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

Defendant Zechariah Freeman was convicted by jury of one count of sexual abuse. Appealing, Freeman argued: (1) the evidence presented at trial to sustain his conviction; (2) the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on an essential element of the offense; and (3) the district court erred by denying his request to use his peremptory challenges allotted by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(b)(2) to strike prospective alternate jurors. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment. View "United States v. Freeman" on Justia Law

After the government charged defendant-appellant Apache Young with one count of violating the felon-in-possession statute, he moved to suppress the firearms seized from his truck during an encounter with law enforcement. Young argued: (1) officers lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him; and (2) even if he was justifiably detained, the scope of his detention was not reasonably related to the justification for the initial encounter. The district court rejected both arguments. Young preserved the issue in a conditional plea agreement and made the same arguments he did at the district court to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Finding no reversible error in the district court's judgment, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "United States v. Young" on Justia Law

Defendant-appellant Jimmy Lee Brooks was convicted by jury of unlawful possession of ammunition and witness tampering. The ammunition charge stemmed from an incident in which Brooks shot a firearm at a car his then-girlfriend was riding in, striking her in the buttocks. Over Brooks’ objection, the sentencing court concluded he committed attempted second-degree murder and applied a cross-reference to the attempted murder guideline, U.S.S.G. § 2A2.1. The district court was also required to calculate the guidelines under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 and, in doing so, applied a heightened base offense level on the assumption that Oklahoma aggravated assault and battery was a crime of violence. On appeal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Brooks renewed his challenge to the attempted murder cross-reference, arguing that the district court was required to find he acted with specific intent to kill but instead found he acted with malice aforethought. To this, the Tenth Circuit agreed that the attempted murder cross-reference was appropriate only when the defendant intended to kill and that the court’s finding on malice aforethought was insufficient to support the cross-reference. Brooks also argued the district court plainly erred because, under United States v. Winrow, 49 F.4th 1372 (10th Cir. 2022), Oklahoma aggravated assault and battery was not a crime of violence. The government conceded, and the Tenth Circuit agreed, that Oklahoma aggravated assault and battery was not a crime of violence. But because Brooks’ argument that his substantial rights were impacted by this error was speculative, the Tenth Circuit left the issue open for the district court to consider on remand. Accordingly, Brooks’ sentence was vacated and his case remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Brooks" on Justia Law

Plaintiff Jeffrey Helvie appealed a district court’s decision to grant Defendant Chad Jenkins, an Adams County, Colorado, deputy sheriff, qualified immunity on Helvie’s claim that the deputy used excessive force against Helvie during a traffic stop. On August 23, 2018, at approximately 11:45 p.m., Deputy Jenkins observed Plaintiff make several traffic infractions while driving a Nissan pickup truck. The vehicle window was partially down when Deputy Jenkins approached. According to Deputy Jenkins, he could smell the strong odor of burnt marijuana coming out of the window, though Plaintiff disputed having smoked marijuana that day. Plaintiff handed his driver’s license and registration to Deputy Jenkins, but had difficulty providing his proof of insurance (which was on his phone) due to either poor cellular reception or Plaintiff's inability to correctly enter a passcode. According to Deputy Jenkins, he believed that Plaintiff was operating a vehicle while under the influence and wanted to conduct further investigation. When Plaintiff did not get out of the vehicle, Deputy Jenkins grabbed Plaintiff's arm and ordered him out of the vehicle. According to Deputy Jenkins, Plaintiff pulled away. Deputy Jenkins then grabbed Plaintiff's leg and pulled him out of the vehicle, causing Plaintiff to land on his back. As Deputy Jenkins was pulling Plaintiff out of the vehicle, he observed a handgun in the pocket of the driver’s side door. After review of Plaintiff's complaint, the Tenth Circuit determined he failed to show that Deputy Jenkins violated his constitutional rights and, necessarily flowing from that holding, Plaintiff failed to show that his constitutional rights allegedly violated were clearly established. View "Helvie v. Jenkins" on Justia Law

Defendant Ivan Faunce appealed the revocation of his supervised release. While on supervised release, Faunce allegedly beat his ex-girlfriend, E.B., and locked her in an RV. The district court: (1) found Faunce had committed kidnapping, aggravated assault, criminal mischief, and other violations of the terms of his supervised release; and (2) sentenced Faunce to two years in prison and one more year of supervised release. Faunce appealed, arguing: (1) the district court plainly erred by constructively amending the petition; and (2) the district court plainly erred or abused its discretion by allowing a government witness to testify by Zoom. After review of the trial court record, the Tenth Circuit found no reversible error and affirmed the revocation and sentence. View "United States v. Faunce" on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Aaron Porter entered a conditional plea of guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to 43 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release. He reserved the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress a firearm found inside of his backpack. On appeal, to the Tenth Circuit, he argued that the Denver police conducted a warrantless search of his backpack and that the district court erred in finding that: (1) he had abandoned the backpack; and (2) the firearm would have been discovered pursuant to an inventory search. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Porter's conviction and sentence. View "United States v. Porter" on Justia Law

Petitioner-Appellant Anthony Santucci appealed the denial of his petition for habeas relief. In 2014, a military jury convicted Santucci of rape, forcible sodomy, battery, and adultery. He argued a court-martial trial judge deprived him of his Fifth Amendment right to due process by failing to instruct the jury on an affirmative defense and issuing unconstitutional propensity instructions at his trial. The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals (the “ACCA”) agreed with Santucci that the court-martial tribunal erred on both issues; nevertheless, it found these errors were harmless and affirmed Santucci’s convictions. In his habeas petition, Santucci argued, in relevant part, that the ACCA misapplied the harmless error standard by failing to review the cumulative impact of the erroneous instructions. Because, in his view, the military tribunals deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair trial, Santucci contended that the district court was authorized to review the merits of his claims. On habeas review, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas denied Santucci’s petition, finding that the ACCA had fully and fairly considered his claims. Santucci appealed again, but to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the federal district court should have adjudicated his constitutional claims on the merits. Had the court done so, Santucci contended habeas corpus relief would have been appropriate because the erroneous instructions, viewed cumulatively, prejudiced him beyond a reasonable doubt. The Tenth Circuit affirmed: "Santucci points to nothing in the ACCA’s analysis that causes us to question whether its thorough review encompassed his cumulative-error argument. Rather, he seeks to relitigate his contentions against a finding of harmless error that were already considered—and rejected—by the ACCA ... we cannot fault the ACCA’s analysis—much less subject it to full merits review—simply because it viewed this evidence differently than Mr. Santucci. In the habeas context, the district court was in no position to reevaluate evidence when it was already presented to the military court—nor are we." View "Santucci v. Commandant" on Justia Law

In 2013, Sergeant Robert Motyka, a Denver police officer, shot Michael Valdez, who was lying unarmed on the ground and surrendering. In the ensuing lawsuit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a jury awarded Valdez $131,000 from Sergeant Motyka for excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment1 and $2,400,000 from the City and County of Denver (“Denver”) for failure to train its officers. The district court awarded $1,132,327.40 in attorney fees and $18,199.60 in costs to Valdez’s lawyers. The Tenth Circuit addressed three appeals arising from this litigation. Denver challenged the district court's: (1) denial of its motion for summary judgment; (2) reversal of a discovery order and permission for Valdez to present additional municipal liability theories; and (3) jury instructions on municipal liability. Valdez cross-appealed the district court's grant of qualified immunity to Lieutenant John Macdonald, another Denver police officer who shot at him. And Sergeant Motyka and Denver contend that the district court abused its discretion in awarding attorney fees and costs. The Tenth Circuit: (1) affirmed the judgment against Denver; (2) affirmed qualified immunity because Valdez did not show the court erred in this respect; and (3) affirmed the attorney fee award but reversed costs, finding the district court did not explain its award after finding Valdez had not substantiated them. The case was remanded for the district court to reexamine whether costs should be awarded. View "Valdez v. City and County of Denver" on Justia Law

Defendant Lougary Eddington appeals the 84-month sentence he received after pleading guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. The sentence was at the bottom of the 84-105-month Guidelines range, as calculated by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Eddington contended the district court erred in imposing this sentence because it: (1) improperly applied a four-level enhancement to his base offense level for possessing ammunition “in connection with another felony offense” under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B); and (2) failed to adequately consider the need to avoid sentencing disparities between Eddington and one of his codefendants. After review, the Tenth Circuit determined Eddington waived his challenge to the district court’s consideration of sentencing disparities, but that the district court procedurally erred when it applied a four-level enhancement. Accordingly, the Court vacated Eddington’s sentence and remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Eddington" on Justia Law

Defendant Michael Hunsaker was one of 19 alleged co-conspirators charged in a 23-count indictment in Oklahoma relating to drug trafficking. Defendant was charged in two counts: Count 1 charged him with conspiring to traffic 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; and Count 18 charged him with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Defendant pled guilty to both counts without a plea agreement. The Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) described Defendant as the “second in command” of a drug trafficking organization [DTO], concluded he was a “manager or supervisor” of the DTO, and recommended a 3-level enhancement to his offense level pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b) (2018). Over Defendant’s objection, the district court agreed with the PSR’s 3-level enhancement under § 3B1.1(b). Defendant’s advisory guideline range was 168 to 210 months; the district court sentenced Defendant to 168 months’ imprisonment. Defendant appealed, challenging his characterization as the “manager or supervisor” of a drug conspiracy as that phrase was used in § 3B1.1(b). Reviewing the district court’s findings of fact under the clearly erroneous standard and the application of those facts to the guidelines de novo, the Tenth Circuit reversed. The Court found the undisputed evidence did not establish by a preponderance that Defendant was a “manager or supervisor” subject to a 3-level enhancement to his offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b). The case was remanded to the district court with instructions to vacate Defendant’s sentence and resentence him. View "United States v. Hunsaker" on Justia Law