Case held that the enhancements permitted by § 2F1.1(b)(4)(A) are not limited to crimes under the Major Frauds Act, even though that section was adopted in response to a Congressional directive to establish appropriate enhancements for that statute.

Case held that a permanent resident who is subject to a final order of deportation is entitled to a hearing before an independent decisionmaker, rather than the INS district director, on his application for release.

This case addressed the question whether the Due Process Clause requires that a permanent resident ...

Here the defendant argued that there was no trust relationship between a chiropractor and an insurance company, whereas the Government argued there was a position of trust because insurance companies extend privileges, as well as professional discretion and deference, to medical professionals. Citing U.S. v. Rutgard, 116 F.3d 1270 (9th ...

This decision is one of those rare instances in which a conviction was overturned because the Court concluded that the prosecution's decision to exclude "at least two of the four black jurors rested on no remotely plausible legitimate justification, and can only be explained by the juror's race" (id., at ...

Case held that a prison regulation which treated legal papers of one inmate found in the possession of another as contraband did not violate the inmates' right of access to the courts absent proof of "actual injury.".

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The bondage of the "Federal funds" programs.

"Congress's enactment of the Jacob Wetterling Act, Pub.L. No. 103-322, Title XVII, § 170101, 108 Stat. 2038 (1994), was another impetus to the states enactment of their own Megan's Law. Enacted on September 13, 1994 as part of ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The bondage of the "Federal funds" programs.

"Congress's enactment of the Jacob Wetterling Act, Pub.L. No. 103-322, Title XVII, § 170101, 108 Stat. 2038 (1994), was another impetus to the states enactment of their own Megan's Law. Enacted on September 13, 1994 as part of ...

This decision is noted because it contains a comprehensive review of prevailing judicial view that the sex offender registration and community notification laws, known as Megan's Laws, which have now been adopted in all 50 States, are constitutionally sound. In 1996, Massachusetts enacted its own version of a Megan's Law ...

Case vacated a series of convictions under 18 USC § 666 on the grounds that the law does not apply to commercial businesses simply because they have contracts with the Department of Defense.

United States v. Copeland, 143 F.3d 1439 (11th Circuit 1998) (Judge Black)
United States v. LaHue, 998 ...

Here the Second Circuit reversed the grant of a one-level downward departure granted to a defendant who was a naturalized citizen, where the district court gad reasoned that the case was atypical because the defendant would otherwise receive harsher treatment, due to his status as a citizen, than aliens because ...

This is a revised opinion in the outrageous case originally discussed more fully under the decision reported at Petta v. Rivera, 133 F.3d 330.

While 18 USC § 3565(b)(1) mandates a sentence of imprisonment if a probationer possesses an illegal drug, 18 USC § 3563(a) also provides that the court may consider alternatives to imprisonment. Here, the court interprets those two provisions as meaning that where the defendant's possession of a controlled substance has ...

Here, although the Court rejected the defendant's contention that the Government is required to prove the absence of prejudice, it held that the trial court's voir dire examination of the jurors into possible jury tampering was insufficient.

In this case there were three separate instances of potential jury tampering; and ...

Court affirmed a § 924(c) conviction for "carrying" a firearm even though the jury was instructed only to consider whether the defendant had "used" the weapon, and that instruction was erroneous under Bailey.

This case tells a great deal about some of the spin games that are sometimes played to ...

Here the Court held that the warrantless searches of a group of motorcycle riders at a police checkpoint violated the Fourth Amendment, but that the plaintiffs were not entitled to compensatory damages - only nominal damages.

In defining the charged crime to the jury, the district court stated: "Ignore the word 'carry'. I am simply going to instruct you about use." The majority concluded that "even though the district court claimed to give the jury the legal definition of 'use' in its charge, the charge adequately ...

Case held that the Child Pornography Prevention Act was unconstitutional as impermissibly vague and overbroad - although the Court held that it was narrowly tailored to serve the Government's legitimate interests.

United States v. Copeland, 143 F.3d 1439 (11th Circuit 1998) (Judge Black)
United States v. LaHue, 998 F.Supp. 1182 (D.Kan. 1998) (Judge Lungstrum)

Last week we noted a case from the Seventh Circuit, U.S. v. Grossi, 143 F.3d 348 (7th Cir. 1998), which continued the courts' ever-expanding interpretations of one ...

The Court held that "compensatory damages may be recovered in § 1983 actions for proven violations of constitutional right, but only for any actual harms caused by the violation and not for the violation standing alone. . . . Actual harms resulting from conduct that violated the right may include ...

Case vacated sentence holding that defendant clearly did not make an express threat of death within the meaning of USSG § 2B3.1(b)(2)(F) by demanding that teller put money in bag "and no one will get hurt".

Of particular note, the decision makes reference to two law review articles on this topic, Marjorie Rifkin, Farmer v. Brennan: Spotlight on an Obvious Risk of Rape in a Hidden World, 26 Colum.Hum.Rts.L.Rev. 273 (1995) and Jeff Potts, American Penal Institutions and Two Alternative Proposals for Punishment, 34 S.Tex.L.Rev. 443 ...