Justia U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, robbery, and discharging and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, holding that there was no error in Defendant's convictions or sentence.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in admitting hearsay evidence and erred in instructing the jury on vicarious liability. Defendant further argued that the district court erroneously applied the official-victim adjustment in United States Sentencing Guidelines 3A1.2. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) any impermissible inference of guilt drawn from the contested statements was harmless; (2) the district court's jury instructions were not incorrect or misleading as to the two theories of vicarious liability; and (3) there was no error in the district court's Sentencing Guidelines calculation. View "United States v. Carter" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of mailing threatening communications through the United States Postal Service, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 876(c), holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict.After a jury found Defendant guilty of both counts of mailing threatening communications Defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal. The district court denied the motion, concluding that the evidence sufficed to permit a rational jury to find Defendant guilty of both counts. On appeal, Defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence with respect only to the third element of the offense. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that a rational jury could have found that Defendant knew his statements would be interpreted as true threats of physical harm. View "United States v. Oliver" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to overturn his 2010 New Hampshire conviction for aggravated felonious sexual assault, holding that the district court properly rejected Petitioner's Sixth Amendment claim.In his habeas petition, Petitioner asserted that his Sixth Amendment right to autonomy to determine the objectives of his defense when his counsel took certain actions to present a defense at trial, despite Petitioner's instructions not to do so. The district court denied the petition. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Petitioner was not denied autonomy to direct the objectives of his defense when his trial counsel presented an active defense contrary to Petitioner's express wishes. View "Kellogg-Roe v. Gerry" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion to suppress evidence recovered during a traffic stop, holding that the district court did not err when it denied the motion to suppress.Appellant entered a conditional guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, reserving the right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress both statements he made at the scene of his traffic stop and the physical evidence obtained during the stop. In denying the motion to suppress, the district court concluded that the law enforcement officer had reasonable suspicion to stop Defendant's car. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the officer had a reasonable basis to believe Appellant had committed a traffic infraction and thus to perform a traffic stop. View "United States v. Miles" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of knowingly distributing child pornography, holding that the district court did not err in excluding the testimony of Dr. Robert Weiss, a therapist and relationship specialist with a speciality in sex addiction.Defendant's prisonmate, Dmitry Bron, was working with law enforcement when Defendant shared his collection of images of child sexual abuse with Bron. At trial, Defendant attempted to pursue an entrapment defense and sought to introduce the testimony of Dr. Weiss. The district court granted the government's motion to exclude Dr. Weiss, concluding that the testimony was not relevant to Defendant's defense. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Dr. Weiss's testimony on the ground that it was not relevant. View "United States v. Saemisch" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendants' joint motion to dismiss the charges against them on retrial, holding that the district court did not err.Defendants - Raymond Garraway and Cordwell Bennett - were convicted for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Defendants moved for a mistrial. The district court granted the motion on the basis of the prosecution's improper arguments made at closing. When the prosecution began to retry them, Defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss for violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause. The district court denied the motion, finding that the prosecution did not intend to provoke a mistrial. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the record amply supported the district court's decision. View "United States v. Garraway" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer and conspiring to do the same, holding that there was no error, plain or otherwise, in the proceedings below.Defendant committed a cyberattack against Boston Children's Hospital and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network causing both to lose their internet capabilities for several weeks. Defendant publicly admitted responsibility for the attacks. After an eight-day trial, Defendant was convicted for intentionally causing damage to a protected computer and conspiring to cause damage to a protected computer. The First Circuit affirmed (1) there was no violation of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. 3161-3174; (2) the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress; (3) there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's denial of the four motions to withdraw that were filed by Defendant's trial counsel; (4) the district court did not err in precluding Defendant from raising a defense-of-others argument at trial; and (5) the trial judge did not err in denying three recusal motions Defendant made pro se after the verdict but before sentencing. View "United States v. Gottesfeld" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to seventy-two months of incarceration in connection with his plea of guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that there was no error.On appeal, Defendant argued (1) the district court misapplied the Sentencing Guidelines when it imposed a four-level offense under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), and (2) the sentence was substantively unreasonable. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in applying the four-level offense increase pursuant to section 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), and the sentence was otherwise procedurally reasonable; and (2) the sentence was plausible, defensible, and substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Rogers" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of possession of child pornography, holding that none of Defendant's claims on appeal had merit.Defendant, an employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, came under investigation for downloading child pornography on his home computer. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in (1) refusing to suppress incriminating statements Defendant made when interviewed at his workplace by federal agents and (2) denying a post-trial motion seeking a Franks hearing to review an error in an affidavit used to secure the search warrant leading to the discovery of the incriminating evidence on Defendant's home computer. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not commit reversible error in finding that Defendant's interview was not custodial; and (2) did not err in denying Defendant's delayed request for a Franks hearing. View "United States v. O'Neal" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court rejecting Defendant's request for a Franks hearing before Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant a Franks hearing.Defendant was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to search warrants and sought a Franks hearing on the basis of two alleged material omissions from the warrant affidavit. The district court denied both Defendant's Franks motion and his motion to suppress. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in ruling that Defendant had failed to make the threshold showing necessary to obtain a Franks hearing. View "United States v. Leonard" on Justia Law