Case held that providing materially false information to a pretrial services oficer constitutes obstruction of justice.

This decision relates to two separate appeals by two different defendants, both of whom had their sentences increased under § 3C1.1 for obstruction of justice and both of whom were denied any reduction for ...

Twice in this case the Government appealed from the sentences imposed by Judge Hughes of Texas, and both times the Fifth Circuit remanded. The issue on this appeal was whether Judge Lynn was correct when he granted a downward departure under the "safety valve" provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) ...

The defendant challenged the imposition of a $10,000 fine on the grounds of his current inability to pay the fine and the likelihood that he would not be able to pay it in the future. In rejecting that claim, the First Circuit reviews the language of U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2(d) and ...

This case is cited because it contains a thoughtful review of (a) the type and degree of probable cause evidence that is needed to support a search warrant and (b) the scope of the"good faith exception to the exclusionary rule" as announced by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Leon, ...

Here the Court concluded that "the terrorist activities of the organization threatens the security of United States nationals or the national security of the United States" prong of 8 U.S.C. § 1189 presents a non justiciable question.

Petitioner foreign organization sought review of the decisions of respondent Secretary of State ...

This pre-Guidelines sentencing appeal principally involves the very scary proposition that sentencing judges have the right, sua sponte, to increase a defendant's sentence long after it was originally imposed. While facts are rather complex, they revolve around the issuance of three separate judgment and commitment orders, one of which was ...

In this case child pornography case District Judge Bowen gave a substantial downward departure based on the "corresponding seaminess" on the part of the teenage victims who "readily, willingly and . . . enthusiastically" participated in the video-taping. The Government appealed; and the departure was reversed. The Court reviewed the ...

This is an important case in which the Court held that the record did not support the imposition of a requirement that the defendant notify third party clients of his prior conviction.

This is a very important case (that was first noted in the April 15, 1996 issue of Punch ...

Quote from Judge Goldberg about the indiscriminate use of bartered testimony from highly-paid informants.

Quote of the Week - Some reflective comments on the indiscriminate use of bartered testimony from snitches:

"One of the basics of our jurisprudence is the search for truth, and by this is meant not the ...

The Court found that the defendant's offense conduct involved the extortionate extension of credit; and thus the condition of prescreening new credit charges and credit lines "is a reasonable information-gathering device for the probation office to monitor Peppe's use of money. . . . Therefore, the condition meets the requirements ...

Court held that lying to a pretrial services officer is "the very anthesis of acceptance of responsibility.".

This is a rare case in which a sentence is vacated because the district court failed to make an appropriate finding required by Rule 32(b) with respect to facts contained in the PSI Report that the defendant contested. The prosecutor failed to present any evidence in support of the disputed ...

The Court observed that a majority of circuits have found that "hypothetical questions mirroring the fact patterns of the evidence in the trial case [violate Rule 704(b)] when the answering testimony contains a necessary inference as to whether the defendant did or did not have the mental state or condition ...

This is an interesting case in which Judge Moore rejects a Government effort to increase the defendant's sentence under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1 because of his alleged "aggravating role" in a money laundering caper. The defendant presented three witnesses at the sentencing hearing in support of his contention; and the Government ...

See, for example, U.S. v. Neder, 136 F.3d 1459, 1464 (11th Cir. 1998), where the Eleventh Circuit observed that every other Circuit addressing the issue have held that materiality under § 7206(1) is a question for the jury.

Departing from the rule in most other Circuits, the Second Circuit held ...

This is an interesting restitution case in which the court ruled that a group of the defendant's victims had no standing to intercede and to object to the district court's decision to rescind his earlier restitution order. The Court notes that "nowhere in the statute does Congress suggest that the ...

Court held that where two drug transactions are separated by more than one year, a relevant conduct finding generally may not be premised on the sole similarity that the transactions involved the same drugs.

The principal holding in this sentencing appeal was that the district court erred when it included, ...

Case held that any error from district court's ignorance of linked or "wired" guilty plea, by which acceptance of plea was conditioned on co-defendant also pleading guilty, was harmless.

Here the Court held that reasonable jurors could not find that a person of ordinary prudence, about to purchase a home, would rely on the developers own representations about the value of the home, and thus vacated the mail fraud convictions.

This is a remarkable decision both in its outcome ...

This pre-Guidelines sentencing appeal principally involves the very scary proposition that sentencing judges have the right, sua sponte, to increase a defendant's sentence long after it was originally imposed. While facts are rather complex, they revolve around the issuance of three separate judgment and commitment orders, one of which was ...

This is still another case on the validity of Guideline Amendment No. 506, in which the Sentencing Commission attempted to clarify some of the ambiguities about the proper sentencing ranges for career criminals. The Government appealed the defendant's sentence, arguing that Amendment 506 was invalid and that the sentence in ...

This case is noted because of the Court's strong statement that a defendant's eligibility for an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction does not turn on cooperation in the apprehension or prosecution of co-defendants. Citing U.S. v. McKinney, 15 F.3d 849, 854 (9th Cir. 1994), the court notes that "A defendant's degree of assistance ...

Although Rule 32(b)(6)(A) states that a defendant must receive his presentence report 35 days prior to the sentencing hearing (unless waived), this Court joins four other Circuits in holding that the defendant automatically waives the 35 day period by attending the sentencing hearing without raising an objection.

Case held that ...

This case shows the importance of the Supreme Court's recent ruling in U.S. v. Gaudin, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995). Here, the defendant was convicted of filing a false IRS form 8300 in violation of two statutes: 26 U.S.C. § 6050I(f)(1)(B) and 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). The jury was instructed that, ...

In this case, involving the testimony of a paid informant who had been paid $54,000 for his efforts, the court held that the trial judge had given proper supplemental instructions regarding the meaning of "entrapment" and "ensnarement".

While the technical issue in this case was whether the district court had ...

This is a very important case (that was first noted in the April 15, 1996 issue of Punch and Jurists) about the powers of the court and the Probation Officers to impose occupational restrictions on probationers. In this decision, the Second Circuit vacated an order of Judge Platt which required ...

This is a rare case in which a sentence is vacated because the district court failed to make an appropriate finding required by Rule 32(b) with respect to facts contained in the PSI Report that the defendant contested. The prosecutor failed to present any evidence in support of the disputed ...

Case held that any error from district court's ignorance of linked or "wired" guilty plea, by which acceptance of plea was conditioned on co-defendant also pleading guilty, was harmless.

The defendant in this case appealed from a denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea on the grounds that ...

In this case the Court rejected a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.10, based on provocation by the victim's conduct, in part due to a lack of evidence of that conduct and in part based on the disproportionality of the defendant's conduct.

In this case, the defendant was found guilty ...

Case held that failure to submit to jury the issue of the materiality of statements made by the defendant was reversible error.

Case held that a defendant automatically waives any claim to the lateness of receipt of PSI Report by attending sentencing hearing.

Although Rule 32(b)(6)(A) states that a defendant must receive his presentence report 35 days prior to the sentencing hearing (unless waived), this Court joins four other Circuits in holding ...

This case explores the question whether a defendant has a constitutional right to the assistance of counsel in a proceeding to reduce his sentence under Rule 35(b) of the Fed.R.Crim.P. After reviewing the constitutional origins of a criminal defendant's right to counsel, the leading cases on the subject and the ...