This case represents another example of a sudden judicial retreat. The instant decision deals with the constitutionality of one of the 22 separate gun disability provisions contained in 18 U.S.C. § 922 - namely subsection (g)(9), which forbids persons with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions from possessing or receiving firearms. While ...

In this immigration case, the Fifth Circuit held that the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (UUV) is a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16. Applying a categorical approach, and defining "substantial risk" as requiring "a strong probability that the event ... will occur," the Court stated that ...

Here the Court rejected a defense claim that the district court had violated the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights under the Compulsory Process Clause by denying his subpoena requests, because he failed to establish the necessity requirements.

The defendant contended that that the district court's denial of his subpoena requests under ...

Here the Court held that: "To obtain a conviction on a substantive Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) promotion charge, the Government bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) the defendant conducted or attempted to conduct a financial transaction; (2) the defendant knew the property involved in the transaction represented ...

In this case the defendant was charged with two 0felon-in-possession counts and one count of possessing an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861 and 5871. The government introduced evidence at trial that Aldrich had been convicted of a felony in 1976. At the conclusion of trial, the ...

United States v. Brown, 169 F.3d 89 (1st Cir. 1999)
United States v. Turnipseed, 159 F.3d 383 (9th Cir. 1998)

In both of these cases, the Courts rejected defendants' claims that the district courts "double- counted" the stolen nature of the firearm in question first by calculating the applicable base ...

This case is noted because it helps to explain the complex procedures that should be used when no Guideline had been expressly promulgated for the crime at issue (i.e., the specific crime is not listed in the Statutory Index (Appendix A) to the Guidelines.) In such cases, the Guidelines direct ...

Here Court held that litigants - like the plaintiff in this case - who file prison conditions lawsuits after release from confinement are no longer "prisoners" for purposes of 42 USC § 1997e(a) and thus need not satisfy the exhaustion requirements.

This is one of those rare cases in which the Sixth Circuit upheld a district court’s dismissal, with prejudice, of an indictment on the grounds of a Speedy Trial violation. As can be expected, it took some pretty unusual circumstances for the Court to affirm the district court’s action. The ...

Here the Court affirmed the suppression of several items of child pornography found on the defendant's computer, holding that the scope of the search exceeded his consent to search his apartment in connection with an unrelated matter.

In this case, the defendant's neighbor was the victim of a nighttime assault ...

In this case, the defendant refused to sign a Waiver of Rights and Consent to Proceed by Video-Conference, and he objected that th wanted to be sentenced in person. The district court overruled the objection, conducted the sentencing by video-conferencing, and sentened the defendant to life imprisonment on each of ...

This yarn of a case deals with a novel - albeit obnoxious - Government attempt to expand the parameters of “other crime” evidence under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). A bank was robbed at gunpoint, and the defendant Mitchell was convicted of the robbery - despite the fact that the prosecution faced some ...

The Second Circuit held that the district court's error in failing to advise the defendant of the effect of supervised release at his plea was harmless error. However the district court vacated the defendant's guilty plea because the record did not establish that the defendant understood the nature of the ...

Singleton is now officially dead. Last summer, the Tenth Circuit set off a major legal controversy by holding that the testimony of a cooperating witness should have been suppressed because promises of leniency made to him, in exchange for his testimony, violated the anti-gratuity provisions of 18 USC § 201(c). ...

Here the Ninth Circuit reversed a conviction because the district court had erroneously permitted the Government to introduce extensive evidence of the defendant's poverty in order to establish a motive to commit a robbery.

This yarn of a case deals with a novel - albeit obnoxious - Government attempt to ...

Here the D.C. Circuit declined en banc review of its earlier decision vacating broad remedial measures imposed by the district court despite the assertions of two judges that the decision ignored most of the district court's most cogent findings.

This is another perplexing decision from the D.C. Circuit; and it, ...

The defendant argued on appeal, inter alia, that the district court erred in subjecting him to a two-level offense enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(4)(B) on the ground that the teller-victims were "physically restrained" during the armed robbery of which the defendant was convicted. The Second Circuit held that displaying a ...

This is an interesting case in which three judges, Judges Duhé, Smith and Wiener, executed a near-perfect flip-flop. In their earlier decision (reported at 161 F.3d 281 (Solis I), (see P&J, 1/4/99) those Judges flatly held that “even where the government files no motion [for a downward departure based on ...

This is a significant decision which addresses a growing problem, but one which is rarely addressed - namely, the differences in the plea bargaining policies of prosecutors’ offices all across the country. In this case, the Ninth Circuit held that disparities imposed upon immigration-crime defendants as a result of interdistrict ...

Here the Fifth Circuit affirmed a downward sentencing departure from the money laundering Guidelines on the grounds that the money laundering charge was only incidental to the underlying charge of illegal gambling.

In this case the Fifth Circuit adopted the rationale first taken by Judge Trager in U.S. v. Caba, ...

In this case the Court held that the district court improperly gave a deliberate ignorance instruction where there was strong evidence of actual knowledge, but "little evidence that the defendants purposefully contrived to avoid knowing that their actions were unlawful." (Id., at 369). The evidence in the case revealed that ...

The defendants in this case were stopped for speeding; and a consensual search of their car revealed 11.41 kilograms of methamphetamine. They pled guilty of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). At sentencing they moved for a downward departure from ...