Here the Court held that the district court lacked the authority to grant an alien a downward departure from the 16-level enhancement set forth in USSG § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A) even though the alien's sentence for that crime had been suspended.

Prior to his arrest for illegal reentry into the United States ...

In assessing what losses could be used to calculate the defendant's adjusted offense level, the Court concluded as follows: "The Guidelines' 'relevant conduct' provision requires a defendant's sentence to be based on 'all harm that resulted from the acts or omissions' of the defendant. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(3). Like the other ...

Here the Court held that the district court erred when it allowed the Government, without request or explanation, to introduce new evidence at the remanded hearing to support its claim that it had probable cause to search the defendant in the first place.

In this case, the Third Circuit originally ...

Here, predictably, the Court reversed the lower court's ruling that the temporary-but-endless "interim" appointment of the U.S. Attorney in Puerto Rico did not violate the Constitution or justify the dismissal of any indictments.

We reviewed the predecessor to this case, U.S. v. Peralta-Ramirez, 83 F.3d 224 (D.Puerto Rico 2000), in ...

In this case, a panel from the Sixth Circuit refused to find error with the district court’s broad decision to allow the jurors in this case to submit questions to witnesses. In ruling on the issue as a matter of first impression, the Court held that the practice of juror ...

Here, agreeing with six other Circuits, the Court held that a district court may take into account the availability of rehabilitative programs to increase the length of a sentence upon revocation of supervised release.

In this case, the defendant received a prison sentence of 24 months upon the revocation of ...

One of the more controversial statutes that Congress has enacted in recent years was 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) which makes it unlawful for any person who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm. While Congress has been expanding the list ...

As reported in Lindstrom v. Graber, 203 F.3d 470 (7th Cir. 2000), a fugitive sought a stay of his pending extradition to Norway. Although Circuit Judge Rovner granted the requested stay, the petitioner, Lars Erik Lindstrom, was deported anyway because the Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the case, one ...

The defendant in this case was one of eight people convicted of involvement in a large-scale, long-term drug distribution conspiracy. At trial, the government presented over 20 witnesses who were alleged to be co-conspirators or other participants in the conspiracy's business. In granting a defense sequestration request, the district court ...

This decision is noted for its detailed discussion of the scope and enforcement rights of a defendant under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.8. That provision, entitled “Use of Certain Information,” sets forth limits on the use of immunized statements at sentencing in cases where the defendant has agreed to cooperate and the ...

This is one of the very first Circuit court cases to cite Apprendi v. New Jersey, even though that the time this case was argued, the Supreme Court had not yet released its decision in Apprendi. Essentially, the Court considered whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) defines a single crime with ...