Case held that district court was permitted to order release of CJA vouchers to the press, but it abused its discretion by also ordering the unconditional release of sealed backup documents, motions and orders.
In this case, the Sixth Circuit held that a defendant's deafness, without more, would never constitute an "extraordinary physical impairment" warranting a downward departure from the sentencing range prescribed by the Sentencing Guidelines. The defendant argued that he was eligible for a downward departure because he could only converse with ...
Court granted a substantial downward departure based on a combination of the defendants civic, charitable and public works, his extraordinary cooperation, and his diminished capacity.
In this case, Judge Bennett granted a 91 month downward departure (from a Guidelines sentencing range of 235 months to 144 months) based on a ...
In this case, Judge Bennett granted a 91 month downward departure (from a Guidelines sentencing range of 235 months to 144 months) based on a combination of (a) the defendant's exceptional "civic, charitable and public works", under the provisions of U.S.S.G. § 5H1.11; (b) his extraordinary cooperation and restitution; and ...
Justice Marshall's famous quote about the evils of dragnet-type searches.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The spectre of today's dragnet-style sweep searches.
"The evidence in this cause has evoked images of other nations, under other flags, when no man traveled his nation's roads or railways without fear of unwarranted interruption, ...
United States v. Rodriguez-Rivas, 151 F.3d 377 (5th Cir. 1998) (Judge Duhé)
United States v. Jones, 149 F.3d 364 (5th Cir. 1998) (Judge Parker)
These two cases evoke Justice Marshall's eloquent but chilling warning that America is becoming like "other nations, under other flags, when no man traveled his nation's ...
This is another civil rights lawsuit for damages with a twist. The plaintiff in this case filed a Bivens action (see Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971)) against five Customs Officials for damages arising out of an unlawful detention at the ...
This decision contains a detailed look at the legal landscape of qualified immunity and supervisory liability in civil rights cases; but its opening paragraph suggests that the reader is about to embark on a most remarkable case. The Court started by stating: "After suffering indignities at the hands of an ...
Here, the Fifth Circuit held that the administrative exhaustion provision of 42 U.S.S. § 1997e(a) does not impose exhaustion of administrative remedies as a prerequisite to jurisdiction - a position also adopted by the 6th, 7th and 9th Circuits.
In this case the district court dismissed the plaintiff's § 1983 ...
Case is noted for Judge Reinhardt's dissent in which he complained that the Supreme Court's intervening decision would result in the execution of a man who was convicted and sentenced in a trial that violated fundamental principles of fairness.
While incarcerated at a minimum security federal prison, plaintiff William Cohen was injured when he was attacked by another inmate. (Cohen was watching television in a common area of his prison, when his assailant picked up a metal chair and repeatedly bashed in Cohen's skull). Cohen underwent neurological surgery, and ...
Case held that a conviction for possession of firearms by a convicted felon is not a "crime of violence" within the scope of the statute requiring prison officials to notify local authorities prior to a prisoner's release.
Case held that the Government's voluntary dismissal with prejudice of a civil forfeiture action bars a subsequent criminal forfeiture action of the same property on the grounds of res judicata.
In 1990 and 1991, the Government commenced several civil forfeiture actions against property owned by the defendants in this case, ...
This is another appeal of a gun conviction based on the Supreme Court's decision in Bailey v. U.S., 516 U.S. 137 (1995), but it is noted because it contains an important clarification of the Government's burden of proving that the carriage of the gun had some relation to the drug ...
As any criminal defense lawyer knows, the Government loves to win its cases with broad strokes of the paint brush that in reality are nothing more than a liberal coating of guilt by association evidence. Thus, it frequently attempts to make use of "other crimes evidence", "drug dealer or courier ...
This judicial donnybrook is noted for the wide disparity of reasoning about whether a juror's lies during voir dire warranted an inference of implied bias.
The Court stated: "A review of Supreme Court authority raises serious questions regarding whether aggregation principles can be used as the commerce clause jurisdictional hook under the Hobbs Act when the underlying crimes arise from a purely local crime spree. Without question, these robberies standing alone, or viewed cumulatively, do ...
United States v. Rodriguez-Rivas, 151 F.3d 377 (5th Cir. 1998) (Judge Duhé)
United States v. Jones, 149 F.3d 364 (5th Cir. 1998) (Judge Parker)
These two cases evoke Justice Marshall's eloquent but chilling warning that America is becoming like "other nations, under other flags, when no man traveled his nation's ...
One of the many issues dealt with in this appeal was the defendants claim that the district court had violated the provisions of Rule 615 of the Fed.R.Evid. by permitting both a police detective and an FBI agent to sit at counsel's table throughout their trial so they could hear ...
Case held that, even though the trial issues were not complex enough to justify approving the use of two case agents at counsel's table, a new trial would not be granted because the defendants had failed to prove any prejudice.
One of the many issues dealt with in this appeal ...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The evils of bending-over-backwards to exonerate prosecutors who take unfair advantage of a defendant's rights at trial.
"Despite our best efforts, some prosecutors continue to engage in behavior that can only corrupt the judicial process and undermine the very investigative and prosecutorial resources they seek ...
This is a most unusual Guidelines case in which Judge Gleeson granted a substantial downward departure to a 26 year-old Venezuelan woman on the grounds that she had effectively been prevented by her own counsel from cooperating with the Government. With harsh words, Judge Gleeson strongly criticized her former (and ...
Back in 1994, two student-athletes, who were on football scholarships at Fresno State University, were convicted of a spree of armed robberies of some restaurants and hotels in the Fresno area. Because the crimes fell under the strict mandatory minimum sentences structured by Congress, the sentences that were imposed were ...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The spectre of today's dragnet-style sweep searches.
"The evidence in this cause has evoked images of other nations, under other flags, when no man traveled his nation's roads or railways without fear of unwarranted interruption, by individuals who held temporary power in Government. The spectre ...
Citing U.S. v. Locasio, 6 F.3d 924, 931 (2nd Cir. 1993), the Court held that "Because the attorney's status as an unsworn witness may inure to the benefot of the defendant, 'waiver by the defendant is ineffective in curing the impropriety in such situations, since he is not the party ...
This decision contains a detailed look at the legal landscape of qualified immunity and supervisory liability in civil rights cases; but its opening paragraph suggests that the reader is about to embark on a most remarkable case. The Court started by stating: "After suffering indignities at the hands of an ...
The most significant aspect of this case is its reference to proposed Guideline Amendment 583 which is designed to refine and clarify the standard for determining "non-violent" offenses in order to resolve the circuit split over the meaning of "non-violent" offenses as used in § 5K2.13. The proposed amendment would ...
