Among the many regulations promulgated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is one entitled “Inmate correspondence with representatives of the news media,” which prohibits inmates from acting as a reporter or publishing articles under a byline. (28 C.F.R. § 540.20(b)) (herein “Rule 540"). Although one can imagine many reasons ...
Defendant allowed the participants in a large-scale coupon fraud scheme to use his check cashing business to negotiate checks received from the victims of the offense. Defendant pleaded guilty to a violation of 18 U.S.C.S. § 1349, conspiracy to obtain money by means of mail and wire fraud, and was ...
Moreland v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 431 F.3d 180 (5th Cir. Nov. 10, 2005)
Petty v. Stine, 424 F.3d 506 (6th Cir. Sept. 19, 2005)
In these two decisions, the Fifth and Sixth Circuits have joined every other Circuit to have ruled on the issue by agreeing that the Bureau ...
The petitioner in this case, Emma Altamirano, is a citizen of Mexico who resides in the U.S. by virtue of a grant of parole by the Attorney General pending final resolution of an immediate relative visa petition filed by her husband, who is a U.S. citizen. In this proceeding Emma ...
Moreland v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 431 F.3d 180 (5th Cir. Nov. 10, 2005)
Petty v. Stine, 424 F.3d 506 (6th Cir. Sept. 19, 2005)
In these two decisions, the Fifth and Sixth Circuits have joined every other Circuit to have ruled on the issue by agreeing that the Bureau ...
Here the Court held that the Government’s failure to allege any specific overt act in an indictment charging unlawful reentry after a previous deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326, was a fatal defect that is not subject to harmless error analysis. Accordingly, the Court vacated the defendant’s conviction ...
U.S. v. Truong, 425 F.3d 1282 (10th Cir. Oct. 17, 2005) (Judge McConnell)
U.S. v. Heredia, 426 F.3d 1226 (9th Cir. Oct. 24, 2005) (Judge Bybee)
In these two drug cases, the courts addressed different aspects of the mens rea element of some of the Government’s main drug statutes; and, ...
The defendant in this case, Jennifer Weekley, was indicted on a single count of misprision of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 4. The indictment charged that she had knowledge of a bank robbery committed by her husband, and that she not only concealed her knowledge of the ...
Here the Court reversed a sentence imposed below the applicable guideline range because the "extent of reduction granted" as a result of the defendant's substantial assistance "was unreasonably large".
In this case, the Court reversed a sentence imposed below the applicable guideline range because the "extent of reduction granted" as ...
The defendant in this case appealed his conviction for bank robbery, arguing that the district court had abused its discretion by admitting evidence which suggested that he had robbed the same bank 7½ years earlier. The Seventh Circuit found that the admission of the prior uncharged bank robbery was improper ...
U.S. v. Truong, 425 F.3d 1282 (10th Cir. Oct. 17, 2005) (Judge McConnell)
U.S. v. Heredia, 426 F.3d 1226 (9th Cir. Oct. 24, 2005) (Judge Bybee)
In these two drug cases, the courts addressed different aspects of the mens rea element of some of the Government’s main drug statutes; and, ...
[*NOTE: The prior related decision in this case was originally incorrectly reported sub nom. U.S. v. MuffLEman, 327 F.Supp.2d 79 (D.Mass. Jul6 26, 2004) - not MuffELman (which is the correct spelling). Both the instant decision and the prior decision have been recorded in our data base using the corrected ...
In this extremely opaque decision, the Court reversed a 57-month sentence that was at the bottom of the applicable guideline range because the record below "left in serious doubt whether the [sentencing] judge connected the facts relating to the statutory factors to the sentence he imposed." Here is the concluding ...
