Stines: Lower Base Offense Level for Exporting Weapons Does Not Apply Where There Are More Than Two Weapons Parts or Components

In United States v. Stines, No. 20-11035 (May 31, 2022) (Wilson, Luck, Lagoa), the Court affirmed the defendant’s sentence for unlawfully exporting weapons.

Ordinarily, under U.S.S.G. 2M5.2(a), the unlawful exportation of weapons carries a base offense level of 26, but there is an exception carrying a base offense level of 14 where the offense involved only non-fully automatic small arms, and the number of weapons did not exceed two.  In this case, the defendant exported 23 weapons parts that could be converted into only two fully assembled weapons.  The Court agreed that the exception could apply to weapons parts, not just fully assembled weapons.  However, the Court held that the exception did not apply in this case because the number of parts could service more than two weapons.  Although this reading would mean that exporting three triggers alone would produce a higher base offense level than exporting two fully assembled firearms, that did not create an absurd result.  The Court also held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the district court’s refusal to grant a downward departure under the Guidelines.

Judge Luck concurred, opining that the exception did not apply to gun parts because those were not “small arms.”  Judge Lagoa authored a concurrence disagreeing on that point.

Gardner: "Maximum Term of Imprisonment" for ACCA "Serious Drug Offense" is Defined by Statutory Maximum, not High end of Presumptive Guideline Range

In United States v. Gardner, No. 20-13645 (May 27, 2022) (Newsom, Tjoflat, Hull), the Court affirmed the defendant’s ACCA sentence.

The district court applied the ACCA based prior Alabama drug convictions.  The defendant argued that his convictions did not qualify as “serious drug offenses” because they did not have a “maximum term of imprisonment” of ten years or more.  The Court held that the “maximum term of imprisonment” was determined by the statutory maximum under state law.  The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that it was instead determined by the high-end of the state’s presumptive guideline range.

Jimenez-Shilon: 9225(g)(5)(A), prohibiting illegal aliens from possessing guns, does not violate Second Amendment

In United States v. Jimenez-Shilon, No. 20-13139 (May 23, 2022) (Newsom, Branch, Brasher), the Court held that 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(A)—which prohibits illegal aliens from possessing firearms—does not violate the Second Amendment.

The Court held that illegal aliens do not have Second Amendment rights.  The Court assumed, for the sake of argument, that the defendant here was among the “people” referenced in the Constitution.  Nonetheless, after conducting an extensive historical analysis, the Court concluded that illegal aliens were not afforded the right to bear arms in England or colonial America.  In so concluding, the Court joined seven circuits to address the issue, which all reached the same conclusion.  Accordingly, the Court held that 922(g)(5)(A) does not violate the Second Amendment.

Judge Newsom authored a separate 10-page concurrence about his views more generally on how to conduct a Second Amendment analysis in future cases.

Coglianese: Upholding Supervised Release Restriction on Computers and Electronic Data Storage Medium in Child Sex Case

In United States v. Coglianese, No. 20-12074 (May 17, 2022) (William Pryor, Jordan, Brown (N.D. Ga.)), the Court affirmed the defendant’s low-end 168-month for child sex crimes.

After upholding the procedural and substantive reasonableness of the sentence, the court upheld a special condition of supervision restricting the defendant from accessing computers and the internet, and from possessing any electronic data storage medium, without prior approval by probation.  The Court had uniformly upheld computer restrictions in sex offender cases where, as here, the defendant could seek permission from probation, including in decisions issued after the advent of smartphones.  The defendant argued that the restriction on an “electronic data storage medium” was overbroad and included everyday items like a modern television and alarm system, but the Court concluded that the ordinary meaning of the phrase referred to a flash drive and other devices that can store and transmit information for processing by a computer.  It was therefore tailored to the defendant’s offense and neither overbroad nor an abuse of discretion.

Rodriguez: Affirming Sentence for Trafficking 200kg of Meth

In United States v. Rodriguez, No. 20-14681 (May 12, 2022) (Jill Pryor, Grant, Marcus), the Court affirmed the defendant’s 135-month sentence for his role in a conspiracy trafficking methamphetamine.

First, the Court upheld the district court’s decision to attribute 200 kilograms of meth to Rodriguez after considering the scope of the enterprise, his particular role, and the quantity of drugs that would be reasonably foreseeable in light of his role.  This case involved a large importation/distribution enterprise driving drugs across the Mexico border for distribution, and then wiring money back to the cartels in Mexico.  Rodriguez acted jointly with his co-conspirators and participated in the conspiracy in six different ways, five of which included directly transporting drugs.  And, even though he played a “minor role” in the conspiracy, that did not preclude attributing the full quantity of drugs to him where that quantity was reasonably foreseeable.

Second, the Court upheld an enhancement for possession of a firearm because his co-conspirator had stored a firearm at the stash house, and that was reasonably foreseeable, as Rodriguez effectively admitted at sentencing.

Third, the Court lacked jurisdiction to consider the argument that the district court erroneously failed to grant a downward departure under the Guidelines.  Appellate review is available only where the district court incorrectly believed that it lacked authority to grant the departure, and nothing in the record suggested that the district court harbored such a misunderstanding.

Finally, the Court concluded that the low-end sentence was not substantively unreasonable.  Nor did the district court abuse its discretion in declining to impose a downward variance.

Moon: Sixth Amendment Structural Right to a Public Trial is Waivable

In United States v. Moon, No. 20-13822 (May 10, 2022) (Jill Pryor, Branch, Hull), the Court affirmed the defendant’s child pornography convictions.

First, the Court upheld the denial of a motion to suppress videotapes found during the execution of an unrelated search warrant on the defendant’s medical office.  The Court concluded that the search was within the scope of the warrant because it referred to “videotapes” and “tapes.”  Thus, the officer was entitled to briefly examine the tapes, as that was the only way to determine their relevance to the crime.  The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that the videotapes were too obsolete to contain criminal evidence, as the office contained a VCR as well as a hidden surveillance camera.

Second, the Court upheld the district court’s closures of the courtroom to display sensitive evidence.  The Court found that the parties entered into a pre-trial agreement to do so.  The Court joined other circuits in holding that the structural right to a public trial is waivable.  And the Court concluded that the defendant waived that right by entering the pre-trial agreement, affirmatively consenting to the closure at various points early in the trial, and subsequently failing to object to any later closures that purportedly exceeded the scope of the agreement.

Finally, the Court briefly found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s: denial of a motion for a Franks hearing; denial of a motion for recusal; and failure to give several requested instruction on the definition of “lascivious exhibition.”

Seabrooks: Reversing Denial of 2255 Motion Based on Rehaif

In Seabrooks v. United States, No. 20-13459 (May 6, 2022) (Wilson, Rosenbaum, Conway (MD Fla.)) (per curiam), the Court reversed the denial of a 2255 motion based on Rehaif, vacated the felon-in-possession conviction, and remanded for further proceedings.

The Court issued three holdings.  First, it agreed with the parties that Rehaif announced a  new “substantive” rule, and so it applied retroactively in initial 2255 motions.  Second, it held that Seabrooks’ Rehaif claim was not “procedurally barred” by his failure to raise that claim on direct appeal, since Rehaif was an intervening change in law.  And the government waived any argument about “procedural default” by failing to raise that defense in the district court.  Third, the Court held that the district court’s aiding and abetting instruction, which was erroneous in light of Rosemond and Rehaif, was not harmless because there was more than a reasonable probability that the jury relied on that theory to convict.