TSA Screening Challenge Filed in Wrong Court

Illegal Re-Entry Sentence Enhanced for ‘Drug Trafficking’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A defendant’s conviction under Oregon state law of unlawful delivery of heroin may be regarded as a “drug trafficking offense” qualifying for a 16-level enhancement under federal sentencing guidelines, and the 4th Circuit affirms defendant’s sentence of 50 months on his conviction of illegal entry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). The [...]

‘Substantial Reason’ for Gun Public Carry Upheld

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 29, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Rights, Judge Robert B. King

The 4th Circuit reverses a Maryland federal court’s injunction against enforcement of a state statute that conditions the right to carry a handgun in public on having a “good and substantial reason” to do so; because we disagree with the court’s conclusion that the good-and-substantial-reason requirement cannot pass constitutional muster, we reverse the judgment without [...]

Va. Anti-Sodomy Statute Overturned

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 20, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A 47-year-old man convicted of criminal sexual solicitation of a 17-year-old woman based on his solicitation of an act of sodomy under Va. Code § 18.2-361(A) wins habeas relief in the 4th Circuit, as the federal appellate court declares Virginia’s anti-sodomy statute unconstitutional. Defendant pursues both facial and applied due process challenges to the anti-sodomy [...]

Appeals court strikes down Virginia anti-sodomy law

By The Associated Press
Published: March 18, 2013
Tags: Criminal, Federal Courts, Judge Albert Diaz, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, Judge Robert B. King

(AP) The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Virginia anti-sodomy law that remains on the books a decade after a similar Texas statute was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 2-1 ruling March 12, a panel of the 4th Circuit declared that Virginia’s law against oral and anal sex violates [...]

Admission of Jailhouse Testimony was Harmless

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 15, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

Although the trial court admitted a jailhouse informant’s testimony about defendant’s efforts to write a letter that shed light on his involvement in his wife’s murder, in violation of defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and the 4th Circuit affirms defendant’s conviction of interstate domestic violence. Defendant’s argument finds [...]

No Relief for ‘Honest Services’ Error

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 13, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

Although the government concedes a constitutional error occurred at the mail fraud trial of defendant, a former lawyer/lobbyist, when the district court erroneously instructed the jury it could convict defendant on the “honest services” fraud theory, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and the 4th Circuit upholds denial of coram nobis relief. In [...]

Glock Buy for Uncle Was ‘Straw Man’ Purchase

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 29, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

A former police officer who thought he could get a good deal in buying a Glock 19 handgun that his uncle wanted, can be convicted as a “straw purchaser” for making a false affirmation that he was the owner, in violation of federal firearms laws; the 4th Circuit joins the 6th and 11th Circuits and [...]

Warrantless Seizure of Laptop OK

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 11, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Robert B. King, Search & Seizure

Although a search warrant executed by Charlottesville detectives only authorized search of the building of the private ambulance service that employed defendant and had been identified as the subscriber of an IP address to which child pornography had been downloaded, the warrantless seizure of defendant’s laptop from the ambulance parked outside was justified by exigent [...]

No civil commitment for child molester

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 11, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King

Although the district court erred in finding that appellee, a convicted child molester diagnosed with “hebephilia” or sexual interest in pubescents, did not suffer from a mental impairment under the federal statute that authorizes civil commitment of “sexually dangerous persons,” the 4th Circuit nevertheless agrees the government did not prove a “relative likelihood” that appellee [...]