Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

Appellant Tizoc Chalchihutlaton Garcia-Herrera was charged with numerous counts relating to a drug conspiracy. He pled guilty to one count pursuant to a plea agreement in which he waived his right to appeal or challenge his conviction or sentence with respect to all claims but claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The government dismissed the other counts. Appellant was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment, and he did not appeal. However, apparently dissatisfied with counsel, Appellant filed a pro se “Motion to Compel Former Attorney to Produce Record File/Work Product Material” in his closed criminal case. His motion demanded “all documents and work regarding his case.” He did not identify any potential substantive basis for relief, nor did he state he intended to file a motion for relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255. His only claim of motivation to seek the files was his need “to have even the slightest chance at proving any future claims.” The district court granted partial relief and directed defense counsel to provide Appellant with certain documents. Appellant appealed that order, claiming a right to all of the files. In response, the government argued that the district court lacked jurisdiction to grant any part of the motion and requested that this court vacate the district court’s order and remand with instructions to dismiss appellant’s motion for lack of jurisdiction. The Tenth Circuit agreed it and the district court lacked jurisdiction to grant appellant’s requested relief, and therefore vacated the order and remanded for dismissal. View "United States v. Garcia-Herrera" on Justia Law

Manuel Chavez-Morales appeared before the district court following his fifth conviction for an illegal reentry offense. At sentencing, he argued that higher wages in the United States motivated his decision to illegally reenter the United States. Focusing heavily on Chavez-Morales’s criminal history and noting that none of the earlier sentences deterred Chavez-Morales from reoffending, the district court imposed an upward variant sentence of thirty-six months’ imprisonment. The district court also imposed a three-year term of supervised release. On appeal, Chavez-Morales challenged the procedural reasonableness of his term of imprisonment. Specifically, he argued the district court did not meaningfully consider his argument that economic opportunities motivated his decision to illegally reenter the United States and thereby mitigated the seriousness of his offense. Furthermore, Chavez-Morales argued the district court committed plain error by imposing a term of supervised release without acknowledging or considering United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual (U.S.S.G.) section 5D1.1(c), which stated a court “ordinarily” should not impose a term of supervised release when “the defendant is a deportable alien who likely will be deported after imprisonment.” The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court. With respect to the prison term, the Court found the transcript of the sentencing hearing established that, on three occasions, the district court addressed the economic motivation argument. As to the imposition of a term of supervised release, while the district court erred by not acknowledging and considering U.S.S.G. 5D1.1(c), Chavez- Morales did not carry his burden on the third prong of the plain error analysis. View "United States v. Chavez-Morales" on Justia Law

Kevin Underwood appealed the federal district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. In 2008, a jury convicted Underwood of first degree murder and sentenced him to death in Oklahoma state court. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (“OCCA”) affirmed Underwood’s conviction and sentence and later denied post-conviction relief. The federal district court denied Underwood’s requests for relief and for a certificate of appealability (“COA”) on all eleven grounds raised in his 18 U.S.C. section 2254 application. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted COAs on six of the eleven grounds for relief, but finding that he was not entitled to habeas relief, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial. View "Underwood v. Royal" on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Julia Frias was convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, and sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release, consecutive to a state sentence. On appeal, Frias argued she was denied her constitutional right to a speedy trial and that the district court abused its discretion in instructing the jury on the government’s burden of proof and responding to a jury inquiry. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Frias’ conviction. View "United States v. Frias" on Justia Law

Petitioner-Appellant Mirella Ivonne Avila-Ramos appealed the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief for an extradition certification order. Avila-Ramos was wanted for aggravated homicide in Chihuahua, Mexico. According to the warrant for her arrest, Avila-Ramos plotted with Arturo Heriberto Herrera Rey, her paramour, to murder her husband. Avila-Ramos’s husband, who had survived an earlier attempt on his life, was on his way to a hospital appointment when he was attacked and killed by a hired gun. An investigation implicated Avila-Ramos and Rey in the hit, and Rey was convicted of aggravated homicide for his involvement in the crime. On appeal, Avila-Ramos challenged the magistrate judge’s and district court’s probable cause rulings. Finding that the magistrate judge adequately found probable cause that Avila-Ramos committed aggravated homicide, the crime identified in the extradition request, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order. View "Avila-Ramos v. Deal" on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Keith Howard Hull challenged one of the conditions of supervised release imposed by the district court when it sentenced him for committing bank robbery. The condition required him to notify third parties of risks he could pose to them. According to Hull, the condition was unconstitutionally vague, an unconstitutional delegation of judicial authority, and an unlawful occupational restriction. Specifically, Hull argued the condition was vague because it did not provide his probation officer with sufficient guidance to determine the sort of risks that triggered application of the condition. The Tenth Circuit concluded this argument failed: sufficient guidance was given by the district court at sentencing. Accordingly, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Hull's sentence. View "United States v. Hull" on Justia Law

At sentencing, the district court enhanced Clifford Young’s guideline range for recklessly endangering others while fleeing from a law-enforcement officer. During the flight, he threatened to shoot if the police took action. They took action anyway, using “spike strips” to bring Young’s vehicle to an eventual stop. But Young refused to surrender, engaging in an armed standoff on the side of the highway. This conduct provided an adequate basis for the enhancement; the Tenth Circuit therefore affirmed. View "United States v. Young" on Justia Law

Jacob Ibanez was convicted of unlawfully possessing a gun. On appeal, he challenged his 50-month sentence on the ground that it was substantively unreasonable. The Tenth Circuit determined Ibanez failed to address any whether the ultimate sentence was unreasonable based on the statutory sentencing factors. Instead, he attacked the reasonableness of a guideline provision invoked by the district court. "Even if we were to agree with Mr. Ibanez’s criticism of the guideline provision, this criticism would not implicate the reasonableness of the sentence itself." As a result, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the sentence. View "United States v. Ibanez" on Justia Law

During a traffic stop, an officer found a large quantity of drugs in a vehicle driven by James Vance. A grand jury indicted Vance for possession of at least 500 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Vance filed a motion to suppress the methamphetamine as the fruit of an illegal traffic stop; the district court denied Vance’s motion. Vance entered into a conditional guilty plea, preserving the right to appeal the district court’s denial of the suppression motion. On appeal, Vance argued: (1) his conduct did not amount to a violation of N.M. Stat. Ann. 66-7-317(A) because his lane change did not pose a safety risk to, or have an actual affect on, nearby traffic; and (2) even assuming a lane change that does not pose a hazard to another vehicle can amount to a violation of section 66-7-317(A), officers lacked reasonable suspicion to believe he failed to confirm the safety of his lane change before making it. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Vance's conviction. View "United States v. Vance" on Justia Law

This appeal stemmed from a special condition of supervised release, which banned Dominic Pacheco-Donelson from associating with any gang members. He challenged the ban only with respect to its inclusion of two of his foster brothers. Pacheco-Donelson argued inclusion of the two foster brothers rendered the ban procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The Tenth Circuit disagreed, finding Pacheco-Donelson failed to object at district court based on procedural reasonableness, and he had not shown plain error. In addition, the Court found special condition was substantively reasonable, for it was reasonably related to the statutory sentencing factors and did not deprive Pacheco-Donelson of greater liberty than was reasonably necessary. View "United States v. Pacheco-Donelson" on Justia Law