One of the most controversial and hotly-debated provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (herein the “Walsh Act”) is 18 U.S.C. § 4248, which gives the Federal Government the authority to seek the indefinite civil commitment of "sexually dangerous persons" already held in its custody. ...

In this case, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether the Constitution permits a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole (“LWOP”) for a crime which did not involve a homicide. That issue arose because there are currently 129 prisoners being held ...

Here the Court rejected the Second Circuit's interpretation of Rule 52(b) that it must recognize a plain error if there is “any possibility” that a jury convicted a defendant on the basis of actions taken before enactment of the statute of conviction.

Glenn Marcus was indicted on charges that he ...

The firearm penalty provisions contained in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) provide for a series of escalating mandatory minimum sentences depending on the manner in which the basic crime is carried our (viz., using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to an underlying offense, or possessing the firearm in ...

John and Timothy Rigas, former executives of Adelphia Communications Corp., were convicted in New York in 2004 of conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S. in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 through securities fraud and various related crimes arising out of the collapse of Adelphia, which was, at the ...

Here the Court reversed a prior decision by District Judge Bates and held that three detainees who have been held for years without trial at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan have no right to seek habeas relief from the American Courts.

In a decision that creates a gaping hole ...

Here, the Court vacated, on standing grounds, Judge Ann Aiken's landmark decision, reported at Mayfield v. U.S., 504 F.Supp.2d 1023 (D.Or. Sept. 26, 2007), where she held that two key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978, which were amended by the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001 ...