In this case District Judge Weinstein refused to sentence a young woman bank robber to prison because he concluded that incarceration would “debilitate” rather than “rehabilitate” her. Pointing to a number of factors, including the defendant’s diminished capacity, the aberrant nature of her criminal act, her family responsibilities, her potential ...

In this case District Judge Weinstein refused to sentence a young woman bank robber to prison because he concluded that incarceration would “debilitate” rather than “rehabilitate” her. Pointing to a number of factors, including the defendant’s diminished capacity, the aberrant nature of her criminal act, her family responsibilities, her potential ...

The defendant in this case was convicted of various drug charges including a charge under the Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) statute, 21 U.S.C. § 848. The defendant alleged that his counsel had been ineffective due to counsel's failure to raise the issue of the propriety of the jury instruction which ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The Impossible Goal - Rehabilitation in Prison

"Instead of reforming its inmates, too often a prison converts them into 'hardened enem[ies] of society.' . . . Not only do American prisons today contain on a pro rata basis more prisoners than any other industrialized nation, ...

Court held that the provision of the federal Child Support Recovery Act that establishes a rebuttable presumption that a defendant was financially able to pay a support order violates the Fifth Amendment's Due Process clause.

In this case the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island held ...

In this case, the First Circuit acknowledged the often forgotten principle of the “fair treatment of indigents” in the criminal justice system. The Court addressed the question of whether ex parte hearings are mandated by the Criminal Justice Act when reviewing applications by indigent defendants for government funding of expert ...

Here the Court held that when the DEA gives notice of an administrative forfeiture to a defendant who is in prison, it must send that notice directly to his place of incarceration; and may not rely on the Marshal's Service to give the notice.

This case deals with ineffective notices ...

Once again the Tenth Circuit has invalidated the Bureau of Prisons' regulations and related program statement establishing eligibility criteria for sentence reductions to prisoners who complete drug treatment programs. The Court held that the statute authorizing such reductions for prisoners convicted of "nonviolent" offenses, 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2), does not ...

Here the Second Circuit held that the admission of highly suspect and unreliable lineup identification evidence (that was later recanted by the victim of a robbery himself) violated the petitioner's dur process rights and could not be deemed harmless.

Reversing the decisions of two lower courts, the Second Circuit held ...

Here the Court rejected a spouse's claim that she was an innocent owner of property seized in a drug forfeiture because she had not acquired her interest in the property until she became aware of her husband's criminal activities.

In this case, the Court held that the district court had erred by including in the defendant's relevant conduct drugs sold by her conspirators after she had left the drug conspiracy. It stated that: "Although the Guidelines are silent on the matter, we believe it is logical to infer that ...

Here, in a case of first impression for the Second Circuit, the Court addressed the question whether a defendant himself may be included among the "five or more participants" in a criminal activity for purposes of a leadership role enhancement under § 3B1.1(a) of the Guidelines. The defendants argued that ...

In this case the defendant and a co-defendant were charged with mail fraud in a scheme to kill horses for
insurance money. At the trial, Tommy Burns, “a long time friend” of the defendant, testified for the government. Burns had already finished serving a six-month sentence he received for his ...

Here the Fourth Circuit reversed a CCE conviction, based in part on the Supreme Court's decision in Richardson v. U.S., principally because it was unsure which "series of violations" the Government had relied upon in is case in chief.

In June, 1999, the Supreme Court held, in Richardson v. U.S., ...