The defendant in this case, Michael Williams, was caught in an Internet sting operation with a government agent; and he was charged with one count of promoting, or "pandering," material "in a manner that reflects the belief, or that is intended to cause another to believe," that the material contains ...

In U.S. v. Rahmani, 209 F.Supp.2d 1045 (C.D.Cal. 2002) (P&J, 06/17/02), Judge Takasugi of the C.D.Cal. dismissed an indictment filed against seven defendants, which charged them with conspiracy and 58 substantive counts of providing material support to an organization known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, or MEK, in ...

The issue before the Court in this case was whether a defendant, based upon a single act of possession of a firearm, can be convicted and punished under both 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (felon in possession) and (g)(3) (drug user in possession). The defendant was sentenced to 103 months on ...

Here the Court held that the district court committed reversible error when it granted a judgment of acquittal on the grounds that a drug trafficking conviction and a separate gun conviction were based on mere presence.

This is one of the first significant criminal law decisions written by Judge William ...

In U.S. v. McClain, 430 F.3d 299 (6th Cir. Dec. 2, 2005) (“McClain I”), the Sixth Circuit addressed a suppression order that had been issued in a case where there was (1) an illegal warrantless search of the defendant's home, followed by (2) additional surveillance based on the information obtained ...

Defendant appealed a decision of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, which convicted him of violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(c)(2), which prohibited the distribution of listed chemicals, including pseudoephedrine, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the pseudoephedrine will be used to manufacture a ...

This decision amends the decision previously reported at 436 F.3d 1104 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2006). In the earlier decision, the Ninth Circuit granted habeas relief to Joni Goldyn, who was convicted of writing bad checks under a Nevada law that prohibits writing checks without sufficient "money, property, or credit." ...

Here a divided panel held that the garnishment of ERISA pension benefits under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (“MVRA”) is not barred by the anti-alienation provisions of the ERISA statutes, 29 U.S.C. § 1056(d)(1). The Court concluded the MVRA, in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. § 3613 (“Civil Remedies for Satisfaction ...

Way back in 1935, the Eighth Circuit first articulated its so-called “slight evidence” standard which essentially holds that “once the existence of a conspiracy is established, slight evidence connecting a defendant to the conspiracy is sufficient to support a conviction.” (See, Galatas v. U.S., 80 F.2d 15, 24 (8th Cir. ...