United States v. Singletary, No. 21-4351, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19775 (4th Cir. Aug. 1, 2023) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that a sentencing judge wasn’t vindictive during resentencing when she considered a prisoner’s bad conduct in prison, plus the various facts of a state case that was resolved after...Read More

United States v. Singletary, No. 21-4351, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19775 (4th Cir. Aug. 1, 2023) Fourth Circuit: Claim of Judicial Vindictiveness Bypasses any Appeal Waiver The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held on August 1, 2023, that a claim of judicial vindictiveness at sentencing bypasses any appeal waiver in a plea...Read More

United States v. Miles, No. 21-12609, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19662 (11th Cir. July 31, 2023) In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Apeals for the Eleventh Circuit held on July 31, 2023, that a conviction for possessing an ingredient to manufacture methamphetamine was not a valid prior conviction for purposes of...Read More

Here’s rundown of some favorable decisions for the week. United States v. Evans, No. 22-1195, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 18810 (7th Cir. July 24, 2023) Evans twice sold heroin to a confidential source (50 grams, 125 grams). Officers stopped Evans 30 minutes later and found cash from the controlled purchase, methamphetamine, two handguns, and ammunition....Read More

The Supreme Court has relisted five cases a second time now. And they are joined by an additional eight cases raising the same (or closely analogous) issues. We’ll find out soon how lucky these 13 petitions are. Lots of you have asked me about what’s going on with judges using acquitted conduct to enhance federal...Read More

Federal Prison Newsletter, Week Ending Apr 28, 2023 Elijah v. Dunbar, No. 21-7352, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 9592 (4th Cir. Apr. 21, 2023) Objections to R&R Don’t Have to Be Overly Precise to be Sufficient for De Novo Review Petitioner filed a habeas petition and claimed that the BOP was refusing to apply First Step...Read More

Newsletter, Week Ending Apr 21, 2023 I figured I’d give a rundown of some notable cases I found this week, along with some of my comments. I used to do this but switched to analyzing one case a week to help people use the case for relief. However, there’s too much good stuff out there...Read More

A federal district judge in Dallas granted compassionate release based on a recent retroactive Supreme Court case, despite finding that the same exact claim filed earlier under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 was denied as being too late. The court reasoned that an illegal sentence was an “extraordinary and compelling reason” for compassionate release. United States...Read More

United States v. Cannady, No. 20-6906, — F.4th — (4th Cir. Mar. 24, 2023) Hot off the press just minutes ago, the Fourth Circuit vacated the denial of a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion and held that a federal drug conspiracy, under 21 U.S.C. § 846, is broader than generic federal conspiracy and was therefore...Read More

The Supreme Court untied the hands of federal sentencing judges today by holding that, unless the statutory provision allowing for a sentence reduction expressly prevents the judge from considering certain facts in crafting the new sentence, the judge may use his broad discretion to impose whatever sentence he sees fit in that case. See Concepcion...Read More