Judge Britt’s 59-page decision in this case addresses a growing and highly contentious issue - namely, the narrowing and ever-fuzzier distinctions between civil and criminal commitment for sex offenders. Historically, prisons have been used as punishment for past criminal acts; and civil commitment has been used in cases of serious ...
This is an interesting decision involving a series of creative challenges by Ronald Geiger, a pro se inmate, to the BOP’s power to collect restitution payments under the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (“IFRP”) (28 C.F.R. 545.10 and 11). As part of his life sentence for various crimes of violence, Geiger ...
For a summary of this decision, see "Circuit Clarifies Law on 'Two-Step' Confession Tactics," by Mark Hamblett, as published in the New York Law Journal on June 14, 2007:
"The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified the law on when a confession given after a Miranda warning is ...
For a commentary on this decision, see "Court Rejects Excuse For Late Habeas Try: Circuit Adopts Discretion Standard," by Mark Hamblett, as published in the New York Law Journal, July 5, 2007, as follows:
"A prisoner who sought to excuse his tardiness in filing a petition for a writ of ...
For an analysis of the holding in this case, see "Troopers' Trickery In Searching Cars Ruled Constitutional," by Mark Hamblett, as published in the New York Law Journal, June 6, 2007:
June 6, 2007
"Ruses employed by state troopers to lure suspects away from two vehicles while the troopers searched ...
In this consolidated case, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the ACLU filed a series of claims against the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. § 552) seeking the release of agency records regarding the NSA’s warrantless eavesdropping program (which the DOJ ...
This is an important decision which not only emphasizes an indigent defendant’s right to expert witnesses; it also provides some clarity to process by which methamphetamine quantity should be determined. Here the Court vacated a drug sentence for two significant (and rarely cited) reasons: first, the Court held that the ...
Here, for the second time, Judge Marrero struck down as unconstitutional the portions of the Patriot Act that authorize the collection of information via National Security Letters, stating that they violate the First Amendment and separation of powers.
For the second time in three years, Judge Marrero has concluded that ...
In U.S. v. Kikumura, 918 F.2d 1084 (3rd Cir. 1990), a landmark sentencing decision, the Third Circuit held that, while the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment ordinarily requires a district court to find facts that support a sentencing enhancement by a mere preponderance of the evidence, in cases ...
