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

The First Circuit dismissed Defendant's appeal challenging his sentence imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to drug-related offenses, holding that there was no miscarriage of justice and that the appeal waiver Defendant signed controlled.Defendant pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to several crimes stemming from a drug conspiracy that distributed drugs in three states. The plea agreement contained an appeal waiver. Defendant nonetheless appealed, arguing that his appeal waiver must be set aside under the "miscarriage of justice" standard set forth in United States v. Morillo, 910 F.3d 1, 2 (1st Cir. 2018). The First Circuit disagreed, holding that there was no miscarriage of justice and that the appeal waiver controlled. View "United States v. Valdez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed both of Defendant's federal racketeering-related convictions but vacated and remanded the prison sentence, forfeiture order, and restitution order, holding that the district court erred in several respects.Defendant was convicted of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, federal mail fraud, and violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), 21 U.S.C. 331(a), 333(a). The district court sentenced Defendant to ninety-six months' imprisonment, issued a forfeiture order in the amount of $175,000, and ordered restitution. On appeal, Defendant challenged his convictions for racketeering and racketeering conspiracy and his sentence. The First Circuit remanded the case, holding (1) the convictions were supported by sufficient evidence; (2) the district court erred in its reasoning declining to apply certain enhancements; (3) neither of the two reasons the district court gave for limiting the forfeiture order was sustainable; and (4) the district court too narrowly construed who counts as a "victim" under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act. View "United States v. Chin" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions but vacated and remanded his prison sentence and forfeiture order, holding that the district court erred in calculating Defendant's recommended sentencing range and erred in determining the amount of the forfeiture.A jury found Defendant guilty of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, and violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), 21 U.S.C. 331(a), 333(a). The district court sentenced Defendant to a prison term of 108 months - the high end of the range that it had calculated under the Guidelines. The court also imposed a forfeiture order on Defendant in the amount of $7,545,501. The First Circuit remanded the convictions but vacated the prison sentence and forfeiture order, holding (1) the district court's reasons for declining to apply two enhancements were legally erroneous; and (2) the district court erred in its forfeiture calculation. View "United States v. Cadden" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for two drug-trafficking offenses and two money-laundering offenses, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable.The district court sentenced Defendant to 324 months' imprisonment for the drug-trafficking counts of 240 months' imprisonment for the money-laundering counts, to be served concurrently. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court committed procedural errors in calculating his Guidelines sentencing range and that the sentence was substantively unreasonable under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)(6), which warns against disparate sentences for similarly situated codefendants. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in applying the various enhancements to which Defendant had objected below; (2) any error in initially finding that Defendant's drug-trafficking offenses involved 200 kilograms of cocaine was harmless; and (3) in light of certain differences between Defendant and his codefendants, Defendant's disparity challenge is rejected. View "United States v. Hernandez-Hernandez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea to one count of reentry after deportation and to dismiss the indictment, holding that the immigration court did not lack jurisdiction.In moving to withdraw his plea and dismiss the indictment, Appellant argued that the removal order underlying his conviction had been rendered null and void. Specifically, Appellant argued that because his notice to appear did not specify the date or time of the removal hearing the immigration court lacked jurisdiction to issue the removal order. The district court denied the motion, concluding that Appellant did not satisfy the prerequisites set forth in 8 U.S.C. 1326(d) for collaterally attacking the removal order. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Goncalves Pontes v. Barr, 938 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2019) controlled, and Appellant's jurisdictional argument failed. View "United States v. Mendoza-Sanchez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's upwardly variant sixty-month sentence imposed in connection with Defendant's plea of guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of firearms and ammunition and being in possession of a machine gun, holding that the sentence was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) as to Defendant's claims of procedural error, the sentencing court did not abuse its discretion by failing to vary downward on account of Defendant's cooperation, the court's passing reference to Defendant's past arrest for a drug charge played no role in the sentencing calculus, and the court did not err by imposing an above-the-range sentence even where Defendant accepted responsibility; and (2) the sixty-month sentence was substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Diaz-Lugo" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's convictions and sentence for robbing an individual of a United States passport, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Defendant's request for substitution of counsel; (2) Defendant's conviction under 18 U.S.C. 2112 for robbery properly served as the predicate "crime of violence" for Defendant's sentence for brandishing a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(3)(A); and (3) under a plain error standard, Defendant did not establish a prima facie nonfrivolous double jeopardy claim. View "United States v. Almonte-Nunez" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court granting Defendants' motions to suppress all evidence obtained directly by a pole camera, holding that the doctrine of stare decisis controlled this case and required reversal of the district court.At issue was whether the Supreme Court's opinion in Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018), a cell phone location automatic tracking technology case, provided a basis for departing from otherwise binding First Circuit precedent in United States v. Bucci, 582 F.3d 108 (1st Cir. 2009) and Supreme Court precedent on which Bucci was based. The First Circuit held that, by departing from that precedent in granting Defendants' motions to suppress, the district court violated the vertical rule of stare decisis. The Court thus remanded with instruction to deny the motions to suppress. View "United States v. Moore-Bush" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of 108 months' imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine after the district court applied a career-offender enhancement under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, holding that the district court properly applied the career-offender enhancement.Under the Sentencing Guidelines, the career-offender enhancement applies where a defendant has at least two prior felony convictions of a "controlled substance offense." See U.S.S.G. 4B1.1(a). The commentary to section 4B1.2 provides that such offenses include conspiracies and other inchoate crimes. The district court overruled Defendant's objection to the career-offender designation, concluding that Defendant's age, conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and predicate offenses of two prior state drug-trafficking offenses triggered the career-offender enhancement. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that because this Court has previously held the commentary to section 4B1.2 authoritative in defining a "controlled substance offense," there was no clear or obvious error in Defendant's sentence. View "United States v. Lewis" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for conspiring to deal in firearms without a license and dealing in firearms without a license on a theory of aiding and abetting, holding that Defendant's challenges to his sentence were unavailing.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court committed several errors that inflated the calculation of his guideline sentencing range. The First Circuit disagreed, holding (1) the district court did not err in finding that Defendant was a "prohibited person" at the time of the offense; (2) the district court did not clearly err in finding that the offenses of conviction involved at least eight firearms; (3) the district court did not err in applying the exportation enhancement, the enhancement for engaging in firearms trafficking, and the role-in-the-offense enhancement; and (4) Defendant waived his claim that the district court erred in calculating his criminal history score. View "United States v. Ilarraza" on Justia Law