Among the many terrorist cases that have been dramatically announced by the Justice Department to large and theatrically staged press conferences, the one the seemed to bring the greatest satisfaction to Attorney General Ashcroft was the filing of terrorist charges against New York criminal defense attorney Lynne Stewart - who ...

Here, in a switch from its customary position, the Government strenuously objected to proposed introduction of fingerprint evidence by the defendants in this case; and the Government prevailed on that issue principally because the Seventh Circuit concluded that the probative value of the fingerprint reports at issue was outweighed by ...

In this decision, Judge Kaplan examined what he called “the troublesome question whether and to what extent the attorney-client privilege and the protection afforded to work product extend to communications between and among a prospective defendant in a criminal case, her lawyers, and a public relations firm hired by the ...

Here the Court held that medical examinations given to children without parental consent did not rise to a level of extreme outrageousness required for damages; but the decision is particularly noted for its discussion of the "special needs" exception.

In this case, a number of parents whose minor children were ...

Here the Court vacated an order of Judge Torres, reported at 165 F.Supp.2d 103 (D.R.I. 2001) directing various defense attorneys who had received legal fees from the convicted RICO defendants to disgorge their fees to the Government as "substitute assets".

On the Government’s wish list, one of its fondest hopes ...

The defendant in this case, Charles Ashley, pled guilty to a single count of receipt of pornographic materials involving minors, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1); and he was sentenced to 135 months in prison (11-plus years). That sentence included a five-level enhancement that was imposed pursuant ...

Defendant appealed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte, convicting him of damaging a vehicle by means of fire and injuring another thereby in violation of 18 U.S.C.S. § 844(i), bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C.S. § 2113(a), and ...

The defendant in this case, Stefan Irving, an American citizen who was a convicted pedophile, was one of several persons suspected of traveling to Mexico for the purpose of having sex with children. Acting on a tip, Federal agents stopped Irving at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in May, 1988, as ...

Here the Court granted the defendant's motion for a jury instruction that a sentence of death is never required under the Federal Death Penalty Act - even if the aggravating factors sufficiently outweigh any mitigating factors.

The defendant in this case moved to instruct the jury that a sentence of ...

In response to the defendant's assertion of a defense of medical marijuana, the Court granted him a significant downward departure, both because he was eligible for the safety valve and because he believed that he was immune under a local law.

The defendant was found guilty at trial of violating ...

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied petitioner inadmissible alien's 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition challenging his indefinite detention. The district court concluded that the Immigration and Naturalization Service's decision that he was a danger to the community and was likely to engage in further ...

In this case the Sixth Circuit held that the district court had erred in relying on hearsay evidence to reach the 50-kilogram quantity of marijuana needed to sentence the defendant under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). Noting that Apprendi requires that drug quantity be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the Court ...

In July, Judge Koeltl dismissed the two most serious anti-terrorist charges against the embattled criminal defense attorney, Lynne Stewart, who had been accused of providing material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization - namely the Islamic Group in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2239B, principally by acting ...

Here the Court vacated an order of Judge Torres, reported at 165 F.Supp.2d 103 (D.R.I. 2001) directing various defense attorneys who had received legal fees from the convicted RICO defendants to disgorge their fees to the Government as "substitute assets".

On the Government’s wish list, one of its fondest hopes ...