U. S. Supreme Court Happenings and Favorable Federal Circuit Opinions for the Week of May 20-24, 2024--

U. S. Supreme Court Happenings– Week ending May 24, 2024 –

The Justices held their May 23, 2024 conference. We expect Orders on May 28, 2024.

Brown v. United States, (No. 22–6389) (S. Ct. May 23, 2024) – These cases concern the application of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) to state drug convictions that occurred before recent technical amendments to the federal drug schedules. ACCA imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence on defendants who are convicted for the illegal possession of a firearm and have a criminal history that is thought to demonstrate a propensity for violence. These defendants are subject to ACCA’s enhanced penalty if, among other things, they have “three previous convictions” for “a serious drug offense.” 18 U.S.C. §924(e)(1). For a state crime to qualify as a “serious drug offense,” it must carry a maximum sentence of at least 10 years’ imprisonment, and it must “involv[e] . . . a controlled substance . . . as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act” (CSA). §§924(e)(1), (2)(A)(ii). The CSA, in turn, includes five schedules of controlled substances and provides that these schedules must be updated each year by the Attorney General. 84 Stat. 1245, 1247, 21 U. S. C. §§ 811, 812. The two cases now before us present the question whether a state crime constitutes a “serious drug offense” if it involved a drug that was on the federal schedules when the defendant possessed or trafficked in it but was later removed. We hold that such an offense qualifies. (The opinion refers to two cases. The other case is the Eleventh Circuit’s Eugene Jackson case.).

Favorable Federal Circuit Opinions for the Week of May 20-24, 2024 –

1st Circuit

United States v. Reardon, (No. 22-1883)(1st Cir. May 23, 2024)– After pleading guilty to bank fraud, Nathan Reardon was sentenced to twenty months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. As part of its sentence, the district court imposed a special condition that prohibits Reardon from all forms of self-employment during his supervised release term. Reardon -- concerned about how he would support his family given that he was self-employed for the twenty-four years prior to sentencing -- challenges this special condition on appeal. Because the district court imposed this ban without an explanation for why it was the minimum restriction necessary to protect the public, as required by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and the Court could not infer from the record that the court engaged in this analysis. The Court vacated the ban and remanded for reconsideration of the scope of that restriction.

10th Circuit

United States v. Elmore, (No. 22-1432)(10th Cir. May 21, 2024)– After Corban Elmore’s teenage son suffered a drug overdose at Elmore’s home, law-enforcement officers secured the scene and prohibited anyone from entering the house. The officers then continued to investigate and allowed almost eight hours to elapse before applying for a search warrant. Once they had a warrant in hand, the officers searched Elmore’s home and discovered two firearms in his bedroom. Elmore entered a conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and now appeals the denial of his motion to suppress. Because the eight-hour seizure of Elmore’s home was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment and because the exclusionary rule requires suppression of the firearms, the Court reversed and remanded for further proceeding.

Latest Bureau of Prison’s Statistics (From BOP Website):

Fair Sentencing/Retroactive Sentence Reductions 4,142 Orders Granted to date.
Elderly Offender Home Confinement 1,246. Approved to date.
First Step Act Releases 33,231 granted to date.
Compassionate Releases/Reduction in Sentences 4,720 granted to date.
Population in RRC’s 8,239.
Population in Home Confinement 5,049.

COMMENT:

With regard to the Supreme Court Brown decision above, the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is a messy statute that has divided the Supreme Court for decades regarding how to categorize various prior convictions as possible triggers for ACCA's 15-year mandatory minimums. The Court’s majority view is that if the prior conviction was a “serious drug offense” when you were convicted on the offense, it will remain a “serious drug offense” forever even though it would not be a “serious drug offense” if it were charged today. Thanks Supreme Court, just what we need is more backward thinking. Otherwise, another slow week in the circuit courts maybe anticipating this weeks Holiday.

Please note below that Lily will be taking over Carina’s position for Spanish Speaking clients. We can help anyone interested in putting together a package to apply for clemency or pardons. The better the package, the better the chance. In the past, we have had many people get clemencies, computations of sentences and a few pardons.

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