Here the Court granted a suppression motion after finding that FBI agents had acted with “reckless disregard for the truth” in preparing warrant affidavits that were used in a nationwide operation against persons who received child porn over the Internet.

U.S. v. Perez, 247 F.Supp.2d 459 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (Judge Chin) ...

Petitioner inmate, who was incarcerated in a state prison, had been convicted of second degree murder and attempted robbery. The inmate's conviction was obtained primarily based on statements he made during a two-hour interrogation that occurred when he was 17 years old. The United States District Court for the Central ...

Here on remand the Third Circuit has again held that critical provisions of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) are unconstitutional because they are not sufficiently narrowly tailored to avoid infringing on the free speech rights of adults.

For the second time, the Third Circuit has declared the Child Online ...

The gloves really came off in this case as judges with dramatically different political and philosophical views battled over whether parolees have any rights under the Fourth Amendment to object to suspicionless searches of their homes, in cases where they have waived all such rights as a condition of their ...

In this case, the petitioner, a New York state prisoner, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Among the claims Whitley raised was that he was "actually innocent" of the crimes for which he had been convicted. ...

The retitioners in this case were convicted of fraud and they were originally sentenced to terms of imprisonment "with work release." After they commenced service of those sentences, the Bureau of Prisons announced a "significant procedure change" pursuant to which it would no longer honor judicial recommendations to place inmates ...

Ewing v. California, 539 U.S. 11 (2003) (Justice O’Connor)
Lockyer v. Andrade, 539 U.S. 63 (2003) (Justice O’Connor)

Both of these cases address the issue of whether lengthy sentences mandated by California’s harsh “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law, and imposed on defendants who committed relatively minor property offenses, were ...

Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003) (Justice O’Connor)
Lockyer v. Andrade, 539 U.S. 63 (2003) (Justice O’Connor)

Both of these cases address the issue of whether lengthy sentences mandated by California’s harsh “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law, and imposed on defendants who committed relatively minor property offenses, were ...

Here by a vote of 6-to-3, the Court rejected a claim that the retroactive features of Alaska's Sex Offender Registration Act (a Megan’s law) violated the Ex Post Facto Clause - on the grounds that the Act was not punishment but a civil, nonpunitive scheme.

The issue before the Court ...

An information which alleged a prior felony drug conviction, to render defendant eligible for a mandatory minimum sentence, adequately identified the relevant prior conviction under the circumstances so long as the defendant had no difficulty identifying the prior conviction underlying the requested enhancement. In its decision, the Court noted that ...

Here the Court denied a downward departure based on family circumstances to a defendant whose son suffered severe psychological diabilities - stating those facts did not by themselves constitute exceptional circumstances.

Here the Court reversed the district court's finding that the defendant was entitled to a downward departure based on ...

Appellant inmates, convicted sex offenders, sued defendant state corrections director, alleging that the director's sex offender program, which required the inmates to disclose prior sexual misconduct, violated their privilege against self-incrimination. The inmates' appeal of the dismissal of their action was affirmed in a decision reported at 244 F.3d 209 ...

Here, in the wake of a jury deadlock, Judge Patterson granted a motion for acquittal in a drug conspiracy case, after finding that the evidence against the defendant was entirely circumstantial and equivocal and failed to demonstrate any specific intent to participate in the conspiracy. Citing U.S. v. Glenn, 312 ...

Here the Court unanimously rejected an argument that sex offenders have a due process right to an individualized hearing on their current dangerousness before information about them is posted in a publically disseminated registry.

The issue before the Court in this case was whether the Due Process Clause of the ...

Here the Court held that, under Apprendi, in order to apply the sentence enhancement under USSG § 2D1.1(a)(2), the Government had to prove that death resulted from the defendant's distribution of drugs by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

The question before the Court in this case was "whether the government ...

Here the Court granted a suppression motion because, inter alis, a Customs agent’s affidavit in support of a search warrant lacked probable cause, was grossly misleading, contained material false representations and relied on stale evidence.

Although Judge Hughes sharply criticized the “slapdash manner” of Special Agent Robert M. Sherman of ...

Plaintiffs, 15 female prisoners, alleged that the conditions for female inmates in the Alabama State Prison System violated the Eighth Amendment. The prisoners sought a preliminary injunction against defendants, a governor, a department of corrections commissioner, a warden, an acting warden, and a director.

The prisoners made various claims that ...

U.S. v. Perez, 247 F.Supp.2d 459 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (Judge Chin)
U.S. v. Strauser, 247 F.Supp.2d 1135 (E.D.Mo. 2003) (Judge Perry)

One of the keynotes of the John Ashcroft-era prosecutions has been the announcement of multiple, “break-through” indictments, coupled with simultaneous mass arrests and intense prime-time fanfare - only to have ...