In this decision, Judge Cleland struck down as unconstitutional four separate provisions of Michigan’s recently amended Sex Offenders Registration Act ("SORA"). The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of five John Does and one Jane Doe against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and ...

Here the Court vacated vacated a conviction for conspiracy to commit bribery on the grounds that the defendant was entrapped by the Government as a matter of law, stating the Government "is supposed to catch criminals, not create them”.

In this case, the Defendant, James Barta, was charged and convicted ...

The defendant in this case, Jack Coppenger, Jr., pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the Government agreed not to recommend a sentence in excess of the applicable advisory Guidelines range, which was 78 to 97 months' imprisonment. Nonetheless, the district court (Judge John ...

Rule 8(a) of the Fed.R.Crim.P. provides as follows:

“Joinder of Offenses. The indictment or information may charge a defendant in separate counts with 2 or more offenses if the offenses charged—whether felonies or misdemeanors or both—are of the same or similar character, or are based on the same act or ...

As far back as 2008, one of America’s most astute judges, District Judge Lynn Adelman of the E.D.Wisc., began to ring the clarion bell, raising significant and serious questions about the unduly harsh sentences mandated by the Guidelines for child pornography sentences. (See, e.g., U.S. v. Hanson, 561 F.Supp.2d 1004 ...

The Petitioner in this case, Torrey Grady, was convicted in North Carolina trial courts of a second degree sexual offense in 1997 and of taking indecent liberties with a child in 2006. After serving his sentence for the latter crime, Grady was ordered to appear in a state court for ...