The defendant in this case, Lila Rizk, a licensed real estate appraiser, was convicted of a number of crimes arising out of her participation in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders in Southern California by issuing false appraisal reports. She was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to ...
There is little doubt that the budget crises across the country are already having a noticeable impact on the criminal justice system. For example, starved for cash, states are forcing the judiciaries to cut back on personnel; and that, in turn, is creating growing backlogs in the court systems. (See, ...
This decision is the latest in a long series of conflicting rulings over the issue of the retroactivity of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA”) (Pub.L. No. 111–220, 124 Stat 2372). The FSA was enacted on August 3, 2010. It was designed to address and cure the disproportionate sentences ...
The district court's policy prohibiting defendants who waited until time set for final pretrial conference to plead guilty from receiving additional one-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under USSG § 3E1.1(b) was procedurally unreasonable.
This is an interesting decision about a district court’s prerogative and discretion to refuse to grant ...
Here a divided en banc Court split on the issue of whether the tasing of two women in 2004 and 2006 (one of whom was pregnant and neither of whom posed any threat to the safety or security of the police) constituted unlawful excessive force.
The Federal judiciary also continues ...
In the words of the Court, this case “raises interesting questions regarding the constitutional limits of searches conducted by the police with the aid of modern technology and medical professionals.” Here, the petitioner, Shane Spencer, was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs. After he refused to consent to a visual ...
In an appeal from a judgment of the district court denying defendant's motion for a sentence modification of a 292-month term of imprisonment for a crack cocaine offense, judgment is reversed where the defendant is eligible for modification based on the 2007 retroactive amendment to the offense guideline.
[Editor's Note: ...
This is another upsetting decision about whitewashing outrageous conduct by Government agents. The case involved a lawsuit brought against the Government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), by the plaintiff insurance company, Motors Insurance Corp. (“MIC”), for damages to a $750,000 Ferrari that was totally ...
