Category Archives: Tenth Circuit

CA10: Defect in notice to appear for removal hearing was not jurisdictional

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on November 6, 2019

In Lopez-Muñoz v. Barr (opinion by Judge Bacharach), the petitioner argued that her notice of removal was defective because it failed to include the date and time of her immigration hearing (in a footnote, the Court states that she did … Continue reading →

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CA10: District court should hold evidentiary hearing to determine whether trial counsel should have offered evidence of the defendant’s intellectual disability in death penalty case

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on November 6, 2019

Last week, the Tenth Circuit issued a 95-page opinion in Harris v. Sharp, a death penalty case from Oklahoma. The defendant went to his estranged wife’s workplace and fired gunshots, killing her boss, Merle Taylor. Diana Baldwin had this story … Continue reading →

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CA10: Destruction of innocent homeowner’s property by police was not a taking

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on November 6, 2019

The Tenth Circuit’s non-precedential opinion in Lech v. Jackson (by Judge Nancy Moritz) has attracted national attention due to the obvious unfairness of the result — city police destroy a home to arrest an armed criminal who barricaded himself there, … Continue reading →

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CA10: Supreme Court’s decision in Davis announced a new rule that applies retroactively to cases on collateral review

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on November 5, 2019

Today the Tenth Circuit published its order in In re Mullins, granting the defendant’s motion to file a second or successive § 2255 motion to challenge his conviction for possession of a firearm during and in relation to a conspiracy … Continue reading →

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CA10: Affirmative withdrawal of challenge to presentence report is a waiver

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on October 29, 2019

Defendant, Brice Ashton Carter, was convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon. A confidential informant told federal agents that Carter had used two firearms as payment for some methamphetamine. Relying on the informant’s statements, the presentence investigation report applied … Continue reading →

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CA10: Violence in El Salvador is not, by itself, a basis for asylum

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on October 18, 2019

Several years ago, Santos Raul Escobar-Hernandez was attacked by a man named Nelson in El Salvador over some political graffiti near his house, and attacked again even after he removed it. His application for asylum in the United States was … Continue reading →

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Colorado will ask SCOTUS to review Tenth Circuit’s ruling on “faithless electors”

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on October 17, 2019

Colorado’s secretary of state and attorney general have announced that they will ask the Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit’s ruling in Baca v. Colorado Department of State. That decision held that the federal constitution bars Colorado from disqualifying … Continue reading →

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“‘Faithless Electors’ Could Tip the 2020 Election. Will the Supreme Court Stop Them?”

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on October 14, 2019

This article by Adam Liptak in the New York Times describes a split in authority between the Washington Supreme Court, which upheld a law imposing fines on “faithless electors” who vote contrary to their state’s presidential vote winner, and the … Continue reading →

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CA10: Use of code words, and time spent with drug dealer, sufficient to support drug convictions

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on October 9, 2019

In United States v. Duran (opinion by Judge Bacharach), the Tenth Circuit upheld the defendant’s convictions for drug distribution offenses. The evidence was sufficient, although the government offered no direct evidence the defendant possessed cocaine. In telephone conversations with a … Continue reading →

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CA10: When an appellate decision is split, district courts must keep their eyes on the result

by Emil J. Kiehne Posted on October 6, 2019

The case of Adlynn and Robert Harte generated widespread attention a couple of years ago. Mr. Harte attracted police attention by visiting a garden store to obtain supplies for growing tomatoes in the family’s basement. (Evidently, people sometimes visit garden … Continue reading →

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