Joseph Muniz was convicted in a state court in Wayne County, Michigan of a number of charges arising out the shooting in 2004 of the boyfriend of his former girlfriend; and he was sentenced as a second habitual offender to 29½ to 60 years in prison. After he exhausted his ...
While no one can seriously pretend that the law is perfect, and while most serious observers would admit that the procedural barriers created by the AEDPA have made the path to meaningful habeas review significantly more difficult, if not unfair, this case is a doozy.
In 1997, John Kinsel was ...
U.S. v. Divens, 650 F.3d 343 (4th Cir. July 5, 2011) (Judge Diana Gribbon Motz)
U.S. v. Lee, 653 F.3d 170 (2nd Cir. July 26, 2011) (Judge Denny Chin)
In these two decisions, the Fourth and Second Circuits split dramatically from the long held, follow-the-leader approach of at least five ...
Here a sharply divided en banc court became the second Circuit Court to uphold the constitutionality of some recent revisions to the DNA Act which permits the Government to take DNA samples from people who have been arrested but not convucted.
In the 12/27/10 issue of P&J, we noted that ...
One of the most damning forms of judicial criticism of a particular Guideline provision is that it lacks sufficient empirical support for the sentence that is recommended. That charge, leveled by many judges against several of the governing child-pornography Guidelines and against the old 100:1 ratio that applied to sentences ...
In this case, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (“EPIC”) and two individuals sued various Government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”), charging that the use of the new Advanced Imaging Technology (“AIT”) for screening purposes at airports violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibitions against unreasonable searches because it is more ...
The two petitioners in this case, Nazul Gul and Adel Hamad, were arrested in Afghanistan and Pakistan, respectively, in 2003 and 2002; and promptly turned over to the United States. They were subsequently transferred to the U.S. Naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, where they were designated as “enemy combatants.” While ...
U.S. v. Divens, 650 F.3d 343 (4th Cir. July 5, 2011) (Judge Diana Gribbon Motz)
U.S. v. Lee, 653 F.3d 170 (2nd Cir. July 26, 2011) (Judge Denny Chin)
In these two decisions, the Fourth and Second Circuits split dramatically from the long held, follow-the-leader approach of at least five ...
