Where a police officer was charged with soliciting and accepting sexual favors from confidential informants, the government was allowed to introduce the testimony of a woman who had allegedly been sexually assaulted and threatened by the defendant following her arrest ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge James P. Jones U.S. District Court - Western District

A defendant charged with illegal reentry could not dismiss the indictment on the basis the original notice to appear was deficient because he later received an adequate notice of hearing with a time and place. Background Javier Cruz Bonilla is ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where an employee was charged with fraudulently obtaining hydrocodone in 2011 through her position at a solo dental practice, the employee’s history of ordering drugs for the practice since 2002 was admissible to show the employee’s pattern of conduct and ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge G. Steven Agee

A defendant claiming the relevant law had changed after his sentence was not entitled to habeas relief because, in fact, the law had not changed. Background Jermaine Moss was tried in a Florida federal district court for two drug offenses ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Albert Diaz

A district judge could reject a plea agreement if the court was concerned it was too lenient or questioned whether it served the public interest. Once the court rejected the plea agreement, it did not err in rejecting the defendant’s ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Judge Robert B. King

A motion to set aside the jury’s guilty verdicts on multiple counts of sex crimes involving two juvenile victims is denied. “The Court (1) finds that the evidence regarding victim reliability is sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdicts; (2) ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

Where the defendant’s counsel learned that the defendant had suffered from mental health issues as a child after the defendant had already validly pleaded guilty to all charges, the defendant could not withdraw his guilty pleas to explore the possibility ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals

Police officers did not have probable cause to search a defendant’s car based on the presence of folded lottery tickets in plain view because lottery tickets have a legitimate purpose and their incriminating nature was not immediately apparent. As a ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Jean Harrison Clements Virginia Court of Appeals

Where a defendant obtained a legal name change in his country of birth after he was deported following his conviction for a sex offense, but never legally changed his name in Virginia, the defendant did not commit forgery by applying ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Teresa M. Chafin Virginia Court of Appeals

The “manifest injustice” standard applies to defendant’s post-sentencing motion to withdraw her plea. Her lack of a viable defense and the actual or potential collateral consequences of her plea – losing her house or job – do not warrant setting ...

Tagged with: Criminal Justice Stephen R. McCullough Supreme Court of Virginia