United States v. Davis

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of defendant's motion to dismiss a charge under the murder-for-hire statute, 18 U.S.C. 1958, holding that the manufactured jurisdiction doctrine had no bearing in this case. The Fourth Circuit explained that each of defendant's voluntary acts was sufficient to support her criminal culpability under section 1958, and they were not somehow tainted or discounted by a government informer's initial text. Furthermore, the district court did not err in establishing and considering 120 months as the guidelines range. The district court considered the parties' sentencing arguments and provided a reasoned explanation for the sentence, with specific consideration of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and defendant's downward variance request. View "United States v. Davis" on Justia Law