Court refused to reconsider en banc previous decision reported at 124 F.3d 230 holding that attorney-client privilege does not survice the client's death.
We first noted this case in the April 27, 1998 issue of Punch and Jurists, when we reported that district Judge Greene of Utah ruled that the Double Jeopardy Clause barred the Government from seeking both a sentence enhancement for obstruction of justice and a separate perjury conviction for the ...
United States v. Medina, 17 F.Supp.2d 245 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) (Judge Sweet)
United States v. Fellows, 157 F.3d 1197 (9th Cir. 1998) (Judge Wiggins)
Both of these cases are prime examples of what Judge Cabranes has criticized as the "fear of judging" - an outgrowth of the Guidelines under which a ...
We first noted this case in the April 27, 1998 issue of Punch and Jurists, when we reported that district judge Greene of Utah ruled that the Double Jeopardy Clause barred the Government from seeking both a sentence enhancement for obstruction of justice and a separate perjury conviction for the ...
Here the Court held that while a suit for money damages could not be maintained under Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(e), the inmate's motion, combined with Government's destruction of property, presented a valid Bivins claim and thus should not have been dismissed.
Citing U.S. v. Martinson, 809 F.2d 1364, 1368 (9th Cir. 1987), ...
This case is noted for its discussion of the affirmative defense of "involuntary intoxication" - which the Court noted "has received relatively little attention from the federal courts . . . [but] has long been recognized, in various forms, by state courts." (Id., at 1241). Here, the defendant was convicted ...
A rare case in which the Court held that a disabled inmate had made a sufficient showing of cruel and unusual punishment due to the prison's actions which precluded him from showering.
This case is noted for its discussion of the affirmative defense of "involuntary intoxication" - which the Court noted "has received relatively little attention from the federal courts . . . [but] has long been recognized, in various forms, by state courts." (Id., at 1241). Here, the defendant was convicted ...
Here the Court decided that: "The parties agree that the amendment to S 5K2.13 does
not work a substantive change in the law, but rather
"clarifies" the Guideline in place at the time of sentencing.
Under our precedents, we therefore must give effect to the
amended version in the present ...
The Court acknowledged that a number of Circuits have reached the opposite conclusion, holding that § 3584(a) permits a district court to impose a sentence to be served consecutively to a yet imposed state sentence. See U.S. v. Williams, 46 F.3d 57, 68-59 (10th Cir. 1995); U.S. v. Ballard, 6 ...
The Court acknowledged that some Circuits have taken the position that an intended loss is not the appropriate criterion in cases "in which the total economic loss bore no relation to 'ecomomic reality' . . . because . . . the plan had no chance of success." U.S. v. Fleming, ...
Based on Guideline Amendment 583, the Court reversed its prior en banc decision and held that a defendant who held his finger under his shirt to resemble a gun during a bank robbery qualified for a departure under § 5K2.13 as a non-violent offense.
Here the Court decided that: "The ...
This decision addresses the gradual erosion of two important rules, namely, Rule 410 of the Fed.R.Evid. and Rule 11(e)(6) of the Fed.R.Crim.P. (herein collectively the "Rules"), which restrict - at least in theory - the admissibility of "any statement made in the course of plea discussions . . . ." ...
United States v. Mound, 157 F.3d 1153 (8th Cir. 1998) (Per Curiam)
People of Territory of Guam v. Shymanovitz, 157 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 1998) (Judge Reinhardt)
Both of these cases deal with the rapidly changing climate under which sex crimes are prosecuted in America; and they show how and ...
Citing U.S. v. Thomas, 150 F.3d 743, 746 (7th Cir. 1998), the court held, inter alia, that a buyer-seller instruction "reminds juries that distribution of drugs is not itself conspiracy, although a history of transactions may be evidence of conspiracy." Here, there were sufficient grounds to justify the buyer-seller instruction; ...
Here the court held that even through a warden pled guilty to a misdemeanor, the nature of his crime was a felony rape of the inmate since, in in position as warden, "he had almost complete control over his victim's life. Thus the applicable Guidelines was for criminal sexual abuse ...
Over the strong dissent of Judge Morris S. Arnold, the Court affirmed the constitutionality of Fed.R.Evid. 413 which permits the use of evidence of a defendant's past sex crimes.
United States v. Mound, 157 F.3d 1153 (8th Cir. 1998) (Per Curiam)
People of Territory of Guam v. Shymanovitz, 157 F.3d ...
Quote from Judge Cabranes book "Fear of Judging: Sentencing Guidelines in the Federal Courts" about some of the weaknesses and failed goals of the Guidelines.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Some observations on the weaknesses of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
"We should start with the simple recognition that the Sentencing ...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Some observations on the weaknesses of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
"We should start with the simple recognition that the Sentencing Guidelines are based on a fundamental misconception about the administration of justice: the belief that just outcomes can be defined by a comprehensive code applicable ...
United States v. Medina, 17 F.Supp.2d 245 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) (Judge Sweet)
United States v. Fellows, 157 F.3d 1197 (9th Cir. 1998) (Judge Wiggins)
Both of these cases are prime examples of what Judge Cabranes has criticized as the "fear of judging" - an outgrowth of the Guidelines under which a ...
Here the Court held that sentencing a defendant for first degree murder, even though the jury only convicted him of conspiring to distribute narcotics, did not violate his rights to due process.
In this case, one of the defendants, Gordon Hoff, was sentenced under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(d)(1) for first degree ...
