Rulings in Criminal Cases

By FindLaw Staff on March 1, 2010 11:09 AM

In US v. Goodwyn, No. 09-7316, the court faced a challenge to the district court's grant of defendant's motion for a reduction in his sentence a second time within eight months. In reversing the decision, the court held that although the district court acted within its authority to grant the first motion under 18 U.S.C. section 3582(c)(2) and U.S.S.G. section 1B1.10, the district court lacked the authority to grant the motion for reconsideration under these, or any other, provisions a second time.

In US v. Jarmon, No. 08-4624, the court faced a challenge to a sentence on a felony firearm conviction based on a prior 2002 conviction for larceny from the person a crime of violence. In affirming the conviction, the court held that under the "otherwise" clause of the guidelines, larceny from the person is the type of purposeful, violent, and aggressive conduct that would support an inference that this offender would be more dangerous with a gun.

In US v. Baptiste, No. 07-4493, the court dealt with defendant's various challenge to his conviction for drug related crimes. In affirming the conviction and his sentence, the court rejected defendant's claim that the district court erred in allowing a detective to testify as an expert witness, that the prosecution made inappropriate remarks in its closing argument, and that the district court erred in failing to conduct voir dire following allegations of jury intimidation.

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