Justia U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Lewisburg Pennsylvania Penitentiary inmate Nerius bit a correctional employee and broke the sprinkler head in his cell, causing a flood. Nerius pled guilty to resisting correctional officers and damaging property, 18 U.S.C. 111(a)(1) and 1363. The PSR base offense level was increased to 17 because the section 111(a)(1) charge was deemed a crime of violence that qualified Nerius as a career offender under U.S.S.G. 4B1.1. Nerius received a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility. With a criminal history category of VI, his Guidelines range was 37-46 months’ imprisonment. Nerius unsuccessfully argued that violation of section 111(a) did not constitute a crime of violence. The court considered Nerius’s long criminal history, acknowledged that Nerius had recently improved his behavior, found “that a sentence at the bottom of the [career offender] guideline range is reasonable, appropriate, and is not greater than necessary to meet sentencing objectives,” and imposed a 37-month sentence. While his appeal was pending, the Supreme Court found the Armed Career Criminal Act residual clause void for vagueness. At resentencing, the court found “a sentence at the high end of the [non-career offender] guideline range to be reasonable,” and sentenced Nerius to 36 months. The Third Circuit affirmed. The revised sentence did not trigger the Pearce presumption of judicial vindictiveness; the new sentence was lower than the original. View "United States v. Nerius" on Justia Law

An arrest warrant issued for Rivera, a homicide suspect. U.S. Marshal Duncan received information from another officer and from street informants that Rivera was “staying” or “residing” at a Harrisburg address. Officers arrived at the apartment and knocked. They received no response but heard noises, indicating that a person was inside and forcibly entered the home. Rivera did not live there and was not present. The officers saw Algarin, and, during a protective sweep, saw sandwich baggies, a razor blade, and what appeared to be powder cocaine. An officer obtained a search warrant while the others waited at the apartment. During the subsequent search, officers discovered incriminating items, including car keys, which opened a stolen Mazda found across from the apartment. Algarin, who had no outstanding warrants, was charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(ii). During a hearing on a motion to suppress, Duncan testified that he had checked records, but was unable to recall whether he had identified the apartment's renter. The Third Circuit vacated Algarin’s conviction. Officers need an arrest warrant and a search warrant to apprehend a suspect at what they know to be a third party’s home. If the suspect resides at the address, officers need only an arrest warrant and reason to believe that the individual is present. Here, officers acted on information short of the probable cause standard with respect to Rivera’s residence. View "United States v. Vasquez-Algarin" on Justia Law

The Sunrise Motel's owner told Bensalem Township police that he had seen a woman he believed to be a prostitute being picked up by a green Cadillac. Later that day, a “tip” was called in, that a man at the nearby Knights Inn, driving a green Cadillac, was in possession of drugs. That evening, officers observed a green Cadillac outside the nearby Neshaminy Inn and learned that it was registered to Murray in Room 302. The officers knew that Murray had rented rooms at the Knights Inn, paying cash. Officers knocked at Room 302. A woman wearing lingerie (Burns) answered the door, and asked if the officer was “looking for a date.” The officers then proceeded to the Knights Inn, where they saw the Cadillac in front of Room 158, a woman leaving Room 158, and Murray inside the room. Later, at the Neshaminy Inn, Burns admitted the officers and stated that she was a prostitute and that a drug dealer that provided her with drugs. She later testified that she had made the “tip” call because she felt she was in danger. Murray arrived; officers patted him down and found large amounts of cash and hotel keys. Murray attempted to flee. With warrants, the officers found 192 grams of crack cocaine at the Knights Inn. Murray entered a guilty plea, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The Third Circuit affirmed; the officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they entered the room or when they frisked Murray., View "United States v. Murray" on Justia Law

The sole issue at his trial on a charge of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g) was whether Lopez possessed a gun. The jury heard from Lopez and from arresting officers Martinez and Ramos, who testified that they found a gun in Lopez’s pocket after encountering him leaving the scene of a reported burglary-in-progress. Lopez’s credibility was crucial to his defense. He admitted that when he was taken to the precinct, he gave officers his brother’s name rather than his own and that he had prior felony convictions. During cross-examination and closing arguments, the prosecution emphasized that Lopez did not say that he had been framed by the police or complain about alleged excessive force until he testified at trial. The Third Circuit vacated Lopez’s conviction, based on the government’s use of his post-Miranda silence to impeach him. View "United States v. Lopez" on Justia Law

In 2012, Dellavecchia was convicted of first-degree murder, criminal attempt (homicide), three counts of recklessly endangering another person, and weapons-related offenses. At trial, Ridley Township Lieutenant Willoughby testified that Dellavecchia made an incriminating statement immediately following a bedside arraignment conducted while he was hospitalized for a self-inflicted head injury on the day following his arrest for the commission of the offenses. Dellavecchia made his statement without counsel present and without having been given Miranda warnings; he had not waived the right to counsel. The Third Circuit affirmed denial of his petition for habeas relief, concluding that Willoughby did not deliberately elicit Dellavecchia’s statement and consequently did not violate Dellavecchia’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The court noted that the evidence, even disregarding Dellavecchia’s statement, overwhelmingly supported his convictions, so that any error when Willoughby recounted the statement at trial would have been harmless. View "Dellavecchia v. Sec'y Penn. Dep't of Corrs." on Justia Law

In 2012, Dellavecchia was convicted of first-degree murder, criminal attempt (homicide), three counts of recklessly endangering another person, and weapons-related offenses. At trial, Ridley Township Lieutenant Willoughby testified that Dellavecchia made an incriminating statement immediately following a bedside arraignment conducted while he was hospitalized for a self-inflicted head injury on the day following his arrest for the commission of the offenses. Dellavecchia made his statement without counsel present and without having been given Miranda warnings; he had not waived the right to counsel. The Third Circuit affirmed denial of his petition for habeas relief, concluding that Willoughby did not deliberately elicit Dellavecchia’s statement and consequently did not violate Dellavecchia’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The court noted that the evidence, even disregarding Dellavecchia’s statement, overwhelmingly supported his convictions, so that any error when Willoughby recounted the statement at trial would have been harmless. View "Dellavecchia v. Sec'y Penn. Dep't of Corrs." on Justia Law

Based on the 2000 shooting death of Clement, Mills was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted robbery, and two weapons offenses. The district court for the Virgin Islands and the Third Circuit affirmed his convictions. While the prosecutors engaged in serious misconduct by repeated suggestions that the jurors could not be safe in their homes if Mills was free, repeated references to the possibility that the gun Mills discarded would endanger schoolchildren and the community, and the display throughout closing argument of a gruesome crime-scene photo of the victim’s corpse. this misconduct did not render his trial fundamentally unfair. The courts also rejected arguments that the self-defense jury instructions were improper. Mills’s ineffective assistance claim was rejected because the record was not sufficiently developed. View "Gov't of the Virgin Islands v. Mills" on Justia Law

An informant told a Pennsylvania State Trooper that Steiner, a convicted felon, was staying on the informant’s property, was “on the run,” and had a sawed-off shotgun, which Steiner called a “cop killer,” in a camper on the property. The officer obtained a search warrant for the camper, paid the informant $100, and told the informant to drive Steiner to a gas station, where officers would arrest Steiner on a warrant that had issued for Steiner’s failure to appear at a hearing on an unrelated sexual assault charge. Executing the warrant, police seized a sawed-off shotgun, .32 and .38 caliber ammunition, and shotgun ammunition. The informant stated that he had seen missing pieces of the shotgun at a home that Steiner supposedly owned; police obtained another warrant for that home, where they found those parts and various types of ammunition. Steiner was indicted as a felon-in-possession of a firearm and ammunition, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). He was convicted of felony possession of ammunition and sentenced to an 87-month prison term. The Third Circuit affirmed, upholding admission of the evidence related to the sexual assault warrant and the court’s failure to instruct the jury that it was required to reach a unanimous verdict. View "United States v. Steiner" on Justia Law

Moreno was involved in a mortgage-fraud scheme as an appraiser who supplied inflated appraisals to other members of the scheme in exchange for money. He was also involved as broker, buyer, or seller, in other fraudulent transactions. Moreno was found guilty of five counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment. The Third Circuit affirmed the conviction, but vacated the sentence. The court rejected claims of violation of the Confrontation Clause and the hearsay rule, based on the testimony of a cooperating witness, who read statements of a non-testifying U.S. Secret Service Special Agent into the record. The court also upheld a finding that there were more than 50 victims and a resulting application of a four-level enhancement under the Sentencing Guidelines. The court erred in permitting the prosecutor, during Moreno’s sentencing allocution and without leave of court, to engage in a vigorous cross-examination of Moreno. View "United States v. Moreno" on Justia Law

Officer Grenier was notified by radio of multiple calls reporting shots fired near the intersection of East 23rd and Crosby Streets, a well-known drug trafficking location. The dispatcher reported that there was a white vehicle heading east on East 23rd Street toward Madison Street. The dispatcher did not further describe the vehicle, its passengers, the identity of the callers, or when the shooting reportedly occurred, but Grenier interpreted the dispatcher’s use of priority tone to indicate that the shooting was in progress. Driving on Madison Street in his marked police car, Grenier observed a white vehicle, driven by West, coming from the location of the reported shooting. Grenier stopped the car. West unsuccessfully moved to suppress a firearm found during a subsequent search. The Third Circuit affirmed his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, finding the stop constitutional. View "United States v. West" on Justia Law