This case addresses an all-too familiar problem: what can, or should, the courts do to deal with prosecutorial misconduct in the form of persistent improper comments in cases where there is overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt. Here, the Court acknowledged that there were repeated instances of improper prosecutorial comments, …

Shocking case in which a Federal Tort Claim was dismissed as untimely because the plaintiff failed to commence lawsuit until after the court, without a hearing, concluded that he must have known relevant facts earlier.

Reading the headnotes for this case, one first gets the impression that it deals with …

Over the strong dissent of Judge Heaney, the Eight Circuit rejected a series of constitutional challenges to the filing fee requirements of the PLRA, holding that they do not infringe on the right of access to the courts or Equal Protection.

This is another case that deals with various provisions …

This decision deals with two separate supervised release issues, both related to motions under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(1), one of those tantalizing, "wishful-thinking" statutes which, at least in theory, permits a district court to terminate a term of supervised release at any time after the defendant has served one year …

Here the Court held that the Brady disclosure requirements did not entitle the defendant to discovery of money or rewards provided to Federal agents, since defendant failed to show how that information would exculpate him.

Following the approach of the Fifth Circuit in Faulder v. Johnson, 81 F.3d 515 (5th Cir. 1996), the Court held that a violation of the Vienna Convention does not rise to the level of a Miranda violation. But see U.S. v. Lombera-Camorlinga, 170 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 1999) where the …

Here the court held that a prosecutor's decision to charge the defendant under § 1621 rather than § 1623 did not improperly deny the defendant of a defense of recantation; and thus it reversed dismissal of indictment.

The Court noted that under 18 USC § 1623(d) the defense of recantation …

While this case deals principally with the new attorney's fee limitations contained in the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), it is noted both for its ruling and because it recalls District Judge Thelton Henderson's brilliant 138 page decision in Madrid v. Gomez, 889 F.Supp. 1146 (N.D.Calif. 1995), in which he …

United States v. Salzano, 149 F.3d 1238 (10th Cir. 1998) (Judge Ebel)
United States v. Salzano, 158 F.3d 1107 (10th Cir. 1998) (En Banc) (Judge Ebel)

In this case, the Tenth Circuit, sitting en banc, addressed another aspect of warrantless searches - namely what constitutes "an objectively reasonable and articulable …

Case held that even if a defendant is aware the Governnment intends to seek a sentence enhancement under 21 USC § 851, the court is without jurisdiction to impose that enhancement unless the Government complies with § 851.

This case addresses an interesting issue dealing with the notice provisions of …

In this case the Court denied qualified immunity to a prison doctor and prison nurses who, by appealing, had unnecessarily protracted the litigation by three and a half years.

Quote from Judge Henderson's astonishing and disturbing decision reported at 889 F.Supp. 1146 about prison conditions at California's newest prison, Pelican Bay.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Life at Pelican Bay - the prize of the California prison system.

In Madrid v. Gomez, 889 F.Supp. 1146 (N.D.Calif. 1985), Chief Judge …

Calling this case "a paradigm of lack of power to exercise control and dominion", the Court emphasized that "[T]he essence of constructive possession is not direct, physical control, but the ability to reduce an object to actual possession; otherwise, constructive possession would have no meaning at all . . . …

Case held that district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to grant a continuance to enable new counsel prepare for trial.

For a contrary view, see U.S. v. Garrett, 149 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 1998).

United States v. Flores, 149 F.3d 1272 (10th Cir. 1998) (Judge Ebel)
United States v. Thomas, 150 F.3d 743 (7th Cir. 1998) (Per Curiam)

Both of these cases deal with the so-called "buyer-seller rule", which holds that a buyer in a retail drug transaction cannot, as a general rule, be …

United States v. Flores, 149 F.3d 1272 (10th Cir. 1998) (Judge Ebel)
United States v. Thomas, 150 F.3d 743 (7th Cir. 1998) (Per Curiam)

Both of these cases deal with the so-called "buyer-seller rule", which holds that a buyer in a retail drug transaction cannot, as a general rule, be …