In 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), Congress directed that sentencing courts “shall impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary” to comply with the purposes set forth in paragraph (2) of that statute. As viewed from the perspective of Judge Myron Bright, a frequent critic of the harshness of Federal ...

In the 06/23/14 issue of P&J, we noted a strange and misguided sentencing decision in the case entitled U.S. v. Sevilla-Oyola, 753 F.3d 309 (1st Cir. June 3, 2014) (“Sevilla I”). That appeal involved defendant Carlos Sevilla-Oyola (“Sevilla”), who was charged with various crimes as part of a 108-defendant drug ...

This case is noted for District Judge Sullivan’s powerful entreaty for greater use of deferred-prosecution agreements and similar sentencing alternatives for individuals charged with certain non-violent criminal offenses.

In this case, the Government asked Judge Sullivan to approve the use of deferred-prosecution agreements for two corporations that were charged with ...

The primary question addressed in this sentencing appeal was whether the defendant, Lameisha Anderson, had the requisite intent to be held responsible, under the "murder cross-reference" enhancement of U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(d) for the murder of a victim who was killed by her boyfriend. Based on that enhancement, Anderson’s base offense ...

This case has been before the courts for some 17 years; and it involves the intractable battle between the Federal Government and any states that have had the audacity to enact laws liberalizing the use of marijuana. That battle began in 1996 when California when it enacted the Compassionate Use ...

In December, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza used three semiautomatic weapons to kill 20 children and six adults,at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In committing that massacre, Lanza fired shots in less than five minutes. In the aftermath of that tragic event, both Connecticut and New York were ...

In this case, the Ninth Circuit affirmed, over the dissent of Judge Kozinski, the 54-month sentence imposed on Ibrahim Fahab Bare following his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of that sentence, the district court also ordered that, while Bare was serving his term ...