U.S.

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...

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...