The principal (and disturbing) issue raised in this major drug prosecution case was the defendant's claim that the Government's payment of witnesses, grants of immunity, and plea bargaining so distorted the adversarial process at his trial that the proceedings were rendered fundamentally unfair. It didn't take the Court long to ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The Garcia-Abrego case calls to mind another notorious case which shows the judicial reluctance to airing in public claims that exorbitant payments to Government witnesses make their testimony unreliable. In U.S. v. Solorio, 37 F.3d 454 (9th Cir. 1994), the Ninth Circuit initially had some ...

While not labeled as such, this case raises a prime example of the extremes to which the Government will go to increase the number of convictions against a defendant. The defendant Delagarza was charged with both conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute. He was convicted on ...

The principal (and disturbing) issue raised in this major drug prosecution case was the defendant's claim that the Government's payment of witnesses, grants of immunity, and plea bargaining so distorted the adversarial process at his trial that the proceedings were rendered fundamentally unfair. It didn't take the Court long to ...

Case is noted for one of Judge Bennett's typically detailed analyses, this time on the correct standards for wiretap evidence - from probable cause, to the necessity requirements, to the Government's obligations to minimize the scope of the wiretaps.

Case is noted for one of Judge Bennett's typically detailed analyses, this time on the correct standards for wiretap evidence - from probable cause, to the necessity requirements, to the Government's obligations to minimize the scope of the wiretaps.

Case is noted for one of Judge Bennett's typically detailed analyses, this time on the correct standards for wiretap evidence - from probable cause, to the necessity requirements, to the Government's obligations to minimize the scope of the wiretaps.

We often wonder how the Founders would have written the Fourth Amendment had they been aware of the intrusiveness of some of the spying techniques of modern day law enforcement. The subject matter of this case was those "thermal imaging scanning devices" which permits the user to observe and record ...

This is an appalling tale about one of those mythical hanging judges from Texas, State Judge Larry Baraka. In 1986, the petitioner, Jose Gonzales, was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery. He pled guilty and Judge Baraka sentenced him to a "deferred adjudication probation" for five years. He also ...

Case grants a writ of habeas corpus to a defendant after it determines that the sentencing judge improperly imposed a predetermined sentence.

This is an appalling tale about one of those mythical hanging judges from Texas, State Judge Larry Baraka. In 1986, the petitioner, Jose Gonzales, was charged with three ...

This case is noted not just because the Court reversed a drug conviction on the basis of lack or probable cause to detain the motorist in the first instance, but also because of the Court's open criticism of the overly-used concepts of "drug source cities" and "drug source states" as ...

We originally reported on this civil rights suit for damages case in the May 19, 1997 issue of Punch and Jurists. Essentially, a SWAT team of Federal and State law enforcement personnel invited a newspaper reporter and photographer seeking a story to accompany the officers during the execution of an ...

Court affirmed an upward departure based on the district court's evaluation that the criminal history category "significantly under-represents the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history or the likelihood that he would commit further crimes.

We originally reported on this civil rights suit for damages case in the May 19, 1997 issue of Punch and Jurists. Essentially, a SWAT team of Federal and State law enforcement personnel invited a newspaper reporter and photographer seeking a story to accompany the officers during the execution of an ...

Case held that 18 USC § 491(passing paper used as money) is not a lesser included offense of 18 USC § 472 (passing and possessing counterfeit notes), and thus district court properly refused to instruct jury on such an offense.

In this case the Court held 18 USC § 491(passing ...

The Court also noted that 26 USC § 7213(a)(1) applies only to current and former Federal employees.

Case held that defendant who was charged under the general conspiracy statute was subject to five year statute of limitations and not the three year period specified in 26 USC § 6531.

Court reversed possession connviction based on aiding and abetting a co-defendant due to lack of evidence that co-defendant ever "possesed" any drugs, since he merely inspected what an informant was attempting to sell to him.

While not labeled as such, this case raises a prime example of the extremes to ...

We often wonder how the Founders would have written the Fourth Amendment had they been aware of the intrusiveness of some of the spying techniques of modern day law enforcement. The subject matter of this case was those "thermal imaging scanning devices" which permits the user to observe and record ...

As it did in earlier decision reported at 994 F.Supp. 501, the court again rejected a motion for recusal, stating that negative comments by a trial judge are "common and often important to a trial judge's administration of a case.

Case addressed the burdens of proof required to meet the statutory definintion of "maintaining or increasing a position in an enterprise" as contained in 18 USC § 1959(a).

Citing U.S. v. Concepcion, 983 F.3d 369, 381 (2nd Cir. 1992), the court held that a motive sufficient to satisfy the requirements ...

Court held that in deciding a Rule 34 motion, "a court may not look beyond the face of the 'record' which consists of 'no more than the indictment, the plea, the verdict . . . when the plea is "not guilty" and the sentence'." (Id., at 563).

Case rejected claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel's alleged sleeping through a substantial portion of defendant's trial.

Among the many issues raised in this motion for a new trial, one defendant claimed that his counsel, Roy Kulscar, had slept through much of the trial, a claim supported ...

Court held that it is not necessary for the district court to conduct a "far reaching inquiry" under § 2B5.1(b)(2) to determine whether the notes were "obviously counterfeit.".

Court affirmed district court finding that a driver's consent to search of his van was not voluntary and held that granting of motion to suppress evidence was proper.

Case held that the district court did not clearly err by finding that the counterfeit items were not "so obviously counterfeit" as to preclude application of enhancement contained in § 2B5.1(b)(2).

The Court wrote: "The IAD has been adopted by most states (including Texas), and is a congressionally mandated compact, so its interpretation is a question of federal law. Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 438 (1981). As relevant to Lara's claim, the IAD requires that a defendant be brought to ...

This case is noted not just because the Court reversed a drug conviction on the basis of lack or probable cause to detain the motorist in the first instance, but also because of the Court's open criticism of the overly-used concepts of "drug source cities" and "drug source states" as ...

Court rejected a motion for recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), holding that critical or disapproving judicial remarks do not ordinarily support a bias or partiality challenge.

Citing Liteky v. U.S., 510 U.S. 540 (1994) the court observed that "judicial remarks during the course of a trial that are critical ...

Here the Court held that in a prison case filed before the effective date of the PLRA, the fee limitation provisions of 42 U SC § 1997e(d) applied to legal work performed after the effective date of the Act but not to work performed before.

In holding that the fee ...

Balsys was a resident alien living in New York, but was suspected of being a Nazi war criminal. When interrogated by U.S. officials concerning his Nazi ties, he invoked a Fifth Amendment privilege. However, the U.S. Supreme Court, 7-2, per Justice Souter, found that he had no Fifth Amendment privilege. ...