This is one of those classic, hum-drum, push-the-button-and-get-the-cites decisions that glosses over some important issues - and shows how difficult it is to battle Big Brother. But if you want a long list of string-cites on issues such as when an anonymous jury is required, or what is required for …

According to the Fifth Circuit, the defendant in this case was "from a small town in Columbia and had been in the United States for only eight days before his arrest [on drug charges]. He had eight years of schooling and was literate only in Spanish. . . . [H]e …

United States v. Jobson, 102 F.3d 214 (6th Cir. 1996)
United States v. Myers, 102 F.3d 227 (6th Cir. 1996)

Both of these cases deal with the scope of Rule 404(b) of the Fed.R.Evid. In Jobson, the Sixth Circuit set
aside a conviction because the trial court had improperly permitted …

In a decision that should be of interest to many attorneys, the Ninth Circuit granted a Los Angeles Public Defender relief from a summary contempt citation issued by a State Court judge because she had the audacity to question her client about the sentence he might receive if convicted. The …

Case held that retroactive application of the AEDPA to all pending cases would be "intolerable.".

Hunter v. United States, 101 F.3d 1565 (11th Cir. 1996) (En Banc) (Judge Carnes)
Smith v. United States, 945 F.Supp. 1439 (D.Colo. 1996) (Judge Sparr)

The Hunter case is an en banc decision by the …

Case showed courts fear of jury nullification by holding attorney in contempt for raising issue of length of possible sentences.

United States v. Jobson, 102 F.3d 214 (6th Cir. 1996) (Judge Kennedy)

Both of these cases deal with the scope of Rule 404(b) of the Fed.R.Evid. In Jobson, the Sixth Circuit set aside a conviction because the trial court had improperly permitted the introduction of evidence of the defendant's membership …

United States v. Jobson, 102 F.3d 214 (6th Cir. 1996)
United States v. Myers, 102 F.3d 227 (6th Cir. 1996)

Both of these cases deal with the scope of Rule 404(b) of the Fed.R.Evid. In Jobson, the Sixth Circuit set
aside a conviction because the trial court had improperly permitted …

Case reversed a summary contempt order imposed on defense counsel for raising the issue of the length of the sentence that her client might receive.

In denying a Government motion to submit the defendant to psychiatric examination because she intended to introduce expert testimony about her mental condition, the court explored the defense of insanity under Fed.R.Crim.P. 12.2 and 18 U.S.C. § 17.

This case is noted because it reviews in some detail the defense …

This case involved a claim for damages by an arrestee, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for a broad range of violations to his civil rights, including malicious prosecution. Key to the claims was an astonishing list of allegations that included suggestive hypnosis of prospective Government witnesses, persistent solicitation of jailhouse …

This case deals with an emergency motion by the press to obtain information about the search of Richard Jewell.

This case is for devotees of the bomb explosion at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park in which Richard Jewell became the FBI's prime suspect. The decision relates to an emergency motion filed …

Two days after the announcement of the jury verdicts in the trial of the Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King, a riot ensued and some four to five hundred demonstrators were arrested, many of whom were held in jail for up to 55 hours. A number of the …

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The scandal of using acquitted conduct to enhance a sentence.

"Before Congress enacted the sentencing guidelines, individuals in this country could be deprived of their liberty only on the basis of facts proven to a jury beyond reasonable doubt, and only by a judge who …

Hunter v. United States, 101 F.3d 1565 (11th Cir. 1996) (En Banc) (Judge Carnes)
Smith v. United States, 945 F.Supp. 1439 (D.Colo. 1996) (Judge Sparr)

The Hunter case is an en banc decision by the Eleventh Circuit that contains one of the most detailed attempts that we have seen to …

Here the Court applied the definition, used by the Supreme Court in Smith v. U.S., 508 U.S. 223 (1993), of the phrase "in relation to" under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) to the phrase "in connection with" under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) and held that a weapon is used or possessed "in …

Court held that revocation of defendant's supervised release based on possession of firearms did not, on double jeopardy grounds, bar subsequent prosecution for being a felon in possession of firearms.

Court approved use of special instructions to warn jury that paid informant's testimony may be particularly suspect.

In this case, both the majority decision and Judge Ripple's concurring decision discuss at length some of the philosophical reasons for and against giving special jury instructions which single out paid informant's testimony …

Court approved use of two uncharged murders for which defendant had previously been acquitted to increase sentence to life imprisonment.

Wisely, Judge Boudin observed that this decision "as a matter of public perception and acceptance . . . can . . . invite disrespect for the sentencing process" that prevails …

Here the Court held that reasonable foreseeability "is completely immaterial" to the analysis of relevant conduct and therefore when a defendant personally participates in a drug transaction, the foreseeability of the drug quantity is irrelevant.

The importance of this case is that it emphasizes a major difference between the provisions …

In this case the defendant was a corporate president and principal who procured loans to the corporation through fraud. The district court enhanced his sentence for abuse of position of trust under § 3B1.1. The Court held that a person in the defendant's circumstances was not in a position vis-à-vis …

This case involved a claim for damages by an arrestee, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for a broad range of violations to his civil rights, including malicious prosecution. Key to the claims was an astonishing list of allegations that included suggestive hypnosis of prospective Government witnesses, persistent solicitation of jailhouse …

Here's a case that shows the dangers of annoying a judge by winning an appeal! After the defendant's first conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon was overturned on appeal, he was retried before the same judge. At the new trial, while instructing the jury on the concepts …

United States v. Jobson, 102 F.3d 214 (6th Cir. 1996) (Judge Kennedy)
United States v. Myers, 102 F.3d 227 (6th Cir. 1996) (Judge Rosen)

Both of these cases deal with the scope of Rule 404(b) of the Fed.R.Evid. In Jobson, the Sixth Circuit set aside a conviction because the trial …

This is one of those classic, hum-drum, push-the-button-and-get-the-cites decisions that glosses over some important issues - and shows how difficult it is to battle Big Brother. But if you want a long list of string-cites on issues such as when an anonymous jury is required, or what is required for …

Case recognized that there is a constitutionally mandated exception to the general rule that defendants are not permitted to use sentencing proceedings as a forum to attack a prior conviction: where a defendant claims that a previous conviction was obtained following a constitutonally unsound waiver of counsel then he can …

Here, Judge Green adds a new and significant dimension to the ongoing battle about whether the courts have the power to impose a "gun bump" enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) to a defendant's sentence following a successful appeal of a gun conviction under Bailey v. U.S., 133 L.Ed.2d 472 (1995). …