Criminal and Immigration Cases

Nadeem v. Holder, No. 08-3829, involved a petition for review of the denial of petitioner's asylum application.  The court of appeals denied the petition on the grounds that 1) the immigration judge's adverse credibility finding, supported by specific and cogent reasons for disbelief, detailed the discredited information, undermined allegations of past persecution, and provided a proper basis for denying petitioner's claim for withholding of removal; and 2) petitioner failed to provide sufficient evidence that he would be subject to torture in Pakistan.

In US v. Fenner, No. 08-3953, the Eighth Circuit affirmed defendants' drug conspiracy convictions and sentences, holding that 1) even if prosecutorial misconduct occurred at the grand jury hearing, it was well-established that a petit jury's guilty verdict normally rendered errors in the grand jury proceedings harmless; 2) defendant was not prejudiced by the use of leading questions; 3) the court could not detect from the record an attempt to confuse the jury or a corresponding need to supply answers to faltering witnesses; 4) the mandatory minimums in 18 U.S.C. section 841(b)(1)(A) do not violate equal protection; and 5) although the sex-offender treatment imposed as part of defendant's sentence did not relate to the drug offenses, it did relate to another offense the defendant previously committed.

Related Resources

• Full Text of Nadeem v. Holder, No. 08-3829
• Full Text of US v. Fenner, No. 08-3953