While this decision examined a number of interesting Guidelines issues, it is noted because the court addressed the controversial issue of the type of "cooperation" that is required of a defendant to qualify for the so-called "safety valve" sentence reduction contained in U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2. The fifth requirement for such ...

The defendant in this case faced a fairly common - and important - problem. His "family" lawyer was not a criminal defense attorney; so, when the defendant became involved in a criminal investigation, his family lawyer suggested that they visit a number of criminal defense attorneys to seek advice. After ...

One of the issues raised in this appeal was whether the defendant had properly preserved his objections to a trial court's refusal to give the jury some requested instructions. Citing Rule 30 of the Fed.R.Crim.P., the Seventh Circuit observed that "merely submitting an instruction is not enough. A defendant must ...

Here the Fourth Circuit held that the PLRA's new attorney's fee limitations, do apply to cases that were pending prior to the enactment of the PLRA; but the decision also contains a comprehensive discussion of the full scope of that law.

To set the stage for its analysis of the ...

Quote from the Supreme Court about the deeply ingrained hostility towards the concept of making repeated attempts to prosecute a defendant for the same crime.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - While much has been written about the evils of repeated prosecutions of a defendant after he has successfully won at ...

United States v. Brackett, 113 F.3d 1396 (5th Cir. 1997) (Judge Smith)
United States v. Romeo, 114 F.3d 141 (9th Cir. 1997) (Judge Tashima)

One of the major evils of today's criminal justice system is the unwillingness of the Government to accept defeat. (For one view of that problem, see ...

Of the four separate decisions reported in this case, this case was the most interesting because of its lengthy discussion of the Government's disclosure obligations under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), Giglio v. U.S., 405 U.S. 150 (1972), and the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500. Judge Payne ...

One of the issues raised in this case was whether the defendant was eligible for a downward departure for reduced mental capacity based on "undisputed evidence" that he had an I.Q. of 60. The trial court declined to order a downward departure on two grounds: first, it noted that the ...

The Ninth Circuit remains one of the few circuits willing to face honestly the firmly established practice of sentencing entrapment; and this case is one more example of its lonely battle to eradicate that obscene practice from existence. Here, the Court vacated a gun enhancement (pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1)) ...

Case reversed district court's finding that differences between sentences of 360 months and 36 months between co-defendants was a mitigating factor that authorized it to reduce sentence from 360 months to 240 months.

Here the Court held that a resident alien with a special agricultural permit abandoned his permanent resident status by visting his wife and children abroad while waiting for employment - a decision that Judge Reinhardt excoriated.

Singh v. Reno, 113 F.3d 1512 (9th Cir. 1997) (Judge Hall)
Williams v. I.N.S., ...

Case held that when a defendant proves his sentencing entrapment claim by a preponderance of evidence, the district court may not impose the gun bump enhancement under USSG § 2D1.1(b)(1).

Citing U.S. v. Staufer, 38 F.3d 1103, 1107 (9th Cir. 1994), the Court stated we now face "the unfairness and ...

United States v. Brackett, 113 F.3d 1396 (5th Cir. 1997) (Judge Smith)
United States v. Romeo, 114 F.3d 141 (9th Cir. 1997) (Judge Tashima)

One of the major evils of today's criminal justice system is the unwillingness of the Government to accept defeat. (For one view of that problem, see ...

Departing somewhat from the rationale of the other Circuits, here the Eleventh Circuit considered whether the AEDPA imposed an impermissible retroactive requirement on prisoners by requiring a certificate of appealability for a second or successive petition. The Court essentially held that if the prisoner filed his first petition before the ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - While much has been written about the evils of repeated prosecutions of a defendant after he has successfully won at his first trial, the following statement is one of the classic views of the evils of such a practice.

"The underlying idea, one that is ...

Singh v. Reno, 113 F.3d 1512 (9th Cir. 1997) (Judge Hall)
Williams v. I.N.S., 114 F.3d 82 (5th Cir. 1997) (Judge Fallon)

Both of these cases show the increasingly powerful role of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (the "INS") in helping our Government cleanse the nation of those people ...

Case held that counts separately charging defendant with unlawful posession of firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, based on a single possession of a loaded gun, were multiplicious.

This case focuses on another technique that is frequently used by law enforcement agents in their attempts to ...

The long saga of Charles Shonubi's sentencing travails appears to be over. After four previous published decisions (which mainly evidenced an intense struggle between Judge Weinstein and the Second Circuit about how to sentence this drug courier), Judge Weinstein acceded to the Second Circuit's mandate and reduced Shonubi's sentence from ...