Criminal Law

Decided: May 15, 2014

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s civil commitment of the defendant to the custody of the United States Attorney General when the district court found that he was a sexually …

Decided: April 16, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that the district court did not clearly err by holding Lavabit LLC (“Lavabit”) and its owner, Levison, in contempt for their failures to comply with a Pen/Trap …

Decided: April 15, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that the defendant failed to meet the high standard on appeal for his ineffective assistance of counsel claim.  The Court also found that the district court acted …

Decided: May 21, 2014

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment that found the Appellant guilty of nine counts under the Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986 (the Act) originating from his distribution of …

Decided: May 21, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that a Virginia district court committed legal error when it denied the defendant the opportunity to cross-examine the forensic examiner whose report was presented at the defendant’s …

Decided: May 7, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that a change in law to an implied private cause of action under 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (“Rule 10b-5”) was inapplicable in the context of a criminal …

Decided: May 6, 2014

The Fourth Circuit denied Tadd Vassell’s (Vassell) motion for leave to file a successive motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to challenge his mandatory life sentence without parole.

In 1997 Vassell …

Decided: April 30, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that Carter’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), for possession of firearms while being an unlawful user of, and addicted to, marijuana, did not violate his Second …

Decided: April 30, 2014

The Fourth Circuit vacated the Appellant’s conviction and sentence, and remanded the case because the district court violated the Appellant’s right to have a jury determine his guilt beyond a reasonable …

Decided: April 29, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that the evidence was sufficient to support the defendant’s conviction; the district court’s sentencing enhancement for defendant’s use of a minor in the commission of a crime …

Decided: April 23, 2014

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Terry McVey’s seventy-eight-month sentence, holding that the district court did not clearly err when applying a two level sentencing enhancement to his distribution of child pornography conviction.…

Decided: April 11, 2014

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court by finding that it did not abuse its discretion by imposing a 120-year sentence on a defendant convicted of production, possession, and transportation of …

Decided: April 8, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that Whiteside could use 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to challenge his erroneous “career offender enhancement” prison sentence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G.).  The Court also …

Decided: March 11, 2014

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court by holding that a defendant’s term of supervised release does not commence while he remains in federal custody pending the resolution of his status …

Decided: March 5, 2014

The Fourth Circuit held that the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina did not commit error by applying a cross-reference to Harvey Cox’s (Cox) sentence pursuant to …