In this case, the Sixth Circuit rejected the defendant’s contention that his sentence of 1,772 months (147 years) was constitutionally invalid under the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment. The defendant, Gary Watkins, a first time offender, was convicted of participating in a string of six bank robberies during ...

Here the Court upheld a substantial downward departure in a child pornography case, after concluding that the sentence was both reasonable (under the new appellate review standards) and properly premised on the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

This is an important decision because it contains the first ...

The growing and indiscriminate use of Taser guns by law enforcement officials is becoming a national disgrace; but, in this case, the Tenth Circuit finally did something to stop the trigger-happy police.

Edward Casey went to a municipal courthouse in Colorado to contest a traffic ticket. After losing his case, ...

Here the Court held that the Government must provide the Court and defense counsel with virtually all of its information regarding the detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay who are challenging their detention under the Detainee Treatment Act.

In a significant setback to the Bush Administration’s policies regarding the detention ...

This opinion charts the boundaries of police surveillance of the First Amendment and associations. An FBI agent joined the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) to investigate foreign sex trade. Although the initial investigation fizzled, the agent stayed with NAMBLA and eventually attended a meeting, where he befriended defendant. They ...

Here the Court reversed a district court’s denial of a suppression order in a case where 24 armed FBI agents raided the defendant’s home and interrogated him for some three hours in an FBI car without ever advising him of his Miranda rights.

This case is a perfect example of ...

Anthony Canty was caught with guns, drugs, and counterfeit money in his apartment; and he was tried for counterfeiting money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 471, as well as for numerous drug and gun charges. After Canty was convicted on all charges and sentenced to 360 months' imprisonment, he ...

Marcus Betts worked for TransUnion LLC, one of the three major credit reporting agencies. He was charged with conspiring with his codefendants to take bribes from people who wanted to improve their credit scores. Ultimately, Betts pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy under 18 U.S.C., and he was sentenced ...

This is an interesting decision that highlights what Judge Boggs referred to in his dissent as a “genuine conundrum” - namely what can - or should - be done when a sentencing judge acknowledges - long after a sentence has been imposed - that a sentence was based on a ...

For a summary of this decision, see "2nd Circuit Removes Judge From Case for Repeated Refusal to Document Sentence Grid Departure," by Mark Hamblett, as published in the New York Law Journal, on Sept. 26, 2007, as follows:

"A federal appeals court has sharply criticized a judge for repeatedly ignoring ...