U.S.

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...

DENVER, CO, October 16, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the sentence of Jason Cory Bycroft, ruling that the district court plainly erred by imposing a lifetime ban on internet use without explaining its reasoning or conducting the required statutory analysis. Bycroft was convicted in the Eastern District of Oklahoma on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of possession of child pornography. His supervised release included a condition barring internet access without prior written approval from his probation officer. Judge David M. Ebel, writing for the panel, found that the district court failed to analyze whether the condition met the requirements under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d), which governs special conditions of supervised releas...

TOLEDO, OH, October 17, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed the convictions and prison sentences of Oliver and Sherry-Ann Jenkins, a married couple found guilty of mail fraud, wire fraud, health care fraud, and conspiracy in connection with an unlicensed medical practice operated under the Toledo Clinic. According to court documents, Oliver Jenkins, an ear, nose, and throat physician, convinced the Toledo Clinic to establish a “Cognitive Center” that his wife, Sherry-Ann Jenkins, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience but no medical license, would manage. The couple billed patients and insurers for diagnostic services that Sherry-Ann performed and falsely represented as medical treatments under Oliver’s provider identification. Between 2014 and 2016, Sh...

LOUISVILLE, KY, October 17, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the conviction of Joshua White, who was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison for misprision of a felony related to possession of child pornography. According to court records, Homeland Security Investigations agents linked an internet account at White’s residence to a hidden website on the Tor network known for distributing child sexual abuse material. A search warrant was issued in February 2021, and agents seized 29 electronic devices, later discovering multiple images of child pornography. White filed motions to suppress the evidence and requested a Franks hearing, alleging that federal agents exceeded the scope of the warrant and included false statements in the affidavit...

LEXINGTON, KY, October 17, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the prison sentences of two men convicted in a drug-trafficking scheme involving fentanyl and methamphetamine distributed throughout the Lexington area. According to the opinion issued October 17, 2025, Daniel Matthews and Markel Levail Livingston both challenged the reasonableness of their sentences after pleading guilty to federal drug-related offenses. Matthews was sentenced to 228 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Livingston received 74 months for conspiracy to distribute the same substances. The appellate panel found that the district court properly applied a sentencin...

DENVER, CO – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ordered the reinstatement of asylum for Modesta Ramos Ramos and her two minor children after determining that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) misapplied the legal standard in overturning an immigration judge’s decision. Ramos, a native of Honduras, was first granted asylum by an immigration judge in 2014 after credible testimony that she and her children were threatened by a gang member following the murder of her partner. The judge found that Ramos faced persecution due to her membership in the nuclear family of Arturo Robles, the children’s father. However, the Department of Homeland Security appealed, and the BIA remanded the case. A second immigration judge again granted asylum in 2019, but the government ap...