Although the Court held that it was bound by precedent to affirm a sentence of 95 years, it issued a strong call to Congress to amend the mandatory minimum laws to give the sentencing courts more discretion.
The two defendants in this case, Larry Harris and Michael Steward, were convicted ...
This is another case that deals with the Circuit split that has developed about whether a district court may reduce a defendant's term of supervised release to reflect time served in prison on a count that was subsequently vacated. The precise question addressed by the Court was the following: When ...
Case held that when a defendant's prison sentence is reduced below time already served, the obvious purpose of leniency requires that his term of supervised release should commence on the date he should have been released - not the actual date.
This is another case that deals with the Circuit ...
In the Supreme Court's leading case on the use of shackles, the Court wrote that "no person should be tried while shackled and gagged except as a last resort" because of the distinct possibility of "a significent effect on the jury's feelings".
"Lincoln said this Nation was 'conceived in liberty ...
The Court stated: "For a departure based on a factor unmentioned in the Guidelines (such as improper investigatory techniques) to be permitted, however, it must comply with U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0. Under that section, a sentencing court may "impose a sentence outside the range established by the applicable guideline, if the ...
Joining a majority of the Circuits, the 2nd Circuit holds that 18 USC § 1963(d)(1)(A) does not authorize the pretrial restrant of substitute assets - affirming decision reported at 996 F.Supp. 321 (S.D.N.Y. 1998).
This is a case that might cause some concern to President Clinton and his spin-doctors. The precise issue addressed by the Court was "whether a person may be found guilty of perjury where he gives sworn testimony which, from the context of the questioning and circumstances surrounding the investigation, can ...
Case held that the sentencing court's use of a subsequent version of the Guidelines, rather than the version in effect when the defendant committed his crime, violated the Ex Post Facto Clause and was plain error.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The dangers of allowing our precious heritage to be ripped apart by "the sound and fury of our time."
"Lincoln said this Nation was 'conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal'. The Founders' dream of a society where ...
Except for the outcome, this case and the Hurston case referred to below might well have been titillating chapters in law enforcement's annual best seller: "Fifty ways to get your man - A police officer's guide to the year's most enterprising arrests." Sadly (for the publishers of that book) the ...
Here the Court continued to recognize the existence of the defense of entrapment based on outrageous government misconduct, but also emphasized the hesitancy of the courts to uphold due process violation claims.
As the numbers of defendants serving terms of supervised release grows geometrically each year, more and more courts seem to accept routine requests from the Probation Office that special conditions be imposed on the probationers, whether or not those conditions relate to the nature and circumstances of the crime. Because ...
Here the Court wrote: "At the heart of Simmons's and Fisher's argument is a disagreement with the District Court and the government over what is meant by the term "proceeds" for purposes of the RICO statute's forfeiture provisions. Defendants who violate the RICO Act must forfeit "any property constituting, or ...
In this case the single and narrow question addressed by the Court was "whether proof beyond a reasonable doubt is among the 'essentials of due process and fair treatment' required during the adjudicatory stage when a juvenile is charged with an act which would constitute a crime if committed by ...
Disagreeing with several other Circuits, a divided 4th Circuit held that held that the BOP's revised regulations relating to drug treatment programs (28 CFR § 550.58) are a rational interpretation of 18 USC § 3621(e)(2)(B) and must be upheld.
The majority stressed that Congress conferred discretion to the BOP to ...
This case involved a 5 a.m. warrantless at-home arrest of the defendant for questioning by 11 police officers with firearms drawn. A Detroit Police Department Lieutenant had ordered the task force to arrest some 8 individuals for questioning about gang-related homicides. The trouble was that there was "no evidence introduced ...
This case is noted for its discussion of the "grouping rules" contained in U.S.S.G. § 3D1.2. As explained in the Introductory Commentary to § 3D, "some offenses that may be charged in multiple-count indictments are so closely intertwined with other offenses that conviction for them would not warrant increasing the ...
Case held that where defendant admitted only that he was guilty of possession of drugs, and judge failed to inquire whether he understood distribution charge, the plea colloquy was invalid and affected the defendant's substantial rights.
Case held that sentencing of defendant based on crack an as object of the conspiracy did not constitute plain error, even though indictment also charged conspiracy to distribute cocaine and jury verdict did not indicate object of conspiracy.
In this case the Court agreed that, historically, the Tenth Circuit has ...
The Court outlined the parameters of this case by stating: "In this appeal we explore for the first time the relationship between the confidentiality provisions of the newly-enacted Economic Espionage Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. § 1831, et seq. , and principles of criminal law regarding discovery and disclosure of ...
The Court first stated: "We concur with the D.C. Circuit which addressed this issue in United States v. Lyons, 53 F.3d 1321 (D.C. Cir. 1995) and concluded that "[a]ny deviation from the requirements of Rule 11 is reversible unless the government demonstrates that it was 'harmless.' See Fed. R. Crim. ...
