Departing from the precedents in most of the other Circuits, the Eleventh Circuit held, in this case, that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (the PLRA) requires prisoners to exhaust all administrative remedies before filing a Bivens-type action (Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971)), whether or not ...

In this case the defendant was identified by an eyewitness as the man who displayed a gun. The defendant's attorney presented a defense of misidentification, suggesting that the gun could have belonged to any of the other passengers who also matched the defendant's description.

In her closing argument, the prosecutor ...

Here a divided en banc court held that the Due Process Clause requires the Government to provide notice and a hearing before executing seizure warrants for real property even when the Govt. opts not to take physical possession of the property.

In this case the Government argued that preseizure notice ...

Here the Ninth Circuit held that officials' alleged violation of the Interstate Corrections Compact could not provide a basis for a civil rights action under 42 U.S.S. § 1883.

Here, citing Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433 (1981), the Court held that a state compact is transformed into Federal law, ...

The Court emphasized that § 1B1.1(b) requires the sentencing court to "determine the base offense level and apply any specific offender characteristics . . . Contained in the particular guideline in Chapter Two in the order listed." The Government argued, and the Court agreed, that here the district court did ...

This lengthy decision is noted, in part, because Judge Sotomayor is frequently rumored to be a front-runner for the next vacancy on the Supreme Court, and, in part, because it delves deeply into the meaning of the Supreme Court's esoteric and elastic standard, set forth in Sandin v. Conner, 515 ...

Here the Court held that the trial court's acceptance of the prosecutor's explanations for its use of peremptory challanges of four African Americans had adequate support in the record; and reversed the grant of a writ of habeas corpus.

The Court stated: "We reject Chamberlain's argument that a person is not "committed" for purposes of the federal firearms ban unless all of the requirements set forth in section 3864 - including provision of counsel, a full-blown adversary hearing, a finding by clear and convincing evidence that the person suffers ...

Here the Court affirmed the validity of a Justice Department regulation that directs its employees not to testify in state-court prosecutions without prior approval of a proper official; but see Judge Phillips dissent.

In his dissent, Judge Phillips framed the issue in this case as follows: "The ultimate issue in ...

Here the court held that because the defendant was detained for over two hours on the pretext of a false report charge, while really for the purpose of investingating whether she had committed a Federal gun crime, she was entitled to suppression.

In this case the en banc Court split evenly on the issue of whether a convicted defendant who meets the statutory definition of "career offender" may receive a downward departure under § 4A1.3 based on "smallness" of predicate crimes.

In this case the defendant had two prior state drug convictions ...

Here the Sixth Circuit disagreed with the Second Circuit in U.S. v. Canady, 126 F.3d 352 (2nd Cir. 1997) and held that constructive possession of a gun would be sufficient to sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1).

See also U.S. v. Garth, 188 F.3d 99 (3rd Cir. 1999) ...

Citing Michigan Dept. of Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990), the Court noted that courts are required to balance the promotion of legitimate governmental interests against the intrusion, both subjective and objective, occasioned by the stop. It continued that the "subjective intrusion" referred to in Sitz was the stop's ...

In this case, the defendant was charged with embezzlement from the U.S. Postal Service and related offenses. Prior to his indictment, the Government offered, in lieu of a criminal prosecution, to permit the defendant to undergo supervision pursuant to a Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP). One of the conditions of participation ...

This is another case that shows the deep judicial disagreements over what constitutes the "heartland" of Guidelines cases. Here, the defendant had previously been convicted of engaging in a $20 heroin sale and he was deported. He subsequently re-entered the United States and was caught and convicted of illegal re- ...

This decision by Judge Sotomayor is a significant analysis of the Supreme Court's "atypical and significant hardship" standard, enunciated in Sandin v. Conner, in the context of lengthy stays in solitary confinement.

This lengthy decision is noted, in part, because Judge Sotomayor is frequently rumored to be a front-runner for ...

Here the Ninth Circuit, through Judge Fletcher, dealt with another controversial issue in this case - whether and under what circumstances a conflict of interest between an attorney and his client will warrants a reversal of a conviction and a new trial. Here, after he was convicted for conspiring to ...

[Editor's Note: For another case in accord with this decision, see U.S. v. Burch, 156 F.3d 1315, 1320-22 (D.C. Cir. 1998). But see also U.S. v. Duffy, 133 F.Supp.2d 213, 216 (E.D.N.Y. 2001) where District Judge Gershon disagreed with the holding in both Burch and Krilich, and concluded that it ...

The Court held: "This court dealt with a comparable situation in United States v. Astorri, 923 F.2d 1052 (3d Cir. 1991), where defendant, a stockbroker who defrauded various vulnerable investors, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of income tax evasion. Astorri sought to have the ...

The defendant in this case, a white man, moved for discovery of information disclosing racial discrimination in the decision by the Department of Justice selecting the defendant to face the death penalty. He also sought to dismiss the government's request for the death penalty, alleging it was arbitrary, capricious and ...

One of the issues considered by the en banc court in this case was the Government's claim that the district court erred in departing downward based on the fact that, because of the delay in indicting and sentencing Sanchez-Rodriguez with illegal reentry, he lost the opportunity to serve a greater ...

In this case the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's downward departure, achieved by the court's refusal to apply the severe money laundering Guidelines to a defendant, because the Court did not believe that the defendant's conduct "constitutes serious money laundering conduct as contemplated by the Sentencing Commission for punishment ...