Author: Houston Stringer

MIAMI, FL – The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of Oswaldo Gonzalez, who was found guilty of conspiring to traffic cocaine while aboard a vessel in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA). Gonzalez challenged the constitutionality of the MDLEA and the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the statute unlawfully applies to conduct within another country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that international law should limit U.S. enforcement. He also argued a U.S. nexus was required for due process. The appellate court rejected those arguments, citing binding precedent. In previous cases like United States v. Alfonso and United States v. Canario-Vilomar, the court ruled that the MDLEA is a valid use of congr...

MIAMI, FL – The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of Oswaldo Gonzalez, who was found guilty of conspiring to traffic cocaine while aboard a vessel in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA). Gonzalez challenged the constitutionality of the MDLEA and the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the statute unlawfully applies to conduct within another country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that international law should limit U.S. enforcement. He also argued a U.S. nexus was required for due process. The appellate court rejected those arguments, citing binding precedent. In previous cases like United States v. Alfonso and United States v. Canario-Vilomar, the court ruled that the MDLEA is a valid use of congr...

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced the completion of a statewide citizenship verification effort, identifying 2,724 potential noncitizens registered to vote. File Photo (2024) The review, made possible by the Trump administration’s decision to grant states free and direct access to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database, compared Texas’s 18 million registered voters against federal citizenship records. The Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) has since forwarded flagged records to county officials for further investigation under Chapter 16 of the Texas Election Code. County voter registrars are required to send notices to the identified individuals, who will have 30 days to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Failure to respond may result...

CHICAGO, IL – The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the sentence of Arthur Runnels, who was convicted in 2023 for cocaine distribution and firearm possession while on supervised release. Runnels was arrested by federal authorities for possessing and distributing cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. At the time of his arrest, he was already under supervised release from a prior conviction. Following a consolidated hearing, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois sentenced Runnels to 90 months in prison for the new charges, along with an additional 57 months for violating his supervised release. Runnels appealed, arguing the 90-month sentence was above the federal sentencing guidelines and lacked proper justification. The ap...

CHICAGO, IL – A federal appeals court has denied the Trump administration’s request to deploy federalized National Guard troops in Illinois, upholding a temporary restraining order issued after the President invoked emergency powers to mobilize the Guard over the objections of state officials. In a decision issued October 16, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the White House failed to demonstrate the statutory requirements for invoking 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which permits federalization of the National Guard during times of rebellion or when regular forces are insufficient to enforce federal law. President Trump’s order, issued October 4, 2025, claimed “coordinated assaults” on federal immigration facilities in the Chicago area required immediate fede...