In U.S. v . Graham, 796 F.3d 332 (4th Cir. Aug. 5, 2015) (P&J, 08/17/15) (“Graham I”), a divided panel from the Fourth Circuit affirmed the convictions of Defendants Aaron Graham and Eric Jordan arising from their participation in a series of armed robberies. One of the issues raised by ...

This is a fascinating decision about the validity of waivers of appellate rights generally; but it is particularly noted for the provocative dissent of visiting District Judge Paul Friedman of the D.D.C., who openly questioned whether appeal waivers of a future sentence can ever be deemed to be “knowing” and ...

In Peruta v. County of San Diego, 742 F.3d 1144 (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2014) (P&J, 03/10/14), a divided panel from the Ninth Circuit issued the most sweeping decision to date on the right to carry a gun in public places. The majority held that it unconstitutional under the Second ...

In Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), the Supreme Court held that held that attorneys in a criminal case have a constitutional obligation to advise their clients of the collateral immigration consequences of a guilty plea, such as deportation. By a 7-2 vote, the Padilla majority reasoned that changes ...

Here Judge Weinstein took sharp issue with a specific Guideline Amendment which included all infractions for driving while ability impaired as part a defendant's criminal history and rejected that approach as likely to produce "absurd results".

In this case, District Judge Jack Weinstein of the E.D.N.Y. took sharp issue with ...

Terrence Williams was prosecuted in the Pennsylvania state courts for the 1984 murder of a 56-year old victim. During the ensuing trial, the prosecutor requested permission from her supervisors in the district attorney’s office to seek the death penalty against Williams. To support the request, she prepared a memorandum setting ...

In one sense, the issue before the Court in this case was a purely legal issue about the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment which prohibits more than one prosecution for the “same offence”; and more specifically about the “dual-sovereignty” doctrine or exception which, since at least 1922, has ...