Day: December 21, 2018

The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Appellant’s federal petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254, holding that the district court did not err in dismissing the petition. In his petition, Appellant challenged his convictions under Massachusetts law for murder and other offenses, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, in violation of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The district court denied relief. Because Appellant’s case was adjudicated on the merits in state court, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death…

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s 109-month sentence for possession of child pornography, holding that the government did not violate the plea agreement in this case and that the district court did not err in applying an enhancement for knowingly distributing child pornography. Defendant entered a guilty plea to the charge of possession of child pornography. The district court sentenced Defendant to a 109-month term of immurement. On appeal, Defendant argued that the government breached the terms of the plea agreement by failing to advocate for the bargained-for sentence and that…

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentence for conspiring to defraud the United States and stealing government property in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371, 641, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support Defendant’s convictions and that the sentence was procedurally reasonable. Specifically, the First Circuit held (1) there was ample evidence from which a jury could have reasonably determined that Defendant was a knowing and willing participant in a fraudulent scheme of claiming eligibility for Social Security benefits and receiving nearly $100,000 in disability insurance disbursements to which…