Ruvalcava-Perez, No. 08-2582 Sentence for drug possession and illegal reentry after deportation is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in departing upward from the advisory guideline range based on its finding that defendant's criminal history category substantially underrepresented the seriousness of his criminal history and risk of recidivism; and 2) the sentence was not unreasonable. [read post]

McKee, No. 07-1247 Denial of a habeas petition from convictions for felony murder and carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony is affirmed where state court decisions were neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, Supreme Court precedent, in denying claims that: 1) petitioner's confession was involuntary; 2) a Miranda waiver was not knowing or intelligent; and 3) the admission of certain non-testimonial hearsay statements violated the Confrontation Clause. [read post]

In its conference of May 10, 2018, the court will consider petitions involving issues such as whether the Supreme Court should overrule the “separate sovereigns” exception to the double jeopardy clause; whether the Johnson rule made retroactive in Welch renders the residual clause of the career offender provision of the mandatory, pre-Booker Sentencing Guidelines unconstitutionally vague; and whether a railroad’s payment to an employee for time… [read post]