenced to (5) five years more time than he would have received …
19-6758 Michael Tryance Anderson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-11-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment appellate-standard booker-standard circuit-court civil-procedure civil-rights due-process equal-protection federal-sentencing sentencing-review standing substantive-reasonableness Whether the lower court erred in dismissing petitioner's claims for violation of their civil rights and due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendm…
19-6746 Michael Anthony Mitchell v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-11-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review due-process equal-protection fair-hearing ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-disparity sentencing-review unwarranted-sentence waiver-of-rights Does a waiver of direct appeal rights and collateral rights excepting claims premised on ineffective assistance of counsel violate a defendant's due-p…
19-6643 John Forrest v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-11-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 armed-career-criminal-act collateral-review constitutional-law criminal-procedure descamps-v-united-states mathis-v-united-states retroactive-precedent retroactivity sentencing sentencing-correction sentencing-review successive-motion supreme-court Can a successive §2255 motion under Johnson open the door and allow for collateral review of enumerated clause predicates invalidated under Descamps a…
19-6600 Barry Lernard Davis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-11-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2255-motion 60b-motion abuse-of-discretion coa-brief court-of-appeals due-process evidentiary-hearing manifest-injustice procedural-due-process psr psr-challenge section-2255 sentencing-claim sentencing-evidence sentencing-issue sentencing-review Where petitioner attacked evidence; State's Certified Motion to Dismiss allegation in his PSR, of R.D., to his 2255 Motion, and argued his evidence in…
19-6415 Jose Eleuterio Nava v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference district-court due-process judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-6380 Emerson L. Beverly v. Sherry L. Burt, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-10-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment 6th-amendment criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment fair-trial fair-trial-14th-amendment fair-trial-6th-amendment fourteenth-amendment prosecutorial-misconduct red-herring sentencing-review sixth-amendment Did the prosecutor's repeated reference to petitioner's defense as a 'red hearing' constitute misconduct thereby denying petitioner a fair trial in vi…
19-6209 John Hudson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal armed-career-criminal-act certificate-of-appealability due-process federal-appellate-procedure johnson-precedent johnson-v-united-states prior-convictions resentencing section-2255 sentencing sentencing-review violent-felony Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit erred by denying Mr. Hudson a Certificate of Appealability in this § 2255 case
19-6036 Arturo Eduardo Dominguez-Calderon v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review courts-of-appeals criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process holguin-hernandez-v-united-states judicial-discretion remand sentencing-factors sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review requires or permits the courts of appeals to 'reweigh the sentencing factors'
19-5922 Pedro Munoz, aka Pedro Munoz Ruiz v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference district-court federal-courts-of-appeals federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-5796 Alfredo Beltran Leyva v. United States District of Columbia 2019-09-03 Denied Amici (1)Response WaivedIFP circuit-split confrontation-clause constitutional-review criminal-procedure due-process hearsay hearsay-evidence sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review Whether the Court should require de novo review (or at a minimum, review for clear error) of sentencing fact-findings based entirely on uncorroborated…
19-5624 Zachary William Hicks v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-08-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process hicks-factors ineffective-assistance judicial-review sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review sixth-amendment trial-court-discretion Whether the Trial Court Imposed an Unreasonable Sentence by Failing to Adequately Consider Hicks' Factors and Whether Trial Counsel Rendered Ineffecti…
19-5516 Rayshawn Roshard Robertson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 burden-of-proof constitutional-law constitutional-provision criminal-defendant criminal-procedure criminal-relief federal-procedure retroactive-application retroactive-constitutional-decision section-2255 sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation statutory-maximum Whether a criminal defendant moving for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 can satisfy his burden of proof by showing his sentence may have been based on a…
19-5447 Erbey Botello, aka Erbey Botello-Alanis, aka Javier Garcia v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split constitutional-rights due-process federal-sentencing judicial-discretion plea-hearing plea-revocation reasonableness-of-sentence revocation-hearing sentencing sentencing-review supervisory-powers Whether the constitutional right to due process on a plea at a revocation hearing is recognized
19-5448 Antolin Torres Abonza v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing deference due-process federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness substantive-reasonableness-review Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-5269 Reginald Christopher Gilbert v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-07-22 Denied IFP appellate-procedure appellate-review criminal-law criminal-procedure defendant-rights federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure judicial-review jurisdiction objection reasonableness reasonableness-standard sentencing sentencing-review Whether a formal objection after pronouncement of sentence is necessary to invoke appellate reasonableness review of the length of a defendant's sente…
19-5027 Eddie David Cox v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-07-01 GVR IFP criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-rehaif-v-united-states,sentenci double-jeopardy eighth-circuit guidelines-calculation procedural-error rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states resentencing section-2241 sentencing sentencing-review Should the Court GVR the judgment of the Eighth Circuit so the appeals court may consider, whether Cox is entitled to relief from his conviction in li…
19-5003 Roberto Cruz-Olavarria v. United States First Circuit 2019-06-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process heightened-scrutiny judicial-discretion offense-seriousness sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review statutory-maximum supervised-release Whether there is a need for extensive justification and heightened scrutiny when imposing and reviewing sentences at the statutory maximum
18-9791 Luis David Moreno-Pena v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-27 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion leniency preservation-of-error sentencing-argument sentencing-reasonableness sentencing-review Whether challenges to the reasonableness of a sentence rooted in a court's failure to address arguments for leniency must be preserved by specific obj…
18-9804 Michael Zachariah Gomez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeals appellate-procedure circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process federal-courts federal-revocation plain-unreasonableness sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review Whether the standard of review in appeals of federal revocation sentences is limited to review for \'plain unreasonableness\'?
18-9589 Nicholas Bradley Gilbert v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-07 GVR IFP appellate-review criminal-penalties criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-sentencing district-court district-court-discretion felon-possession interstate-commerce sentencing sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review requires or permits the courts of appeals to 'substantively second guess' the district court and/or to 'rewe…
18-9562 Shawn Michael Simms v. Mark Garman, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Rockview, et al. Third Circuit 2019-06-06 Denied IFP criminal-procedure due-process illegal-sentence pennsylvania-courts post-conviction-relief post-conviction-relief-act sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation void-ab-initio Did the Pennsylvania Courts err in denying the instant Post Conviction Relief Act Petition for failing to recognize that the P.C.R.A. statute, 42 Pa.C…
18-9576 Alvin Weekly v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-06-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP actual-innocence blockburger-v-united-states cruel-and-unusual-punishment double-jeopardy eighth-amendment extraordinary-circumstances rule-60(b) rule-60b sentencing-review Does the Court of Appeals commit clear error when declining to hear a defendant's claim of serving an unlawful sentence in violation of the Constituti…
18-9459 Trinidad Nanez-Rivera v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-05-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process federal-common-law mitigating-circumstances sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness tenth-circuit within-guideline-sentences within-range-sentence Have the length of within-guideline sentences become effectively unreviewable in practice, and is Mr. Nanez-Rivera's sentence near the top of the rang…
18-9104 Kurt Zamor v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-05-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure common-carrier criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-rule-16 evidence evidence-sufficiency expert-testimony firearms firearms-regulation mens-rea sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation Whether the Eleventh Circuit failed to properly apply Title 18 U.S.C. Section 922(e)
18-8834 José Amaya-Vasquez v. United States Third Circuit 2019-04-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion prior-bad-acts reasonableness reasonableness-standard sentencing sentencing-review Whether the Court erred by considering the prior bad acts in the determination of the appropriate sentence?
18-8540 Eric David Bennett v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-03-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3742 appellate-review booker booker-standard circuit-split criminal-procedure sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review supervised-release united-states-v-booker Whether the appropriate standard of review for a sentence following the revocation of supervised release is the 'plainly unreasonable' standard or the…
18-8512 DaRen Kareem Gadsden v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-03-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process judicial-integrity judicial-proceedings multiplicitous-sentence plain-error remand rosales-mireles-standard sentencing sentencing-review substantial-rights Whether a multiplicitous sentence issue can be raised at any time
18-8498 Oryan Yazzie v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-03-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process guideline-range mental-health sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness supervised-release Is a supervised release revocation sentence of a length more than double the top of the advisory Guideline range substantively unreasonable if the dis…
18-8299 Walter Raynard Lingard v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-03-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP allocution-rights appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing downward-departure due-process judicial-discretion probation-revocation right-to-allocution sentencing-review Did the court of appeals err in its determination that the district court did not err in declining to vary downward based upon Lingard's state probati…
18-8181 Feliciano Soto-Lugo v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review criminal-procedure defendant-leniency district-court-discretion due-process judicial-response preservation-of-error reasonableness reasonableness-objection sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review Must challenges to the district court's failure to respond to a defendant's non-frivolous grounds for leniency be preserved by a separate 'reasonablen…
18-8165 Michael J. Galvan v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
18-1109 James Erin McKinney v. Arizona Arizona 2019-02-26 Judgment Issued Amici (14)Relisted (2) aggravating-evidence arizona-supreme-court criminal-procedure death-penalty eddings-precedent eddings-v-oklahoma mitigating-evidence resentencing sentencing sentencing-review Whether the Arizona Supreme Court was required to apply current law when weighing mitigating and aggravating evidence to determine whether a death sen…
18-7938 Alex Quintana-Torres v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-02-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-history criminal-sentencing drug-addiction drug-offense presumption-of-reasonableness sentencing sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether Rifa's presumption of reasonableness is, in practice, effectively binding and not rebuttable, and whether the 15-year, within-Guidelines sente…
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
18-7453 Corey Kirkpatrick Sterling v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP collateral-review constitutional-law criminal-law due-process mandatory-guidelines pre-booker retroactive-effect retroactivity sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-vagueness sentencing-review vagueness vagueness-doctrine Whether U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2)'s residual clause is void for vagueness vis-a-vis defendants sentenced under the pre-Booker mandatory Guidelines
18-7360 Peter Mathis, Jr. v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-01-10 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP appeals appellate-review circuit-court criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process final-judgment grand-jury insufficient-evidence sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation Did Congress' enactment of 18 USC § 3742(a) allow for the review of an otherwise final sentence if a defendant could show a violation of law?
18-7140 Tommy Ray Hull, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-12-21 Denied IFP chavez-meza-precedent chavez-meza-v-united-states circuit-split district-court district-court-discretion due-process fifth-circuit fifth-circuit-standard mitigation mitigation-arguments sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review Whether the Fifth Circuit erred in its standard of review when a district court fails to address arguments of counsel in mitigation of sentencing
18-7119 Stanley Grigsby v. Louisiana Louisiana 2018-12-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-justice criminal-procedure cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process excessive-sentence judicial-error jurisdiction louisiana-law sentencing sentencing-review subject-matter-jurisdiction Whether the Louisiana Court's have erred in determining that the sentence was not excessive?
18-7022 Ryan Lee Zater v. Kenny Atkinson, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-13 Denied IFP actual-innocence circuit-split federal-courts federal-jurisdiction federal-procedure habeas-corpus saving-clause sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation What is the scope of the §2255(e) saving clause? And is it permissible for Zater to proceed thereunder?
18-6459 Cliserio Balmes-Cruz v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-10-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review appellate-standard circuit-split criminal-procedure due-process judicial-consideration non-frivolous-arguments procedural-reasonableness rita-v-united-states sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review Whether a sentencing judge must provide some express treatment to a defendant's non-frivolous arguments
18-6266 Ivan Rivera-Solis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-10-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553a appellate-review circuit-split criminal-sentencing gall-standard gall-v-united-states sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Can appellate courts reweigh sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
18-6269 Matthew Clayton Lloyd v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-10-10 Denied IFP 18-usc-2113 18-usc-924(c) armed-bank-robbery bank-robbery crime-of-violence extortion force-clause intimidation johnson-ruling johnson-v-united-states physical-force sentencing-review weapon-enhancement Is federal bank robbery a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18-6271 Sonny Scott v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-10-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review appellate-standard booker-standard circuit-split criminal-procedure plain-error plain-error-review reasonableness-challenge reasonableness-standard sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness united-states-v-booker When—if at all—must a defendant object to the reasonableness of a sentence to preserve that argument for appellate review?
18-5797 Carlos Gutierrez-Torres v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-08-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure judicial-discretion plain-error preservation-of-error sentencing sentencing-review Whether a defendant must re-object to the district court's explanation of its sentencing rationale to preserve the arguments for appeal