This decision addresses an important issue: Can an attorney lawfully decline to disclose who paid his fees? As will be seen the answer to that question is both unclear and extremely fact specific. The Court started by noting that "the attorney-client relationship does not create a ‘cloak of protection draped ...

Here the Court reversed a special condition of probation that prohibited a felon from accepting a job if it involved his absence from his district for more than 24 hours, emphasizing that Congress intended that such restrictions be used sparingly.

The defendant in this case pled guilty to unlawfully transporting ...

Here the Seventh Circuit held that substantial differences in sentences between co-defendants can justify a downward departure, particularly if the lower sentence was unjustified, as happened in this case.

One of the highly-touted goals of the Guidelines was to narrow the wide disparity in sentences imposed for similar criminal offenses ...

Case held that petitioner was not required to obtain leave to file a successive petition as to a claim that was not ripe at the time of his first petition.

In this case Judge Wright explained, in scathing words, her reasons for holding the President of the United States in civil contempt for his willful violations of her discovery order when he gave testimony in the Paula Jones lawsuit.

This astonishingly blunt decision goes far beyond what the press reported ...

Quote from Justice Steven's dissent in which he set forth sections of a U.S. Marshal's manual on the importance of the media in accompanying law enforcement officials when they execute an arrest warrant.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - "Waive the Flag - but Forget the Fourth Amendment" or "The Importance ...

This is a significant decision in which the Ninth Circuit unanimously held that statements to the authorities may be suppressed, and criminal convictions overturned, if foreigners arrested in the United States are not advised of their rights to contact their consulate before making any statements.

Article 36(1)(b) of the Vienna ...

In this case the defendant was convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 and 1112. He appealed, arguing that the district court's decision to admit into evidence the results of a portable breath analyzer test (PBT) deprived him of a fair trial. The Eighth Circuit ...

Here the Court stated: "The narrow issue on this appeal is whether this Court's construction of the phrase "aggravated felony" in a deportation statute applies to the same phrase used in the Sentencing Guidelines for purposes of determining a sentencing enhancement for an immigration offense. In Aguirre v. INS, 79 ...

At his resentencing after a remand from the First Circuit, the defendant questioned the calculated weight of the drugs attributed to him. He claimed that the assigned weight overcounted his liability because it includes the weight of the containers as well as the contraband and it also includes some double ...

The government appealed the district court's dismissal with a three-count indictment charging the defendant with various weapons violations based upon the district court's finding of vindictive prosecution. The district court relied upon a sequence of events in which the government did not initiate the weapons prosecution - despite the presumptive ...

The defendant appealed the district court's denial of his suppression motion arguing that the guns found in his apartment were not in plain view. The Second Circuit agreed. Of interest is that the Second Circuit left open to the discretion of the district judge whether or not to reopen the ...

In this case, Federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant accompanied by photographers and reporters from Cable News Network, who recorded the agents in executing the warrant. Subsequently, the plaintiffs brought a Bivens claim against the law enforcement agents, asserting that the agents violated the Fourth Amendment when they ...

In this case the Fifth Circuit affirmed its decision in U.S. v. Haese, 162 F.3d 359, and again held that a plea agreement promising leniency in exchange for testimony does not violate the provisions of 18 USC § 201(c)(1).

In this case, Judge Chin patiently reviews the law developed by Terry v. Ohio, 393 U.S. 1 (1968) and its progeny.

Here the Court held that the police did not have a reasonable suspicion, supported by articulable facts, that defendant was engaging in, or about to engage in criminal acts ...

In this case, Judge Weinstein explained why he gave a substantial sentencing departure to a defendant who was suffering from an advanced and accute stage of HIV symptoms.

It is no wonder that the Second Circuit gets so angry at Judge Weinstein. He has learned that, when granting a downward ...

In this case the defendant appealed a restitution order that was imposed at sentencing; and the government contended that the defendant had waived his right to appeal the restitution order as part of his plea agreement. The waiver clause in the agreement provided in part: "[Y]ou knowingly and voluntarily waive ...

The single issue addressed in this case was whether the defendant qualified for the "safety valve" relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) and U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2, after she repeatedly lied to the Government about aspects of her case and did not truthfully cooperate until just before her sentencing hearing. The ...

Case held that district court did not abuse its discretion in denying new trial on basis of newly discovered evidence (affidavits from codefendants exclupating defendant), because new evidence did not give rise to probability of acquittal.

This case is noted for Judge Rakoff's description of the Guidelines as a "Victorian corset around the body of Lady Justice" which "so pinch and distort her natural contours as to cause permanent damage to her health".

In this case Judge Rakoff rejected the Government's request for an obstruction of ...

It is perhaps fitting that, on the same day the lead article in The New York Times wrote that the Fourth Circuit had become "the boldest conservative court in the nation . . . where [l]iberal panel decisions are not allowed to survive," (see The New York Times, May 24, ...