United States v. Kourani, No. 19-4292 (2d Cir. 2021)
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The Second Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for providing and conspiring to provide material support to Hizballah, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2339B (Counts One and Two); receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from Hizballah, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2339D (Counts Three and Four); contributing and conspiring to contribute services to Hizballah, in violation of 50 U.S.C. 1705(a) (Counts Six and Seven); and unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization to facilitate an act of terrorism, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1425(a) (Count Eight).
The court concluded that the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to suppress confessions he made during a series of interviews with the FBI; in denying his motion claiming ineffective assistance of counsel during the 2017 interviews because his right to counsel had not yet attached; and in declining to provide defendant's requested jury instructions. The court also concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction where the government presented evidence that corroborated defendant's statements to the FBI agents, including data on his laptop, his internet search history, and his travel history. Finally, the court held that defendant's 480 month sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable where the district court considered the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors, including the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities.
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