This is another sentencing case in which a divided panel from the Sixth Circuit upheld a within-Guidelines sentence of 327 months (27-¼ years) imposed on a 44-year old drug addict who pled guilty to three counts of manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine, principally because of Circuit precedent to the effect that ...

Here, stretching the limits of the Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2259, the Court held that a defendant can be ordered to pay restitution, including costs of psychological counseling services and alternative education programs, for child victims of sexual exploitation that occurred overseas as ...

Sentence based on guilty plea to fraud and related offenses is vacated where the court impermissibly and prejudicially participated in plea negotiations with defendant.

In U.S. v. Curtain, 443 F.3d 1084 (9th Cir. Apr. 4, 2006) (P&J, 03/06/06), a divided Ninth Circuit panel issued a fascinating decision that reversed a child sex predator’s conviction because the district court admitted pornographic stories found on the defendant’s PDA. As with many sex predator cases involving bait, ...

The issue before the Court in this case was the reasonableness of the 292 month sentence imposed on Terri Pruitt, a 42-year old Kansas mother, who pled guilty to distributing 18.5 grams of methamphetamine. Admittedly, Ms. Pruitt had three prior drug felonies on her record; and thus her Guideline sentencing ...

Leroy Allen pled guilty to a single count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. His Guideline sentencing range was 120 to 135 months in prison; and the probation officer stated that he had “no information concerning the offense or the offender which would warrant a departure from the ...

This is the eighth death penalty case that the Supreme Court has decided this term; and in each of those cases Justice Kennedy has provided the swing vote - four times joining with the conservative bloc of Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito and four times joining with the liberal ...

It is really hard to glean much of value from this brief, per curiam decision involving a claim of unconstitutionally deficient health care in the Colorado state prison system. But the decision does provide confirmation of two items. First, it is a stark reminder of just how quickly and how ...