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Tenth Circuit: Where Defendant Actually Sentenced to Drug Treatment and Probation Rather Than 28-32 Months in Prison as Per State Sentencing Guidelines, Conviction Can’t Serve as Predicate ‘Felony’ for 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that defendant’s sentence for a drug conviction under Kansas law, for which the maximum potential term of imprisonment was 32 months, to a drug treatment program and probation, in lieu of prison, did not render …
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More from this issue:
- A Guide to Getting the Most Out of a Plea Bargain, by Jacob Barrett
- Second Circuit: District Court Required to Explain Rationale for Reducing Sentence to ‘Time Served’ Under First Step Act but Refused to Reduce Supervised Release Portion of Sentence Despite Being Longer Than New Mandatory Minimum, by Dale Chappell
- What You Need to Know Before Contacting a Conviction Integrity Unit, by Marissa Boyers Bluestine, Kia Hall Hayes
- Study Examines the ‘Black Box’ of Prosecutorial Charging and Plea Bargaining Discretion, by David Reutter
- Man Rejects Plea Deal and Is Sentenced to 110 Years in Colorado Prison for Doing So, by Ashleigh Dye
- Systematic Lying in Plea Bargaining Is a Feature, Not a Flaw, by David Reutter
- Iowa Supreme Court Clarifies When Forensic Interviews of Child Complaining Witnesses Are Admissible, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit: Government Violated Plea Agreement by Arguing for Sentence Exceeding Guidelines Range, Despite Promise Not to ‘Suggest in Any Way’ Variance Is Appropriate, by David Reutter
- Tenth Circuit: Where Defendant Actually Sentenced to Drug Treatment and Probation Rather Than 28-32 Months in Prison as Per State Sentencing Guidelines, Conviction Can’t Serve as Predicate ‘Felony’ for 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), by Dale Chappell
- ACLU Report Suggests Disturbing Pattern of Police Surveilling Protests to Identify People Peacefully Protesting Police Brutality
- Plea Bargaining: An Illegitimate System to Administer Justice?, by David Reutter
- First Circuit: Appellate Counsel’s Failure to Raise Brady Claim on Direct Appeal Constituted Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Under Strickland, § 2255 Motion Granted, by Anthony Accurso
- Ending Eyewitness Memory Contamination, by Matthew Clarke
- Iowa Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Where Prosecutor Allowed to Amend Trial Information at Trial to Charge a ‘Wholly New and Different Offense’, by David Reutter
- Fourth Circuit: Bodily Injury Sentence Enhancement for Robbery Inapplicable Where Victim Sustained ‘Momentary’ Injury and Sought ‘Precautionary’ Medical Treatment, by Jacob Barrett
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Did Not Abuse Discretion by Granting Rule 508 Motion to Dismiss Capital Murder Charge Where State Refused to Disclose Identity of Confidential Informant, by Douglas Ankney
- Vermont Supreme Court Announces Rule 12.1 Doesn’t Require Notice of Diminished Capacity Defense When Expert Testimony Won’t Be Used, by Matthew Clarke
- California Court of Appeal: Hearing on Discretionary Resentencing Under §1170.91(b)(1) for U.S. Servicemembers Requires Only That Petition Allege Defendant ‘May’ Be Suffering From a ‘Qualifying Condition’, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit: Aggravated Assault in Texas Does Not Qualify as Aggravated Felony Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2), Reentry With Prior Aggravated Felony, by Jacob Barrett
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Prosecution Failed to Prove Defendant Knowingly, Voluntarily, and Intelligently Waived Right to Counsel After Having Asked for Lawyer Earlier But Officer Continued to Engage in ‘General’ Talk for Nearly 45 Minutes, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit, Joining Every Other Circuit That’s Addressed the Issue, Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Does Not Qualify as ‘Crime of Violence’, by David Reutter
- A ‘Lucky’ Exoneration in Syracuse, by Jayson Hawkins
- Ninth Circuit Announces Irizarry Didn’t Eliminate Wise Requirement That Sentencing Court Provide Notice of Special Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Imposing Sentence, by Matthew Clarke
- Maryland Prosecutor Covers for FBI Agent’s Lies in Defense of Junk Science, by Jayson Hawkins
- SCOTUS Rejects ‘Opening the Door’ Rule to Correct ‘Misleading Impression’ as Exception to Confrontation Clause Allowing Admission of Unconfronted Testimonial Hearsay, by Richard Resch
- North Dakota Supreme Court Suppresses Evidence Found in Passenger’s Backpack Located Outside Vehicle When Drug-Detection Dog Alerted to Presence of Drugs Inside Vehicle, by Anthony Accurso
- Fear and Freedom Twenty Years Later: How Post 9/11 Security Measures Overstepped Privacy, by Ashleigh Dye
- FBI Program Surveils Subject for 24 Days Using Spy Planes, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal Announces Suffering From a Nonqualifying Mental Disorder While Also Suffering From a Qualifying Disorder Does Not Bar Eligibility for Mental Health Diversion Under § 1001.36, by Anthony Accurso
- Google Confirms Increasing Police Reliance on Geofence Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
- Pandemic Pressures Defendants into False Guilty Pleas, by David Reutter
- Search Your Constitution in Vain for the Fourth Amendment—the DOJ Seized It (Stealthily), by Douglas Ankney
- NYPD Using Secret Money for Surveillance Tech, by Anthony Accurso
- Dangers of Data Gathering by Los Angeles Police Department, by Edward Lyon
- Geofencing Warrants Are Putting Civil Rights and Free Speech in Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
- Oregon Bans Police Lying to Obtain Confessions from Juveniles, by Jacob Barrett
- Police Disparage Philadelphia Citizenry with False Report That SEPTA Riders Stood Idle While Passenger was Raped, by Douglas Ankney
- ‘Possible Cause’ Is All That’s Needed for Geofence Warrants, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from Dale Chappell:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
- How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Second Circuit Rules Eighth Amendment Governs Claims of Excessive Force Brought by Parole Violator, Oct. 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Excessive Force, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Tenth Circuit Announces Resentencing After Probation Revocation Must Begin with Chapter 7 Range, Holding Chapter 5 Range Should Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Vary, Sept. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statement of Reasons, Sentence, Factors To Be Considered.
- Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Plain Error, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Alternative Sentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Drug Quantity.
- Guaranteed Income Helps People Leaving Jail and Prison, and That Helps Everyone, May 1, 2026. Crime/Demographics, Prisoner Privileges, housing, jobs, Restrictions, discrimination, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Fines.
- First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Sentencing Findings, Relevant Conduct.
- Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
- Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
- SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.





