Justia U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

On October 10, 2007, defendant was sentenced to 121 months in custody after pleading guilty to distributing 83.2 grams of crack cocaine. At issue on appeal was whether a defendant sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA), Pub. L. No. 111-220, 124 Stat. 2372, was enacted was eligible for a reduced sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2). The court held, consistent with all circuits to have addressed the issue, that the FSA's lowered mandatory minimums were not available to such individuals. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's determination that the FSA did not apply retroactively to defendant. View "United States v. Augustine" on Justia Law

Defendants appealed the application of a "sophisticated means" enhancement imposed by the district court, pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2T1(b)(2), in determining their sentences following convictions for tax fraud. The court affirmed the judgment, holding that conduct need not involve highly complex schemes or exhibit exceptional brilliance to justify a sophisticated means enhancement. In this instance, the court concluded that defendants' effort to conceal income by using a bank account with a deceptive name was sufficiently sophisticated to support application of the sentencing enhancement. View "United States v. Jennings" on Justia Law

Tribal authorities of the Tohono O'odham nation charged LKAV, age 17, with murder in May 2009. In November 2011, the United States moved to commit LKAV pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 4241 to an adult medical facility for psychiatric treatment. The court held that when the United States charges a juvenile with an act of juvenile delinquency under the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (FJDA), 18 U.S.C. 5031-42, the district court must follow 18 U.S.C. 5037(e) if it committed the juvenile for a study of the juvenile's competency to stand trial. Because the district court in this case instead committed LKAV under 18 U.S.C. 4241(d), the court reversed the judgment. View "United States V. LKAV, Juvenile Male" on Justia Law

Petitioner, who pleaded nolo contendere to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 364 days in county jail but probation was imposed instead, petitioned for review of the BIA's holding that he was removeable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) for having committed a crime involving moral turpitude for which a sentence of at least one year's imprisonment could have been imposed. The court concluded that its holding in Gonzales v. Barber - that assault with a deadly weapon under California Penal Code section 245(a)(1) is a crime involving moral turpitude - remained good law. Because CPC 17(b) did not apply and because the minute order designated petitioner's conviction as a felony, the court held that petitioner's conviction was a felony. The felony sentencing provisions of section 245(a)(1) allowed for imprisonment for more than one year. Accordingly, petitioner's conviction was a conviction for a "crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed." Therefore, the court denied the petition. View "Ceron v. Holder Jr." on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded guilty in federal court to an information charging that he was "found in" the United States on or about November 25, 2009, after he had been previously deported. The court joined its sister circuits in holding that U.S.S.G. 4A1.1(d) could be applied to a deportee "found in" the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326, while he was imprisoned. Accordingly, the court affirmed defendant's sentence. View "United States v. Reyes-Ceja" on Justia Law

Petitioners challenged the district court's denial of restitution to them and others who asserted that they have been harmed as a result of the offenses for which Frederick Scott Salyer had been convicted. Petitioners petitioned for a writ of mandamus filed pursuant to the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA), 18 U.S.C. 3771. The court concluded that the district court committed legal error in denying restitution because of Salyer's claimed financial status and the potential availability of civil remedies. To the extent that the district court's denial of restitution rested on a determination that complex issues of fact would complicate or prolong the sentencing process, the record was unclear as to whether the district court conducted the balancing test required by 18 U.S.C. 3663A(c)(3) and determined from facts on the record that the burden on the sentencing process of determining restitution would outweigh the need to provide restitution to victims. Accordingly, the court granted the petition and remanded with instructions. View "In re: Morning Star Packing Co. v. USDC, Sacramento" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Because defendant was charged with a single, continuous act of possession over a ten-minute period, the court found no error in the district court's failure to give a specific unanimity instruction. The court concluded that the majority of the prosecutor's statements during closing argument were not improper, and that those that were improper did not result in substantial prejudice. Accordingly, the court affirmed the conviction. View "United States v. Ruiz, Jr." on Justia Law

Defendant was charged with fourteen counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 stemming from his scheme to defraud his employer. On appeal, defendant contended that the district court erred in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal, a new trial, and for an arrest of judgment. The court rejected defendant's argument that routine transmissions occurring during the interbank collection process were not made for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud or in furtherance thereof; the district court erred in the jury instructions; there was insufficient evidence; and the wire fraud statute was unconstitutional. Accordingly, the court affirmed the conviction and sentence. View "United States v. Jinian" on Justia Law

Petitioner, convicted of murder and sentenced to death, appealed the district court's denial of his habeas petition. The court held that petitioner's first two claims on appeal, that the Arizona courts applied an unconstitutional causal nexus test to mitigating evidence and the Arizona courts failed to consider mitigation evidence of his history of substance abuse, were without merit. The court held that petitioner's third claim, that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance, was procedurally defaulted. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Poyson v. Ryan" on Justia Law

The government sought to forfeit two bundles of currency in the amounts of $11,500 and $2,971. Only one contrary claim was filed regarding both sets of currency. The district court concluded that the claimant failed to comply with Supplemental Admiralty and Maritime Claims Rule G(5)(a)(iii), which required that a claim filed by a person asserting an interest as a bailee must identify the bailor. The court agreed with the district court that the requirement applied to the claimant, even though he initially asserted a different interest. The court concluded, however, that striking his claim based on that transgression was not mandatory but was instead subject to the sound exercise of discretion by the court. In this case, the dismissal of the claim to the $11,500 for that failure was an abuse of discretion, primarily because the omission did not prejudice the government or extend the forfeiture proceedings. The court further concluded that, even though the government had not given timely notice in regards to both sets of currency, the government was not required in these circumstances to return the property. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment in favor of the government regarding the portion of currency amounting to $2,971. The court vacated the judgment in favor of the government as to the $11,500 portion and remanded for further proceedings. View "United States v. Guerrero, et al" on Justia Law