In August, 1998, the Indianapolis Police Department began a practice of setting up roadblocks at random checkpoints - "to interrupt the flow of illegal drugs throughout the city," they said. The police didn’t even pretend to be concerned with protecting highway safety. As Judge Posner noted in his decision, this …

Here the Court held that because that the Supreme Court did not expressly make its ruling in Apprendi v. N.J. retroactive to cases on collateral review, it is not available to petitioners seeking to file a second or successive habeas petition.

In Re: Billy Ray Tatum, No. 00-31162 (5th Cir. …

In reversing the district court's grant of relief to the petitioner in this case, the Third Circuit held that he had failed to make the necessary showing of relief under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) to obtain relief from the disability against owning a firearm as a convicted felon - despited …

The defendant in this case pled guilty “to mail fraud through telemarketing” pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1341 - a statute that provides for a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment. The brief unpublished Memorandum decision does not indicate the defendant’s Guideline sentencing range; nor does it reflect whether …

Here the defendant received thirty-two years of imprisonment on a count of possession of 14.8 grams of cocaine base. He requested a jury instruction on quantity at trial, which was denied, and raised the issue again at sentencing. The Eleventh Circuit found Apprendi error, but also found it to be …

The concept of sentencing entrapment (or, as some courts like to call it, sentencing factor manipulation) remains mired deep in the surreal world of judicial gamesmanship. Perhaps afraid to open the Pandora’s Box of improper conduct by law enforcement agents who manipulate sentences, many courts simply refuse to admit that …

Here reversing the dismissal of an action for the return of property for which the Government never gave adequate notice of forfeiture, the Court held that the statute of limitations begins to run when the claimant had notice of the forfeiture declaration.

Here, joining the Second and Seventh Circuits, the …

The defendant was the president and one of four principals of an insurance brokerage firm. In the summer of 1995, he stole a significant sum of money from the brokerage and its clients and fled to the Cayman Islands. On July 16, 1997, the Defendant pled guilty to wire fraud, …

In Re: Billy Ray Tatum, No. 00-31162 (5th Cir. 11/15/00) (Per Curiam)
Rodgers v. United States, 229 F.3d 704 (8th Cir. 2000) (Per Curiam)

In these two cases, the Fifth and Eighth Circuits held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (2000) was not …

Here the majority of the panel held that there is no "dangerous patient" exception to the federal psychotherapist/patient testimonial privilege under Fed. R. Evid. 501.

Here the Court held that the "knowing or having reasonable cause to believe" standard in 21 USC § 841(c)(2) [formerly § 841(d)(2)] imposes "a constitutionally sufficient mens rea requirement.".

Defendant appealed from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, convicting and sentencing her …

This decision addressed a number of interesting issues (including its holding that a defendant who goes to trial may still be eligible for a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0 based on acceptance of responsibility even if he does not qualify for an acceptance of responsibility sentence reduction under U.S.S.G. …

Here the Court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of a Michigan statute that required welfare recipients to submit to random, suspicionless drug testing to qualify for benefits because the state failed to prove any special need.

The plaintiffs in this case were welfare recipients under Michigan's welfare to …

The two defendants in this case, William Norris and Jim Gee, were found guilty by a jury of numerous counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and other related crimes for their participation in a scheme to assist in the unauthorized reception of cable television signals through the sale of …

Here the Court held that there was no error under USSG § 5E1.2 when the district court court imposed a $5,000 fine on an indigent defendant who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and then will be subject to deportation upon release.

In this case the Second Circuit held …