Here the Court held that a district court does not have jurisdiction to re-open a restitution order, on its own motion, either pursuant to the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA) or the Victim and Witness Protection Act (VWPA), 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5), or Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(a). Here ...

The defendant was charged in an 18-count indictment with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy arising from an alleged telemarketing scheme. A jury found him guilty on 15 counts, and he was sentenced under the Guidelines. On appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, he ...

The defendant was charged in an 18-count indictment with mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy arising from an alleged telemarketing scheme. A jury found him guilty on 15 counts, and he was sentenced under the Guidelines. On appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, he ...

This Emergency General Order from the Tenth Circuit (and signed by twelve judges) is noted as further evidence of how the Internet has changed the practice of law in the past decade. The order starts by stating:

“Except in social security cases, all parties represented by counsel, including pro se ...

In this case the petitioner charged that the BOP had unconstitutionally denied him early release eligibility under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e) by ruling him ineligible for participation in the BOP’s residential substance abuse treatment program. Chief Judge Haggerty concluded that “There is cogent evidence that but for the BOP's misadvice, ...

Here the Court held that a sentencing court may not delegate to a probation officer the power to determine whether a defendant on supervised release must participate in a mental health treatment program, as a special condition of the defendant's supervised release.

The Court found such a delegation of authority ...

This decision is noted for Judge Hill's concurring opinion in which he railed against the Eleventh Circuit's exceptionally rigid policy of denying most Booker appeals. On that issue, he stated in part:

"In supplemental authority and at oral argument, the Bordons offered Booker as support that they were unlawfully sentenced. ...

Denial of plaintiff's petition for a writ of habeas corpus is affirmed over his claim that he has earned more credit for "Good Conduct Time" than the Bureau of Prisons has awarded him under 18 U.S.C. § 3624.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at ...

U.S. v. Razmilovic, 419 F.3d 134 (2nd Cir. 08/17/05) (Judge Winter)
U.S. v. Wingerter, 369 F.Supp.2d 799 (E.D.Va. 2005) (Judge Ellis)

Both of these cases address the extraordinary remedy of a pretrial [and thus pre-conviction] restraint of assets. As the Second Circuit explained in Razmilovic, there are only four forfeiture ...

U.S. v. Razmilovic, 419 F.3d 134 (2nd Cir. 08/17/05) (Judge Winter)
U.S. v. Wingerter, 369 F.Supp.2d 799 (E.D.Va. 2005) (Judge Ellis)

Both of these cases address the extraordinary remedy of a pretrial [and thus pre-conviction] restraint of assets. As the Second Circuit explained in Razmilovic, there are only four forfeiture ...

This case is a potent reminder of the all-inclusive forfeiture power of Big Brother.

On December 11, 2002, Jose Luis Betancourt, purchased a Texas lottery ticket that became worth more than $5 million in winnings. On February 12, 2003, Betancourt was indicted for possession with intent to distribute more than ...

Here, over the dissent of nine judges (who generally represent the conservative side of the Court), the Ninth Circuit declined to rehear en banc its earlier decision reported at Bockting v. Bayer, 399 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. Feb. 22, 2005), in which a divided panel had held that the Supreme ...

In this case the Ninth Circuit consolidated 16 appeals that had challenged the authority of the Bureau of Prisons (BOB) to promulgate its 1997 intermin regulations limiting elegibility to the BOP's residential substance abuse programs (DAP). The Court held that the BOP had "plainly violated" the Administrative Procedure Act when ...

In this decision, Judge Hurd dismissed with prejudice the plaintiff’s efforts to boot-strap his allegations of sexual abuse by a priest into a broad civil RICO action against the Catholic Church. The Court held that accusations that the Church had mishandled clergy sex abuse cases failed to demonstrate "sufficient acts ...

This case is noted for Judge Tjoflat’s caustic concurring opinion in which he castigated as “bad law” and “wrong when it was decided,” the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in U.S. v. Rodriguez, 398 F.3d 1291(11th Cir. 2005) (Rodriguez I), where the Court adopted the most stringent plain-error test for Booker errors ...

The indictment in this case did not charge any relevant conduct beyond a single incident. The government (and the presentence report) used other conduct to increase the amount of loss. The defendant contested any loss beyond his admissions during and after the plea.” After a detailed analysis of the issue, ...

The defendant was convicted of bank fraud and related crimes; and he was sentenced to 27 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Upon his release from prison, the Probation Department “discovered” that he had never been ordered to pay any restitution. Because more than three years had ...

This case is noted for Judge Lay’s blistering dissent in which he condemned as cruel and unusual punishment a 100-month sentence imposed on the defendant for purchasing less than 2 ounces of marijuana to help a sick friend.

The defendant in this case, Robert Lee Chauncey, was convicted at trial ...

This case is noted for Judge Aldisert’s spirited dissent in which he found “appalling” the Government’s “blatant judge shopping” which it accomplished by ignoring its own double jeopardy guidelines, known as the Petite Policy.

In this case, the Third Circuit explored in some depth the Department of Justice’s make-believe “Dual ...