Once in a great while, a decision comes down that dramatically highlights the enormous disparity that exists in the judicial community about what constitutes “reasonable suspicion” under the Fourth Amendment. This is such a case. Here, the judges debated whether the police had a sufficiently reasonable suspicion to stop and ...

In this case the District Court denied petitioner's request for habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Petitioner moved for reconsideration; the district court denied this motion. Petitioner appealed. The issue for the appellate court was whether the motion for reconsideration should have been treated as a successive collateral ...

The defendant in this case, Troy Washington, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He moved to suppress the evidence against him on the grounds that the Government’s “no knock” entry, which produced the evidence against him, violated his ...

This decision is noted for its discussion of new Rule 11(d) of the Fed.R.Crim.P., which now gives defendants “an absolute right” to withdraw their pleas “for any reason or for no reason” - so long as they move before the court accepts their plea.

This case is noted for its ...

Here the Court rejected a broad series of constitutional challenges to the Federal Death Penalty Act; but see subsequent decision reported at 265 F.Supp.2d 914 where the Court granted some defense motions for limiting jury instructions under the FDPA.

After returning an indictment charging defendant with federal offenses involving a ...

Here the Court held that “there is nothing in the language of the PROTECT Act which limits its applicability to downward departures” and thus it concluded that “§ 401(d) of the PROTECT Act applies to [its] review of upward as well as downward departures in cases pending on direct review ...

In 1979, Charles Singleton, an African-American, killed Mary Lou York, an elderly white grocery clerk. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for that crime later that same year; and he has been on the Arkansas death row ever since.

Singleton has spent much of his time in prison ...

Conviction of conspiracy to bribe a public official, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 201(b)(1)(A) and 371 is reversed where evidence at trial was insufficient to permit an inference that defendant was a member of the conspiracy. Relying on the specific intent required to violate 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1)(A) and ...

U.S. v. Lauersen, 343 F.3d 604 (2nd Cir. 09/15/2003) (Judge Newman)
U.S. v. Jackson, 346 F.3d 22 (2nd Cir. 10/01/2003) (Judge Newman)

These two cases, decided two weeks apart, raise the possibility of a potential new grounds for a sentencing departure to offset the sometimes Draconian effect of piling sentencing ...

Here the Court suggested that an accumulation of substantially overlapping sentencing enhancements can constitute a valid basis for a downward departure, even if the enhancements themselves do not constitute impermissible double counting.

U.S. v. Lauersen, 343 F.3d 604 (2nd Cir. 09/15/2003) (Judge Newman)
U.S. v. Jackson, 346 F.3d 22 (2nd ...