United States Fourth Circuit

Convictions for several crimes relating to the firebombing of a home to prevent resident from continuing to contact law enforcement regarding the sale of illegal drugs in her area are affirmed over claims challenging: 1) the validity of the witness tampering convictions; 2) the denial of two defendants' motion to sever their trial from the third; and 3) allowing improper rebuttal argument from the government. However, sentence of one defendant is vacated and remanded to give the district court the benefit of recent decisions, occurring after sentence was imposed, regarding how the advisory sentencing guidelines scheme should be applied.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/25/2007
• Decided 08/22/2007
• Published 08/22/2007

Judges

• Before TRAXLER and KING, Circuit Judges, and T.S. ELLIS, III, Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Martin Gregory Bahl, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants.  Kwame Jangha Manley, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, Greenbelt, Maryland, Denise C. Barrett, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Baltimore, Maryland;  Randolph Gregory, Sr., Baltimore, Maryland;  Mary E. Davis, Washington, D.C., for Appellants. Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, A. David Copperthite, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.