USA v. James
Split Score
What is a Split Score?
This score (0-100) indicates how likely this case is to be reviewed by the Supreme Court based on:
Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed in Part
The Fifth Circuit upheld Allen Houston James’s conviction for attempted murder arising from a 2000 barracks assault, rejecting challenges to sufficiency of evidence and jury instructions on specific intent. However, the panel held that applying the 2023 Sentencing Guidelines violated the Ex Post Facto Clause, so it vacated James’s 200-month sentence and remanded for resentencing under the 1998 Guidelines.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether the invited-error doctrine bars appellate review of a jury instruction when the defendant proposed or agreed to the challenged language even absent an explicit, intentional waiver.
Circuit Positions
Invited error bars appellate review even without proof of a knowing waiver; relief available only to prevent manifest injustice.
Invited error requires a true waiver—an intentional relinquishment of a known right; otherwise, plain-error review remains available.
Conflict Summary
The Fifth Circuit treats a defendant’s proposal of, or agreement to, the challenged instruction as invited error that precludes review absent manifest injustice, without requiring a separate finding of intentional waiver. The D.C., Second, and Ninth Circuits hold that invited error requires a knowing, intentional waiver; absent such waiver, courts may still conduct plain-error review.