Another rapidly spreading fiction in criminal law is the concept that a defendant has the right to a speedy trial. The law (18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1)) states that in any case in which a plea of not guilty is entered, the trial of the defendant "shall commence within seventy days ...

Here the Court relied heavily on its earlier ruling in U.S. v. Remillong, 55 F.3d 572, 574 (11th Cir. 1995), and noted both that the defendant's presentence report had suggested that the defendant was unable to pay the $1,207,000 in restutution and that no fine was ordered due to the ...

Here the Court held that the Speedy Trial Act requires that a non guilty plea be entered in order to begin the running of the speedy trial clock, and thus the time between a prior indictment and its later dismissal was excludable under the Act.

This case is noted for two reasons. First, it emphasizes one of the great legal fictions that has developed in the field of criminal law since the advent of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines - namely, that a criminal defendant has a right to a jury determination, based on proof beyond ...

This case involves the conviction and sentencing of Timothy McVeigh for his role in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in 1995. As can be expected, defense counsel raised a slew of issues on appeal, from adverse pretrial publicity, to juror misconduct, to improper jury instructions; ...

This case involves the conviction and sentencing of Timothy McVeigh for his role in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in 1995. As can be expected, defense counsel raised a slew of issues on appeal, from adverse pretrial publicity, to juror misconduct, to improper jury instructions; ...

As the countdown begins for oral arguments in the Tenth Circuit's en banc review of the provocative panel decision in U.S. v. Singleton, 144 F.3d 1343 (10th Cir. 1998), defendants all over the country are still busy filing Singleton-type motions. This is one of those cases. Singleton (which first reviewed ...

Court held that a two year stay in segregation while a prisoner was being investigated for his role in a prison riot did not constitute an "atypical and significant hardship" entitling him to damages, since his overall sentence was not increased.

This is another one of those artful "word-parsing" game ...

Court held that, even though an FBI agent deliberately and intentionally misled the court in its applications for an extension of a wiretap order, the evidence need not be suppressed, essentially because most wiretap requests are found justified.

Another rapidly spreading fiction in criminal law is the concept that a ...

Case held that Federal officials who handcuffed an airport traveller and removed him to an interrogation room for nearly 30 minutes, causing him to miss a flight, effected a de facto arrest which required probable cause.

This case is noted for tell-tale view of the limited rights of defendants who are serving terms of supervised release. Here, the defendant appealed the revocation of his term of supervised release, arguing that the revocation proceedings were invalid because they were conducted by a magistrate judge without his consent; ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The unique ability to deprive individuals of their liberty "based almost on facts never submitted to a jury and never proven beyond a reasonable doubt to anyone."

"Before Congress enacted the sentencing guidelines, individuals in this country could be deprived of their liberty only on ...

Here the Court joined the Circuit split by holding that an abuse of position of trust enhancement under USSG § 3B1.3 is proper in a tax evasion case when the defendant abused his position of trust with his employer to embezzle unreported income.

The defendant in this case pled guilty ...

The majority's decision in this case evoked a strong dissent from Judge Reynaldo Garza, who suggested that the majority had "either made a terrible mistake or now looks at this case with blind eyes." (Id., at 191).

Here an en banc court vacted the panel's prior ruling that a prisoner ...