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

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence of 240 months' imprisonment imposed in connection with his guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of accessing child pornography with intent to view, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable.The district court sentenced Defendant to the statutory maximum sentence on each count, to be served concurrently. The First Circuit affirmed the sentence, holding (1) the district court did not err in applying enhancements given for a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse of minors and for obstruction of justice; (2) the acceptance of responsibility reduction was properly denied; and (3) the district court's imposition of the statutory maximum sentence was substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Coffin" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his guilty plea and conviction on charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable.Defendant was convicted on charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The district court sentenced Defendant to thirty-six months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not commit procedural errors in calculating Defendant's Guidelines sentencing range; and (2) Defendant's challenge to the substantive reasonableness of her sentence was unavailing. View "United States v. Jimenez" on Justia Law

In this case alleging negligent design, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of Defendants on the ground that Plaintiff failed to establish the applicable standard of care, a breach of duty, and that the accident giving rise to this action was foreseeable to Defendants, holding that judgment was properly granted for Defendants.When a vehicle was driven into another vehicle parked outside a building, the parked vehicle crashed into the building's open terrace, injuring several individuals sitting within the terrace, including Plaintiff, Plaintiff sued the owner of the building, his heirs, and his insurer, arguing that the terrace was negligently designed. The district court entered judgment for the defense. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Plaintiff failed to show damage through fault or negligence of Defendants. View "Aponte-Bermudez v. Colon" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of drug trafficking charges, including conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and Defendant's sentence of 136 months in prison, holding that no reversible error occurred in the proceedings below.Pursuant to a search warrant, federal agents searched Defendant's apartment and found a stolen gun, more than $30,000 in cash, more than a kilo of heroin, and other narcotics and drug paraphernalia. Defendant pleaded guilty to several drug trafficking charges. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the trial judge did not err by (1) denying Defendant's motion to suppress the evidence from his apartment; (2) denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea; (3) deciding not to appoint new counsel and to let Defendant handle his sentencing pro se; and (4) failing to set a lower guideline sentencing range. View "United States v. Gonzalez-Arias" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying the motions to suppress filed by Defendants Cuwan Merritt and Michael Artis, the district court's ruling admitting co-conspirator statements under Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) and 403 and United States v. Petrozziello, 548 F.2d 20 (1st Cir. 1977), and Defendants' convictions of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, holding that Defendants were not entitled to relief.In denying Defendants' motions to suppress drugs found on each Defendant the trial court found that police had probable cause to stop an automobile in which Defendants were known to be traveling with two confidential informants. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Defendants failed to show that the police lacked probable cause to arrest them before a vehicle stop; and (2) the district court properly admitted the out-of-court statements made by a co-conspirator. View "United States v. Merritt" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress his booking fingerprints as the fruit of what he argued was an unlawful arrest, holding that because the fingerprints were obtained for routine booking purposes there was no basis in the record for suppression of the fingerprint evidence.During a law enforcement scheme targeting a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, Defendant was administratively arrested for unlawful presence in the United States. Defendant was fingerprinted during a routine booking and later charged with multiple counts related to his involvement in the scheme. Defendant moved to suppress his booking fingerprints. The district court denied the motion, concluding that Defendant was arrested without probable cause but that the fingerprint evidence was admissible under the doctrine of inevitable discovery. The First Circuit affirmed, albeit on different grounds, holding that where the fingerprints were not obtained for any purpose other than routine booking the evidence could not be suppressed under the exclusionary rule. View "United States v. Cruz-Mercedes" on Justia Law

In this interlocutory appeal involving the judgment of the district court sustaining Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico's newly enacted bar on "reprogramming" the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the reprogramming suspension provision challenges, holding that the district court correctly found that the reprogramming provisions in the 2019-2020 fiscal plan and budget were entirely valid as consistent with the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Security Act (PROMESA).Under PROMESA the Board developed and certified a fiscal plan and budget for the Commonwealth for the fiscal year 2019-2020. The Governor and Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority filed a complaint seeking a declaration striking challenged provisions, including the provision barring reprogramming, i.e., spending during the 2019-2020 fiscal year money that had been authorized but not actually spent in a prior fiscal year. The district court sustained the bar on reprogramming. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the Board possessed the authority to unilaterally impose the reprogramming bar. View "Vazquez-Garced v. Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's conviction of four counts of filing false tax returns and one count of attempting to obstruct the internal-revenue laws and the sentence imposed in connection with the conviction, holding that there was no error or plain error in the proceedings below.Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) the trial judge did not commit plain error by admitting for impeachment purposes a false-statement conviction Defendant incurred in 2006; (2) Defendant failed to meet his burden of proving that any error in the jury instructions affected his substantial rights; and (3) the trial judge did not err by imposing a $286,433 restitution amount recommended by the probation officer in her pre-sentence report. View "United States v. Takesian" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Father's petition brought under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act seeking return of his child from the United States to Chile on the basis that Mother had wrongfully retained the child in violation of his custody rights, holding that the district court did not err.In denying Father's petition the trial judge ruled, among other things, that clear and convincing evidence established that the child faced a grave risk of harm if sent back to Chile. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that where the district judge was in a unique position to gauge the child's credibility, none of Father's arguments left this Court with a firm conviction that the district judge made a mistake on the grave-risk issue. View "Diaz-Alarcon v. Flandez-Marcel" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed in connection with Defendant's conviction of conspiring to possess and distribute heroin and fentanyl, holding that the district court did not err in adopting the government's estimate of the heroin attributable to Defendant.The district court adopted the district court's estimate and found Defendant responsible for more than one kilogram of heroin. The district court then fixed the guideline sentencing range as fifty-seven to seventy-one months of imprisonment and imposed a sentence of sixty-six months. Defendant appealed, challenging the district court's drug quantity determination. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in adopting the government's estate where that estimate, if anything, understated Defendant's involvement. View "United States v. Rodriguez" on Justia Law