Here the Court held that petitioner's detention of nearly four years with no end in sight, and the probablility of permanent confinement, is an excessive means of accomplishing the goals of the INS. That decision was subsequently reversed.

The petitioner in this case, Kestutis Zadvydas, was born in a displaced …

In this case the First Circuit rejected Judge Harrington's eloquent call for reasonable restraints on the prosecution's ability to selectively single out certain State defendants for prosecution under higher-penalty federal crimes.

When we first read the initial decision in this case, reported at U.S. v. Snyder, 954 F.Supp. 19 (D.Mass. …

Here the Court held that 21 USC § 843(b) is a "felony drug offense" under 21 USC § 841(b)(1)(B)(viii) because it prohibits drug distribution.

This case presents a dramatically graphic illustration of some of the by-products of the prevailing "Scarlet Letter" mentality that is beginning to take hold in America as we begin to accelerate our search for ways to deal with the highly-emotional issue of sex crimes. In this case, the defendant was …

It is impossible to do justice to the significance of this lengthy decision in which first Magistrate Judge Brazil, and then District Judge Walker concluded that the Government had so violated the provisions of the Federal Wiretap laws (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-22) that all the evidence obtained by it during …

This case presents a dramatically graphic illustration of some of the by-products of the prevailing "Scarlet Letter" mentality that is beginning to take hold in America as we begin to accelerate our search for ways to deal with the highly-emotional issue of sex crimes. In this case, the defendant was …

In this case the Court established a three-prong inquiry for determining the admissibility of sexual assault evidence under Fed.R.Evid. 413(a).

Following its decision in U.S. v. Enjady, 134 F.3d 1427 (10th Cir. 1998), the Tenth Circuit again examined the dramatic changes in the Rules of Evidence evoked by Rules 412, …

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Some observations on the elastic, sprawling, pervasive offense of conspiracy.

"This case [the Krulewitch case] illustrates a present drift in the federal law of conspiracy which warrants some further comment because it is characteristic of the long evolution of that elastic, sprawling and pervasive offense. …

This case involves another of those marvelous linguistic subtleties that we so often see under the Guidelines. Application Note 3 to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 states that a sentence enhancement for possession of a weapon is required whenever a gun is present "unless it is clearly improbable that the weapon was …

This case presents a dramatically graphic illustration of some of the by-products of the prevailing "Scarlet Letter" mentality that is beginning to take hold in America as we begin to accelerate our search for ways to deal with the highly-emotional issue of sex crimes. In this case, the defendant was …

At sentencing in this case, the Court deviated upward from the applicable five to eleven month sentencing range set forth in § 7B1.4 of the Guidelines without giving the defendant any advance notice of that departure. The defendant argued that the lack of notice violated the principles of Burns v. …

This case is noted because it is one of the first reported cases to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's recent decision Hudson v. U.S., 139 L.Ed.2d 450 (1997). In that case the Court reaffirmed the rule that the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits multiple sanctions for the same offense …

This case involves another of those marvelous linguistic subtleties that we so often see under the Guidelines. Application Note 3 to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 states that a sentence enhancement for possession of a weapon is required whenever a gun is present "unless it is clearly improbable that the weapon was …

Case granted motion to supress evidence on grounds that the affidavit in support of the wiretap order was seriously deficient and it failed to meet the "necessity requirements" contained in § 2518(1)(c).

It is impossible to do justice to the significance of this lengthy decision in which first Magistrate Judge …

In this case the court rejected the defendant's proposed jury instruction that he was entitled to have the jury determine whether he had a valid entrapment by estoppel defense. He was charged with illegal possession of a gun by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and he …

One of the issues addressed in this case was the controversial topic of jury nullification. On that issue, the Court wrote as follows:

"Juries sometimes assume the power of nullification; still, nullification is no right of the jury. Instead, the absence of remedial procedures by which the government may appeal …

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The unfettered power of Federal prosecutors to determine the fates of criminal defendants.

"The decision to prosecute this state case as a federal case lies in the unfettered and unreviewable discretion of the United States Attorney to select certain state defendants from among vast numbers …

In this case the Court adressed the issue of calculating the weight of drugs by using waste mixtures and materials to increase the defendant's sentence.

In the early days of the Guidelines, the weight of illegal drugs was based on the weight of the containers or mixtures with which the …

This is an intriguing case in which the Eleventh Circuit dismissed a series of convictions following a five month trial, during which 115 witnesses generated more than 85 volumes and 17,500 pages of transcripts. Essentially, the Government indicted the defendants on a bank fraud charge which promptly grew into a …

United States v. Adkinson, 135 F.3d 1363 (11th Cir. 1998) (Judge Hill) ("Adkinson I")
United States v. Adkinson, 158 F.3d 1147 (11th Cir. 1998) (Judge Hill) ("Adkinson II")

These two rather extraordinary decisions deal principally with a Klein tax conspiracy and they are noted because they show the extremes to …

Case held that home detention is generally not permitted as an independent sentence in its own right.

This case is noted primarily because it may help explain why the courts are never willing to permit a defendant to withdraw a plea simply because he misunderstood the gravity of the sentence …

Here the Court rejected the defendant's contention that the Attorney General's Memorandum recommending sentence reductions for aliens who consent to deportation mandates such a reduction in all cases.

The issue in this case was whether the Attorney General's Memorandum, dated April 28, 1995, in which she encouraged prosecutors to recommend …

The issue in this case was whether the Attorney General's Memorandum, dated April 28, 1995, in which she encouraged prosecutors to recommend sentence reductions for aliens in return for plea agreements that included a consent to deportation, required the courts to grant a downward departure. The Second Circuit rejected the …

This is an interesting case that deals with a little-noticed, statutorily created affirmative defense to the ever expanding charge of obstruction of justice - namely the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(d). That section provides that, in a prosecution for tampering with a witness, "it is an affirmative defense . …

One of the issues raised in this case was a charge of juror misconduct; and, while that claim was rejected by the court, the decision contains a detailed discussion of the prevailing law on that topic at pages 1184-88. The Court, for example, emphasized that "The Fifth and Sixth Amendments …

United States v. Adkinson, 135 F.3d 1363 (11th Cir. 1998) (Judge Hill) ("Adkinson I")
United States v. Adkinson, 158 F.3d 1147 (11th Cir. 1998) (Judge Hill) ("Adkinson II")

These two rather extraordinary decisions deal principally with a Klein tax conspiracy and they are noted because they show the extremes to …

In this case the Court rejected a broad series of challenges that alleged the Federal Extortion Statutes were unconsitutionally overbroad.

While this case dealt with a constitutional challenge to the Federal extortion statute, it is noted because of the sentencing memorandum which requested a downward departure based on coercion, duress and psychological manipulation.

See the Briefs and Motions page in the Members Section of this Web site.

This case is noted because it contains a detailed review of cases upholding - or limiting - the rights of the Parole Commission to impose limitations on the defendant's right to associate with others.