Because of the extreme facts of this case, its outcome will probably neither surprise nor offend most Americans - or even most civil libertarians. Nevertheless, this case is noted for the passionate dissents of Judges Paez and Reinhardt who take the reader for a nostalgic walk down the path of ...

Petitioners, military detainees at Guantanamo Bay, sought review pursuant to § 1005(e)(2) of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), 10 U.S.C. § 801 note, of a determination by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that the detainees were enemy combatants. The court reinstated its decision establishing DTA review procedures. On a petition ...

Here the Court held that the district court’s reliance on “unsupported speculation” about the defendants’ prior criminal history and their arrest records denied them their due process rights, constituted plain error and required a remand for resentencing.

Terrell Berry and Shawn Mack were arrested in 2004 by local police in ...

During the defendant's trial on drug, weapon, and attempted assault charges, the prosecutor struck the only African-American in the jury pool. When the defendant, also African-American, challenged the strike, the prosecutor explained that he struck the juror because of “her appearance.” He told the court: “I do not select overweight ...

Here the Court held that the provisions of U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(c) are unconstitutional, under the principles established in Booker and its progeny, to the extent they purport to dictate which Guideline amendments may be applied retroactively.

This is an important and potentially game-changing Guidelines decision that could dramatically expand the ...

The defendant in this case pled guilty to distribution of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2)(A). In addition to a prison sentence of 235 months, the defendant was ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release, with a number of special conditions. One of those conditions was ...

Anqwuan Osborne was arrested in Montgomery, AL after a chase by local police. At the time of his arrest, he was found in possession of a pistol and a packet containing ten ecstasy tablets. After he was indicted on two counts (possession of a firearm by a felon in violation ...

To date, the Supreme Court’s historic Second Amendment decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008) has not led to a wholesale reversal of many of the nation’s gun laws, as some had predicted. In Heller, the Court held, for the first time, that ...

Here, the Second Circuit held that a mandatory minimum sentence for gun possession or gun use may not be stacked on top of any other greater mandatory minimum penalty for the same set of operative facts - a ruling that creates a Circuit split.

U.S. v. Williams, 558 F.3d 116 ...

Conviction for conspiracy to commit murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, both for the purpose of increasing and maintaining a position in a racketeering enterprise, and related offenses are affirmed. Although the prosecutor erred by vouching to the jury that the government's cooperating accomplices had never perjured themselves or ...

A conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm is affirmed over claims that: 1) the district court erred in declining to give a jury instruction on the affirmative defenses of necessity or innocent/fleeting possession; 2) he was entitled to a new trial because the government ...

Conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine is affirmed over a claim of erroneous denial of a motion to suppress based on assertions that: 1) the area of scrub brush where a black bag containing cocaine was discovered by a police canine was within the "curtilage" of defendant's home; ...

A conviction for securities fraud and wire fraud is affirmed where: 1) although the use of bogus account statements to lull defrauded investors is not in and of itself sufficient to establish a securities law violation, the use of such statements is relevant as evidence to prove, inter alia, a ...

This case is noted for its rare, public thrashing and trashing of a Federal prosecutor who engaged in a series of improprieties and acts of deceit on the court and a jury in order to obtain a conviction that was reversed on appeal.

Rarely does a Federal prosecutor who engages ...

U.S. v. Williams, 558 F.3d 116 (2nd Cir. Mar. 3, 2009) (Judge Pooler)
U.S. v. Easter, 553 F.3d 519 (7th Cir. Jan. 16, 2009) (Per Curiam)

These two decisions relate to the meaning and intent of the somewhat obtuse language of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(I), which imposes an additional consecutive, ...

Reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation provides a sufficient basis under the Fourth Amendment for law enforcement officers to make a traffic stop. In a prosecution for being a felon in possession of a firearm, grant of defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a traffic stop is vacated ...

A sentence for food stamp fraud and theft of public property is affirmed where, despite the absence of data as to the exact amount of loss, the district court's loss calculation was a reasonable estimate of the loss caused by the defendant, and its forfeiture calculation was not plainly erroneous. ...

Conviction for illegal reentry into the U.S. as a convicted felon in violation of 8 U.S.C. section 1326(b)(2) is affirmed over claim of error that the charge should have been vacated because defendant had established the requisite showing for United States citizenship under 8 U.S.C. section 1403 based on the ...