After the defendant is this case was convicted of illegal reentry into the U.S. after having previously having been deported, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(1) and (b)(2), he was sentenced to 70 months in prison. He then appealed his sentence, arguing that it was illegal because the district ...

The ongoing debate about amending FISA and other laws that affect the Government’s ability to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists has effectively hidden from public view Government’s growing practice of using unlawful surveillance in non-terrorist cases. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that the Government has been aggressively ignoring the law ...

For a summary of the holding in this case, see "Inmates Can Sue Over Lost Property, Circuit Determines," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, September 10, 2007, as follows:

"Prison officials are not immune from suit for lost property under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the U.S. Court of ...

For a summary of this decision, see "2nd Circuit Upholds Conviction in Rare Bird Import Case," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, August 28, 2007, as follows:


"Deciding a "rare bird" of a case, a federal appeals court last week upheld the unusual conviction of an "enigmatic and colorful" ...

For a summary of the holding in this case, see "Following High Court Cue, 2nd Circuit Cancels Habeas Grant," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, August 31, 2007, as follows:

"A U.S. Supreme Court decision narrowing habeas review of state court procedures may force a convicted cocaine dealer back ...

Here the Court held that the BOP's 28-year old rule (set forth in 28 C.F.R. § 549.20(b)), which prohibits inmates from publishing under a byline unconstitutionally violates the First Amendment; and it enjoined the BOP from punishing inmates for violations.

In a ruling that is, at times, amusing, Judge Marcia ...

Over the Christmas holidays in 2004, some 13,0000 Muslims from across North America traveled to Toronto, Canada to attend a Muslim conference known as the Reviving the Islamic Spirit (“RIS”) conference in the Toronto Skydome. The three-day conference involved “religious and cultural activities, musical performances, a series of prominent Islamic ...

For a summary of this decision, see "Conviction Upset Over Defense Failure to Test Victim's Memory," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, September 5, 2007, as follows:

"A defense lawyer was found ineffective because he failed to inquire into the effects of blood loss and heavy sedation on the ...

This case involved the first reported criminal convictions under the recently enacted CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketings Act), which is codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 7701-7713 and 18 U.S.C. § 1037. The CAN-SPAM Act is one of those sweeping Congressional cure-alls designed to curb spam ...

The last decision of the Supreme Court’s 2007-2008 term was this deeply divided but momentous 5 to 4 decision on whether Americans have a constitutional right to possess and bear arms. And in its historic, 157-opus, the Court held for the very first time that the Second Amendment protects an ...