A habitual felon sentencing enhancement doesn’t reclassify underlying felonies to higher-level felonies, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled in a case of first impression, finding that a trial court erroneously applied a further sentencing enhancement for serious ...

Tagged with: sentencing

Even though the three-year-old victim only interacted with defendant in person on two occasions, the jury could find that he took advantage of a position of trust and confidence to commit a sex offense against her because the victim was ...

Tagged with: sentencing

Where the trial court found that “there is no certain prognosis” for defendant’s potential for rehabilitation, defendant – who was 17 when he committed the two murders at issue – does not fall within the class of juvenile offenders who ...

Tagged with: sentencing

Where defendant had previously been convicted of a marijuana possession offense, and where he had attained the status of a habitual felon, his current marijuana possession conviction – normally punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor – is punishable as a ...

Tagged with: sentencing

An appellant seeking habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 satisfied the requirements of the law’s savings clause because a retroactive change in 4th Circuit law – occurring after the time for direct appeal and the filing of his first ...

Tagged with: sentencing

Holding: A victim’s consent to the crime is listed as a mitigating factor in the sentencing statute, and defendant argues that the trial court believed that the victim’s consent to her own death, regardless of its significance, could never be ...

Tagged with: sentencing

United States v. Blue (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-216-17, 13 pp.) (Roger Gregory, C.J.) 16-4537; Dec. 12, 2017; USDC at Greensboro, N.C. Holding: In imposing a within-Guidelines sentence on defendant for armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of ...

Tagged with: sentencing

United States v. Thompson (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-192-17, 10 pp.) (Diana Gribbon Motz, J.) 15-4685; Oct. 26, 2017; USDC at Raleigh, N.C. (W. Earl Britt, S.J.) 4th Cir. Holding: Under Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), when ...

Tagged with: sentencing

United States v. Zuk (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-191-17, 26 pp.) (Paul Niemeyer, J.) 16-4727; Oct. 24, 2017; USDC at Statesville, N.C. (Richard Voorhees, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: The trial judge abused his discretion when, based almost entirely on consideration of ...

Tagged with: sentencing

United States v. Salmons (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-184-17, 10 pp.) (J. Harvie Wilkinson III, J.) No. 16-4316; Oct. 12, 2017; USDC at Charleston, W.Va. (Thomas Johnston, C.J.) 4th Cir. Holding: At the time of defendant’s West Virginia conviction for aggravated ...

Tagged with: sentencing