Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

Applicant Douglas Winn sought a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the denial by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma of his application for relief under 28 U.S.C. 2241. Applicant was charged in Oklahoma state court with domestic abuse (assault and battery) and related offenses. At a pretrial hearing he signed a waiver of his right to a jury trial so that he could qualify for a state mental-health court program. Because he did not complete the program, his case was put back on the trial docket. He then filed a motion in the state trial court for reinstatement of a jury trial, stating his waiver was not knowing, willing, or voluntary. There was no transcript of the pretrial hearing, so the court held an evidentiary hearing. Applicant testified that he had believed he was signing paperwork to enter the mental-health program, rather than signing a waiver, because he did not read the paperwork. He further claimed he did not recall either his attorney or the judge advising him about the waiver. Applicant’s then-attorney testified that although he could not remember specifically discussing the waiver with Applicant, his standard practice was to advise defendants of the rights they were waiving and the permanence of such a waiver. The court determined that the waiver was knowing and voluntary and denied Applicant’s motion. The State responded that Applicant had validly waived his right to a jury trial, and the district court agreed. The court also held: (1) Applicant had exhausted his available state remedies by raising his invalid- waiver claim in the state trial court and then seeking emergency relief from the OCCA on the same ground; and (2) it was not required to abstain from exercising jurisdiction under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). Because the Tenth Circuit held the district court should have abstained, it did not address any other issues. View "Winn v. Cook" on Justia Law

In March 2018, Defendant Nowlin Waugh, Jr. was driving on Interstate 40 in Eastern Oklahoma when Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Aaron Lockney observed his vehicle cross over the fog line. Believing the driver was fatigued, texting, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Trooper Lockney initiated a traffic stop. Trooper Lockney activated his emergency lights, but Defendant refused to yield and continued eastbound on Interstate 40. After following Defendant for approximately 10 miles, Trooper Lockney performed a “tactical vehicle intervention,” ramming Defendant’s vehicle and bringing it to a stop. Inside the vehicle, Trooper Lockney and other officers found two trashcans, four gallon-size bottles of bleach, shards of suspected methamphetamine strewn about the vehicle, six kilo-sized vacuum-sealed bags that had been ripped open, two or three gallon-sized Ziploc bags, and some shrink wrap. The interior of the vehicle was wet in places and smelled strongly of bleach. The troopers believed Defendant used the bleach to destroy large quantities of methamphetamine during the ten-mile police chase. The troopers recovered the largest shards of suspected methamphetamine for testing. The suspected methamphetamine was subsequently weighed at 54.19 grams of methamphetamine with a 93% purity rate. Defendant was charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of methamphetamine. Defendant proceeded to trial and argued that, although he possessed methamphetamine, he did not intend to distribute it. Defendant introduced no evidence he was a user of methamphetamine but, during opening and closing statements, defense counsel argued the Government could not prove Defendant possessed the requisite intent to distribute. In furtherance of this defense, Defendant asked the district court to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of simple possession. The district court denied Defendant’s request, and the jury returned a guilty verdict. Defendant appealed, arguing the district court erred in refusing to give the lesser included instruction on mere possession. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Waugh" on Justia Law

The government alleged that defendant Carlos Fernandez-Baron participated in a drug ring that repeatedly transported large quantities of cocaine from El Paso to Denver. The government relied in part on a text message asking Fernandez-Barron about the timetable for delivery of a “BMW.” An expert witness for the government testified that “BMW” was code for a load delivery of cocaine (rather than an actual BMW). Fernandez-Barron denied that the message referred to cocaine, testifying that he had been in the process of selling his BMW and arranging to deliver the car. References to an Impala stemmed from testimony by another participant in the drug ring, Martha Mota. Mota stated that one of the men was the same person depicted in a photograph of Fernandez-Barron, but she couldn’t recognize this man in the courtroom during the trial. Fernandez-Barron was ultimately convicted on charges of conspiracy, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. At sentencing, the district court found Fernandez-Barron perjured himself when testifying that he had sold a BMW in May 2014 and did not own an Impala. Based on the perjury, the court imposed a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice. Fernandez-Barron appealed, challenging the enhancement for obstruction of justice. The Tenth Circuit concluded the district court did not err in applying the enhancement. View "United States v. Fernandez-Barron" on Justia Law

Kenneth Brewington told potential investors that he owned or controlled billions in assets that didn’t exist. At trial, Brewington acknowledged that much of what he had said was untrue. But he argued to the jury that he had been duped. "The jury was apparently unimpressed," and found him guilty on eleven counts of: (1) conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; (2) mail fraud; (3) wire fraud; (4) conspiracy to commit money laundering; (5) money laundering; and (6) monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Brewington was sentenced to 70 months in prison. Brewington appealed the convictions based on the district court’s: (1) exclusion of emails that he had sent and received and (2) restriction of testimony by another person duped by the same man who had allegedly duped Brewington. The Tenth Circuit rejected these challenges, finding Brewington never offered some of the emails into evidence, so the court never had an opportunity to consider their admissibility. The district court did exclude three other emails. But if the court did err in these rulings, the errors would have been harmless because the district court ultimately allowed Brewington to testify about the emails, and the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming. View "United States v. Brewington" on Justia Law

Petitioner Aaron Sandusky, a federal prisoner then-serving a 120-month sentence in connection with two marijuana-trafficking convictions, filed a petition for habeas relief, asserting that a congressional appropriations rider prevented the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from expending any funds to incarcerate him during the applicable time period of the appropriations rider. The district court dismissed the petition without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, concluding that the proper vehicle for Sandusky’s claim was a motion filed in the sentencing court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255. Sandusky appealed. After review, the Tenth Circuit concluded the district court was mistaken, and that a motion filed pursuant to section 2241 was the proper vehicle for the relief that Sandusky sought. Consequently, it reversed the district court judgment and remanded for further proceedings. View "Sandusky v. Goetz" on Justia Law

Feuu Fagatele appealed his 46-month prison sentence, arguing the district court erred in classifying Utah third-degree aggravated assault as a crime of violence under section 4B1.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G.). Fagatele pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Based in part on Fagatele’s 2013 Utah conviction for third-degree aggravated assault, an offense the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) classified as a crime of violence, the PSR calculated a base offense level of 20. Fagatele objected, arguing in relevant part that third-degree aggravated assault did not constitute a crime of violence under the federal guideline 4B1.2(a)’s elements clause. After review, the Tenth Circuit concluded third-degree aggravated assault “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.” Accordingly, it affirmed Fagatele’s sentence. View "United States v. Fagatele" on Justia Law

Prison Legal News (“PLN”) published a monthly magazine to help inmates navigate the criminal justice system. Between January 2010 and April 2014, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) rejected the distribution of 11 publications PLN sent to inmate subscribers at the BOP’s United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado (“ADX”). PLN sued the BOP, claiming the rejections violated PLN’s First Amendment rights, its Fifth Amendment procedural due process rights, and the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). ADX responded by distributing the 11 publications, revising its institutional policies, and issuing a declaration from its current Warden. Based on these actions, the BOP moved for summary judgment, arguing that PLN’s claims were moot or not ripe. PLN filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment on its First and Fifth Amendment claims. The district court granted the BOP’s motion and dismissed the case as moot. The Tenth Circuit determined factual developments during the litigation indeed mooted PLN’s claims. Therefore, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for the BOP and dismissing this case for lack of jurisdiction. View "Prison Legal News v. Federal Bureau of Prisons" on Justia Law

Nicholas Davis was convicted by an Oklahoma jury of first-degree murder, for which he was sentenced to death. He sought federal habeas relief. In relevant part, he asserted that both trial counsel and appellate counsel were constitutionally ineffective in failing to adequately investigate his mental health and discover that he suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, in Davis' trial PTSD claim, he alleged that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to investigate, develop, and present evidence, at both the guilt and sentencing stages, that he suffered from PTSD. In his appellate PTSD claim, he alleged that appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to investigate, develop, and raise this aspect of trial counsel’s alleged ineffectiveness on appeal. He further argued that appellate counsel was likewise ineffective in failing to investigate and present “[a] complete mental[-]health claim . . . on appeal.” The district court ruled that these claims (regarding depression) were unexhausted and subject to an anticipatory procedural bar. The Tenth Circuit, however, affirmed denial of habeas relief. The Court found Davis' Depression Claims were subject to an anticipatory procedural bar. And because the Appellate PTSD Claim lacked merit, it did not excuse the procedural default of the Trial PTSD Claim or constitute an independent basis for granting the writ. Furthermore, the Court denied Davis’s request for an expanded COA to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on three additional claims he presented in his section 2254 petition because reasonable jurists could not debate the district court’s resolution of those claims. View "Davis v. Sharp" on Justia Law

A jury found Defendant–Appellant Kevin Leffler guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a short-barreled shotgun in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possessing an unregistered firearm. Defendant appealed only his conviction for possession of a short-barreled shotgun in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, arguing the Government presented insufficient evidence for the jury to find him guilty of this offense. Because Defendant waived his only asserted ground for appeal, the Tenth Circuit declined to address the merits of his claim. View "United States v. Leffler" on Justia Law

Defendant-appellant Derrick Williams pled guilty to transportation of child pornography, and possession of child pornography, reserving his right to appeal the denial of a motion to suppress. Williams, an American citizen, boarded an international flight bound for Denver International Airport (DIA). Once on the ground, he proceeded to customs where his passport triggered multiple “lookout” alerts in the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) enforcement system. The alerts instructed CBP officers to escort Williams to DIA’s secondary screening area where he was met by a Homeland Security Special Agent. Authorities had not linked Williams to any terrorist activity, he was known to them for previous felony convictions involving weapons possession charges, trespass and fraud. At the close of the interview, the Agent Allen explained to Williams that his electronic devices, a laptop and a smartphone, would be searched. He asked for the devices’ passwords, which Williams refused to give. His electronics were taken to be returned to Williams later. In bypassing the device passwords, investigators discovered a folder containing child pornography. A search warrant was issued authorizing a full forensic search. The search ultimately yielded thousands of images and videos of child pornography. Williams was indicted and moved to suppress the evidence obtained from his laptop on grounds that it was tainted by the search conducted prior to the issuance of the search warrant. He argued that the agents needed reasonable suspicion for this kind of search and that, because they did not have it, his Fourth Amendment rights were violated. The government countered that the Fourth Amendment allowed for suspicionless searches at the border and that, even if reasonable suspicion were required, they had ample reason to suspect that Williams was involved in criminal activity. The district court held a hearing on the matter and subsequently denied the suppression motion. Williams raised multiple issues on appeal to the Tenth Circuit, but finding no reversible errors, the Tenth Circuit affirmed denial of the motion. View "United States v. Williams" on Justia Law