United States v. Michael Cason

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: July 12, 2021
• Docket: 20-2476
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 20-2476 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Michael Barrett Cason, also known as Daddy

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City ____________

Submitted: July 6, 2021 Filed: July 12, 2021 [Unpublished] ____________

Before LOKEN, GRUENDER, and KELLY, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Michael Cason appeals after he pleaded guilty to a sex offense and the district 1 court sentenced him pursuant to a binding plea agreement. His counsel has moved

1 The Honorable Beth Phillips, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. to withdraw and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), relaying that Cason contends the district court lacked jurisdiction over him because of his sovereign citizen status.

After careful review, we conclude that Cason’s argument fails because the district court had jurisdiction over violations of federal law. See 18 U.S.C. § 3231 (stating that district courts have original jurisdiction, exclusive of state courts, of all offenses against the laws of the United States); United States v. Hayes, 574 F.3d 460, 471-72 (8th Cir. 2009) (stating that because the indictment sufficiently alleged a violation of the laws of the United States, the district court had jurisdiction). Furthermore, having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion and affirm. ______________________________

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