Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

After Plaintiff-Appellee Levi Frasier video-recorded Denver police officers using force while arresting an uncooperative suspect in public, one of the officers followed Frasier to his car and asked him to provide a statement on what he had seen and to turn over his video of the arrest. Frasier at first denied having filmed the arrest but ultimately showed the officer the tablet computer on which he had video-recorded it. He did so after an officer, Defendant-Appellant Christopher Evans, and four other members of the Denver Police Department (the other Defendants-Appellants) surrounded him and allegedly pressured him to comply with their demand to turn over the video. Frasier contended that when he showed Officer Evans the tablet computer, the officer grabbed it from his hands and searched it for the video without his consent. Frasier sued the five officers under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming they violated and conspired to violate his constitutional rights under both the First and Fourth Amendments. The officers moved the district court for summary judgment on qualified-immunity grounds, and the court granted them qualified immunity on some of Frasier’s claims but denied it to them on others. The district court, as relevant here, held that Officer Evans had reasonable suspicion to detain Frasier throughout their encounter because Frasier lied to him about filming the arrest, thereby potentially violating Colorado Revised Statutes 18-8-111. The court granted Officer Evans qualified immunity on Frasier’s claim that the officer illegally detained him in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and Frasier did not oppose granting summary judgment to the other officers on this claim. Officer Evans did not move for summary judgment on Frasier’s claim that he illegally searched Frasier’s tablet computer in violation of the Fourth Amendment, but the other officers did. The court granted them summary judgment because the record did not support a finding that they personally participated in the alleged search. The district court, however, denied the officers qualified immunity on Frasier’s First Amendment retaliation claim even though it had concluded that Frasier did not have a clearly established right to film a public arrest. The officers appealed the district court’s partial denial of qualified immunity. The Tenth Circuit concluded the district court erred and reversed the partial denial of the officers' motions for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. The matter was remanded for further proceedings. View "Frasier v. Evans" on Justia Law

Defendant Malcom McGee was convicted by a jury of three criminal counts: (1) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of a mixture of substance containing a detectable amount of PCP; (2) causing another person to possess with intent to distribute in excess of one kilogram of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of PCP; and (3) using a communication facility to commit and facilitate the commission of a felony. Because McGee had previously been convicted in California of two felony drug offenses, the district court sentenced McGee to a mandatory term of life imprisonment. Following Congress’s enactment of the First Step Act of 2018 (First Step Act) and the changes the First Step Act made to both section 841(b)(1)(A) and 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), McGee moved the district court pursuant to section 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) to reduce his sentence based on “extraordinary and compelling reasons.” The district court denied that motion, and McGee appealed. Because the Tenth Circuit concluded the district court misunderstood the extent of its authority at both steps one and two of section 3582(c)(1)(A)’s statutory test, it reversed the district court’s decision and remanded to the district court so that it could reconsider McGee’s motion. View "United States v. McGee" on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Justin Foust appealed his conviction on six counts of wire fraud, and one count each of aggravated identity theft and money laundering. He was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release. Foust’s company, Platinum Express, LLC, submitted false and fraudulent invoices to its customer, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (“Chesapeake”). Chesapeake identified more than $4.5 million that it had paid out on these invoices. Foust did not deny that the invoices were improper and that Platinum Express had not performed the work. But he denied that he had forged the signatures and employee identification numbers of Chesapeake employees. A handwriting expert testified otherwise regarding invoices associated with Chesapeake employee Bobby Gene Putman. The jury convicted Foust on the wire-fraud and aggravated-identity-theft counts associated with these invoices. On appeal, Foust argued the district court abused its discretion by allowing the handwriting expert to testify at trial. He contended: (1) the government did not adequately show that the expert’s methodology was reliable; and (2) the handwriting expert used unreliable data in reaching his opinion. Finding no abuse of discretion, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court judgment. View "United States v. Foust" on Justia Law

Defendant Aaron Mercado-Gracia challenged his three convictions for drug trafficking, conspiring to traffic drugs, and using a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking offense. In upholding his convictions, the Tenth Circuit found the district court did not err in denying Mercado-Gracia’s motion to suppress evidence discovered as the result of a traffic stop. The traffic stop evolved into a consensual encounter during which the police officer developed reasonable suspicion to believe Mercado-Gracia was involved in drug trafficking. That reasonable suspicion justified a brief investigative detention, during which the officer deployed his drug-sniffing dog, which alerted, leading to the discovery of a gun and two kilograms of heroin in the car Mercado-Gracia was driving. Furthermore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mercado-Gracia’s request to play during voir dire a video to educate prospective jurors on implicit bias. Thus, finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Mercado-Gracia's convictions. View "United States v. Mercado-Gracia" on Justia Law

Defendant Nabeel Aziz Khan (“Nabeel”) and his brother, Defendant Dr. Shakeel Kahn were convicted by a Wyoming jury on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Defendants were tried together; they appealed separately, but because their appeals raised several overlapping issues, the Tenth Circuit addressed both appeals in this opinion. In 2008, Dr. Kahn started a medical practice in Ft. Mohave, Arizona. Later that year, Nabeel arrived in Arizona and began assisting with managing Dr. Kahn’s practice. After Nabeel’s arrival, Dr. Kahn’s practice shifted towards pain management. Dr. Kahn regularly prescribed patients various controlled substances. The prescriptions he wrote aligned closely with what patients were able to pay, rather than the patients’ medical need; when patients were prescribed more pills, Dr. Kahn charged more for his medical services, and when patients could not afford the price of the prescription, Dr. Kahn prescribed fewer pills, or withheld a prescription entirely. The price of prescriptions also closely tracked the “street price” of the pills. In addition to shifting towards pain management, Dr. Kahn’s practice also shifted to a primarily “cash-only” basis, although he also accepted payment in personal property, including firearms. Many of Dr. Kahn’s patients sold pills so they could afford their prescriptions. Beginning in late 2012, pharmacies in the Ft. Mohave area began refusing to fill prescriptions issued by Dr. Kahn. In 2015, he opened a second practice in Casper, Wyoming. During that time, Dr. Kahn continued to travel to Arizona to see patients about once per month; other patients travelled to Wyoming to see Dr. Kahn. Nabeel primarily resided at Dr. Kahn’s Arizona residence, and acted as office manager for the Arizona office. Dr. Kahn’s wife, Lyn Kahn, acted as office manager for the Wyoming office. In 2016, the government investigated Dr. Kahn's prescribing practices, which lead to a search warrant executed on Dr. Kahn's Wyoming residence, his Arizona residence, and a separate business he and his wife owned in Wyoming, "Vape World." Reviewing defendants' challenges, the Tenth Circuit concluded the trial court committed no reversible errors and affirmed defendants' convictions. View "United States v. Khan" on Justia Law

At issue in this appeal was whether a police search of defendant Mathias Mora's home violated the Fourth Amendment. Officers responded to a 911 call reporting that dozens of people exited the back of a tractor trailer behind a supermarket. When officers arrived, the trailer was gone. But officers found fourteen people lacking identification; none of the captured passengers suggested that the driver, or anyone else, took any passengers to another location. Officers soon discovered a trailer matching the 911 caller’s description in a nearby Walmart parking lot. Officers opened the trailer’s rear doors to find it empty, except for a bottle apparently containing urine and the smell of body odor. Officers did not open the locked cab door. Officers learned the trailer was registered to Defendant, proceeded to his home, and placed Defendant and his wife under arrest. Mrs. Mora denied the officers permission to search the home. Even so, officers conducted a warrantless search (protective sweep) of the home after consulting with the U.S. Attorney’s Office “to ensure the safety of agents” and “the safety of other potential undocumented immigrants.” Although they did not find any people, officers noticed what they believed to be a gun safe and ammunition containers. Officers also learned that Defendant was a felon, which would make him a prohibited possessor. The government obtained a warrant to search Defendant’s home for evidence of alien smuggling and prohibited possession of a firearm or ammunition. A subsequent search turned up both firearms and ammunition. Defendant ultimately pled guilty to two counts of alien smuggling and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, for which he was sentenced to 32 months for smuggling and 48 months for gun possession, all to run concurrently. Defendant appealed the denial of his suppression motion, which related only to his felon in possession conviction. Finding officers lacked probable cause to search Defendant's home, the district court's suppression order was reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings. View "United States v. Mora" on Justia Law

Appellant Victor Kearney was the lifetime income beneficiary of two spendthrift trusts when he filed for bankruptcy in 2017. The United States Trustee’s office appointed an unsecured creditors committee (“UCC”) which proposed a reorganization plan contemplating a one-time trust distribution to pay off appellant's debts. After a New Mexico state court modified the trusts to authorize the distribution, the bankruptcy court approved the plan. Appellant appealed. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”) of the Tenth Circuit concluded that the bankruptcy court did not deny appellant due process, made no errors in its findings of fact, and did not abuse its discretion in settling appellant's claims. On appeal of that decision, appellant argued that using spendthrift trust assets to fund the reorganization plan violated the trusts’ spendthrift provision and the law, and that approving the settlement of his claims amounted to an abuse of the bankruptcy court’s discretion. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the BAP. View "Kearney v. Unsecured Creditors Committee" on Justia Law

Defendant-appellant Ronald Benton was convicted by jury of one count of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The district court imposed a sentence based on the penalty found in 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(2). Benton challenges his conviction on multiple grounds. The Tenth Circuit found that each of those grounds was predicated on accepting his proposed interpretation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019). Specifically, Benton argued that, under Rehaif, the government was required to prove not only that he knew he was a domestic violence misdemeanant, but also that he knew that status prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Benton contended his conviction had to be vacated because the jury was not instructed it must find he knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm, and because the government presented insufficient evidence concerning his knowledge that he was so prohibited. To this, the Tenth Circuit rejected Benton’s interpretation of Rehaif, holding that in a prosecution under sections 922(g) and 924(a)(2), the government need not prove a defendant knew his status under section 922(g) prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Instead, the only knowledge required for conviction was that the defendant knew: (1) he possessed a firearm; and (2) had the relevant status under section 922(g) at the time of his possession. Because the Court rejected Benton’s proposed interpretation of Rehaif, the Court further rejected his challenges to the jury instructions and the sufficiency of the evidence. View "United States v. Benton" on Justia Law

Prior to her arrest in May 2017, Defendant-Appellant Gladys Nkome participated in an international “advance-fee” conspiracy managed by individuals located in the Republic of Cameroon. The Cameroon-based organizers created websites that purportedly sold legal and illegal goods. They convinced prospective online buyers to wire purchase money to fictitious U.S.-based sellers. A U.S.-based individual posing as a seller (a so-called “money mule”) would retrieve the wired money, take a percentage, and send the remainder overseas to the conspiracy’s organizers. The buyers would never receive the items that they sought to purchase. For approximately thirteen months, Ms. Nkome used at least thirty-five (35) fraudulent identities to collect $357,078.74 in wire transfers connected to the conspiracy. Nkome challenged the district court’s denial of a mitigating-role adjustment under United States Sentencing Guideline section 3B1.2. After careful consideration of Ms. Nkome’s arguments, the Tenth Circuit concluded that the district court did not err. View "United States v. Nkome" on Justia Law

In 2010, defendant Shaun Salazar pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1). Section 922(g)(1), by way of 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(2), carried a statutory maximum of 120 months in prison. In 2011, district court sentenced Salazar to 115 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Salazar completed his prison term and began serving his term of supervised release in May 2019. Soon after, a probation officer filed a petition to revoke Salazar’s supervised release, alleging that Salazar violated two conditions of his supervised release by committing battery against his brother and associating with a felon, his girlfriend. Salazar appealed the district court’s order revoking his term of supervised release and sentencing him to ten months’ imprisonment, arguing his ten-month prison sentence was illegal because, when combined with his prior 115-month prison term, it exceeded the 120-month statutory maximum for his crime of conviction. The Tenth Circuit previously rejected this argument in United States v. Robinson, holding “that [18 U.S.C. section] 3583 authorizes the revocation of supervised release even where the resulting incarceration, when combined with the period of time the defendant has already served for his [or her] substantive offense, will exceed the maximum incarceration permissible under the substantive statute.” Because it remained bound by Robinson, the Court affirmed. View "United States v. Salazar" on Justia Law