Justia U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Joseph Harjo was tried and convicted by a jury in Oklahoma federal court for aggravated sexual abuse in Indian Country under the Major Crimes Act. The district court sentenced him to life in prison. Harjo challenged his conviction, arguing that the Major Crimes Act is unconstitutional and that the district court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of prior child abuse under Federal Rule of Evidence 414.Previously, Harjo was charged by the state of Oklahoma with child sexual abuse and was convicted by a state jury, resulting in a life sentence. However, following the Supreme Court's decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which determined that Muskogee was within the Muscogee Creek Nation, Oklahoma's jurisdiction was invalidated, and Harjo's conviction was set aside. Subsequently, a federal grand jury indicted him on one count of aggravated sexual abuse in Indian Country.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the constitutionality of the Major Crimes Act, citing controlling Supreme Court precedent that establishes Congress's plenary power over Indian affairs and the unique status of Indians as a separate people with their own political institutions. The court also found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the testimony of five child witnesses under Rule 414. The district court had determined that a reasonable jury could conclude the prior acts occurred by a preponderance of the evidence and that the probative value of the testimony was not substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice.The Tenth Circuit concluded that the district court carefully addressed the relevant factors and reached a permissible conclusion on the admissibility of the testimony. Therefore, the court affirmed Harjo's conviction and life sentence. View "United States v. Harjo" on Justia Law

Steven M. Hohn, the defendant, was convicted of multiple drug and firearm charges. While awaiting trial, he was detained at CoreCivic, where the Kansas U.S. Attorney’s Office (Kansas USAO) obtained and listened to his attorney-client phone calls. Hohn later discovered this and filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 petition to vacate his judgment or reduce his sentence, arguing that the government’s intrusion violated his Sixth Amendment rights.The United States District Court for the District of Kansas denied Hohn’s § 2255 petition. The court found that Hohn did not have a reasonable expectation of confidentiality in his attorney-client call because he knew the call would be recorded and did not follow the proper steps to privatize it. The court also concluded that Hohn waived the attorney-client privilege by making the call despite knowing it would be recorded. Consequently, the court did not reach a direct Sixth Amendment analysis, as it determined that the privilege was a necessary underpinning of Hohn’s Sixth Amendment right.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case en banc. The court overruled its precedent in Shillinger v. Haworth, which had established a structural-error rule presuming prejudice when the government intentionally intrudes into the attorney-client relationship without a legitimate law-enforcement purpose. The Tenth Circuit held that a Sixth Amendment violation of the right to confidential communication with an attorney requires the defendant to show prejudice. Since Hohn conceded that he suffered no prejudice from the prosecution’s obtaining and listening to his six-minute call with his attorney, his claim failed. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision denying Hohn’s § 2255 petition. View "United States v. Hohn" on Justia Law

A police officer stopped Taylor Pinder for speeding. Pinder provided a driver's license that did not match his appearance. The officer arrested Pinder for providing false identification, a misdemeanor in Utah. During a search of the car incident to the arrest, the officer found methamphetamine and a handgun. Pinder was charged federally and moved to suppress the evidence, arguing the search violated the Fourth Amendment. The district court denied the motion, and Pinder pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, reserving the right to appeal the suppression ruling. He was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.The United States District Court for the District of Utah denied Pinder's motion to suppress, concluding the search was justified under Arizona v. Gant, which allows vehicle searches incident to arrest if it is reasonable to believe evidence relevant to the crime of arrest might be found in the vehicle. The court also suggested the search might be justified based on Pinder's supervised release conditions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the district court's decision, agreeing that the search did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The Tenth Circuit held that Pinder's real driver's license was relevant to the crime of providing false identification, even after the officer verified his identity. The court did not address the district court's alternative reasoning regarding supervised release conditions or the government's good faith argument raised for the first time on appeal. View "United States v. Pinder" on Justia Law

Mica Martinez was convicted by an Oklahoma jury of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Martinez sought federal habeas relief, arguing that his appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising a claim about his trial counsel’s inadequate investigation and presentation of testimony from his grandfather, mother, and uncle. He also claimed that his sentencing was fundamentally unfair due to witness testimony about his use of a racial slur and argued for reversible cumulative error.The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) affirmed Martinez’s conviction and sentence, finding sufficient evidence of malice aforethought and holding that trial counsel did not perform deficiently. The OCCA also rejected Martinez’s claim that the introduction of a racial slur during sentencing denied him a fair proceeding, concluding that any error was cured by the trial court’s instruction to the jury to disregard the comment. The OCCA denied Martinez’s applications for postconviction relief, including his claim that appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising the issue of trial counsel’s investigation.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the denial of habeas relief. The court held that the OCCA did not unreasonably apply clearly established federal law or rely on an unreasonable factual finding in rejecting Martinez’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The court also found that Martinez failed to point to any clearly established federal law regarding the introduction of inflammatory evidence, and the OCCA did not base its decision on an unreasonable factual finding. Consequently, the court affirmed the denial of relief on the cumulative error claim as well. View "Martinez v. Quick" on Justia Law

In the early hours of November 13, 2021, DeAnna Suazo was found dead outside her home on the Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, under her running vehicle, showing signs of being run over. Her boyfriend, Santiago Martinez, after a failed polygraph test, admitted to pushing Suazo to the ground and running her over. Martinez was indicted for second-degree murder in Indian Country. Several pretrial motions were adjudicated, leading to three separate appeals.The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico granted Martinez's motion to suppress his post-polygraph statements to the FBI, ruling that he should have been re-Mirandized before the post-polygraph interview. The court also ruled inadmissible certain text messages between Suazo and Martinez, which the Government argued were not hearsay but showed their effect on Martinez. Additionally, the court excluded witness testimony of a prior incident where Martinez allegedly assaulted Suazo, ruling it inadmissible under Rule 404(b).The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. The court reversed the district court's suppression of Martinez's post-polygraph statements, holding that the initial Miranda waiver was valid and did not require re-advisement before the post-polygraph interview. The court also reversed the exclusion of the text messages, agreeing with the Government that they were not offered for the truth of the matter asserted but to show their effect on Martinez. Lastly, the court reversed and remanded the exclusion of the prior assault testimony for reconsideration, given the changed evidentiary landscape with the admissibility of Martinez's statements. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the appellate court's opinion. View "United States v. Martinez" on Justia Law

The defendant was convicted of two counts of witness tampering and one count of voluntary manslaughter. The presentence report recommended grouping all three counts under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, but the district court declined to do so. The defendant appealed, arguing that the Guidelines required all three convictions to be grouped.The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico initially grouped the two witness tampering counts under U.S.S.G. § 3D1.2(b) but did not group them with the manslaughter count under § 3D1.2(c). The district court used uncharged obstructive conduct to enhance the manslaughter count, resulting in a higher offense level and a sentencing range of 168-210 months. The defendant was sentenced to 210 months' imprisonment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case and found that the relevant Guidelines were grievously ambiguous. The court concluded that the rule of lenity required the Guidelines to be construed in the defendant's favor. The court vacated the defendant's sentence and remanded for resentencing under an offense level of 31, which corresponds to a lower sentencing range of 151-188 months. View "United States v. Tony" on Justia Law

The case involves Rhonda Mengert, who was subjected to a private inspection by Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) at Tulsa International Airport. After an initial screening and pat-down revealed an unidentified object in her groin area, Mengert was taken to a private room and directed to lower her pants and remove the object, which turned out to be a feminine hygiene product. Mengert claimed the incident caused her to experience panic attack symptoms, which recur when she travels by plane. She filed claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and false imprisonment.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma denied the government's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction based on sovereign immunity but granted the government's motion to dismiss the IIED claim under Rule 12(b)(6). The court also denied Mengert's motion for leave to amend her complaint and granted the government's motion for summary judgment on the false imprisonment claim. Mengert appealed these decisions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit first affirmed the district court's jurisdiction, concluding that TSOs are "investigative or law enforcement officers" under 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h), thus waiving sovereign immunity for Mengert’s claims. However, the court found that Mengert failed to allege sufficiently severe emotional distress to sustain an IIED claim under Oklahoma law. The court also held that Mengert's false imprisonment claim, treated as a false arrest claim, failed because she did not challenge the lawfulness of her detention but rather the conduct during the detention, which is not sufficient under Oklahoma law.Finally, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Mengert's motion for leave to amend her complaint, finding no "good cause" for the delay in filing the motion. Consequently, the court affirmed all the district court's decisions. View "Mengert v. United States" on Justia Law

Federal agents executed a search warrant on the home of an Air Force serviceman, Mr. Crosby, in 2018, seizing electronic devices that contained over 4,000 files of child pornography. Mr. Crosby admitted to possessing the material and was administratively separated from the Air Force. In 2020, he was indicted in New Mexico for possession of child pornography and arrested in Pennsylvania, where he continued to download such material. A subsequent search found additional illicit content. Mr. Crosby was held in custody for five days before being released on pretrial conditions. He was later indicted in Pennsylvania, and the cases were consolidated in New Mexico.The District Court of New Mexico accepted Mr. Crosby's guilty plea and calculated a Guidelines range of 78–97 months based on various offense enhancements. The government requested a 78-month sentence, while Mr. Crosby argued for a non-custodial sentence, citing his autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and low risk of recidivism. The district court ultimately sentenced Mr. Crosby to five days' time served, emphasizing his ASD, potential for rehabilitation, and low recidivism risk, while noting his compliance with pretrial conditions and employment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case, focusing on the substantive reasonableness of the sentence. The court found that the district court failed to adequately consider several § 3553(a) factors, including retribution, general deterrence, avoiding unwarranted sentencing disparities, and the established sentencing range. The Tenth Circuit held that the district court's explanation was insufficient to justify the significant downward variance from the Guidelines range. Consequently, the Tenth Circuit vacated the sentence and remanded the case for resentencing. View "United States v. Crosby" on Justia Law

In April 2018, Justin Little was investigated and arrested by state police in Oklahoma after his wife’s boyfriend was shot and killed on the Muscogee Creek Reservation. Following the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, it was established that the Creek Reservation had not been disestablished, meaning state police lacked jurisdiction over Little’s offense. Little was later convicted of first-degree murder in federal court.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma denied Little’s motion to suppress evidence collected by state officers, ruling that the officers reasonably believed they had jurisdiction at the time of the investigation. Little was subsequently convicted by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that the evidence collected by state officers was admissible under the good faith exception to the Fourth Amendment’s exclusionary rule. The court reasoned that, given the historical belief that Oklahoma had jurisdiction over offenses on Creek land and the stay of the mandate in Murphy v. Royal pending Supreme Court review, state officers could reasonably believe they had jurisdiction. The court concluded that excluding the evidence would not have a significant deterrent effect and would impose substantial social costs.The Tenth Circuit affirmed Little’s conviction and sentence, rejecting his other arguments for reversal, including challenges to the admission of evidence, jury instructions, and prosecutorial statements. The court found that none of these issues warranted relief, either individually or cumulatively. View "United States v. Little" on Justia Law

The defendant was tried and convicted by a jury of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 72-year-old woman, E.F., in her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The indictment alleged that the defendant is an Indian as defined under federal law, which was a jurisdictional predicate for the federal charges. The defendant was sentenced to life in prison, and judgment was entered on July 27, 2023. The defendant timely appealed, raising four issues: the admission of a hearsay verification letter to prove his Indian status, the exclusion of expert testimony on trauma and memory, the allowance of unnoticed expert testimony by a forensic nurse, and improper jury instructions regarding kidnapping.The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma admitted a verification letter from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to prove the defendant's Indian status, over the defendant's hearsay objection. The court also excluded the expert testimony of Dr. Geoffrey Loftus on trauma and memory, allowed the Government’s forensic nurse to provide unnoticed expert testimony, and used the Tenth Circuit’s pattern jury instruction for kidnapping, rejecting the defendant’s proposed language.The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reviewed the case and found merit in the first issue on appeal. The court held that the district court erred by admitting the verification letter as it was inadmissible hearsay and did not qualify as a business record. The court determined that this error was not harmless because it negated an essential element of the crimes charged, specifically the defendant's Indian status, which is required for federal jurisdiction. Consequently, the Tenth Circuit reversed the convictions and sentence and remanded the case to the district court to vacate the judgment and conduct further proceedings consistent with its decision. View "United States v. Harper" on Justia Law