⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Sixth Circuit hears United States v. Shawn Clemmons. Clemmons ran the South Central Ohio Computer Association, which provided internet and technology services to schools. Through the federal E-Rate program, it received money it was supposed to pass on as school reimbursements. Instead, reimbursements were withheld and newer funds used to cover earlier obligations. Clemmons pleaded guilty to making false claims. The district court fixed restitution, repayment to the victims, at about three point two million dollars. But it did so more than three years after sentencing, after Clemmons had finished prison and court supervision. His lawyer will argue that this added punishment after the sentence was final, violating the Constitution's protection against double jeopardy. The government will argue that restitution had always been part of the sentence; only the amount remained unresolved. There is another hurdle: an appeal waiver, a promise in the plea agreement not to bring certain appeals. The panel must consider whether enforcing it here would produce a miscarriage of justice: a serious, obvious error, not an ordinary sentencing mistake.

United States v. Clemmons (No. 25-3916) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, argued October 21, 2026.