This is a rare decision in which Judge Harrington granted a Writ of Coram Nobis to vacate a conviction and expunge the defendant’s criminal record, after the defendant had pled guilty and had served his entire sentence.

It is also a significant decision because of its informative discussion of the ...

Here a majority of the Sixth Circuit held, after more than 20 years of litigation, that female prisoners in Michigan finally had achieved access to educational, vocational, and apprenticeship programs that were sufficiently similar to those available to male prisoners to pass equal protection scrutiny. The district court had laid ...

Here a divided panel from the Ninth Circuit held that an alien/defendant's offer to stipulate to deportation is a vaild basis for a downward departure frim the Guidelines sentencing range regardless of whether the Government consents to the departure.

In this case, the defendant plead guilty to a violation of ...

In holding that a 270-day violation of the Speedy Trial Act mandated a dismissal of the defendant's indictment with prejudice, the Court noted that the Government argued that the delays were due to mistake and administrative neglect, not willful misconduct or tactical delay. The Court then commented: "Specifically, the Government ...

This case is a study of life in the Bronx and it is noted for its discussion of two separate downward departure sentencing issues. Judge Scheindlin granted downward departures based on her conclusions that (a) the defendant’s Criminal History Category over-represented the seriousness of the defendants’s past conduct (despite the ...

Adding to the Circuit split on this issue, a majority held that the recent BOP regulations which deny participation in drug treatment programs to prisoners whose offenses involved firearms were a reasonable exercise of the BOP's authority.

The background and issues covered in this decision were clearly explained in Judge ...

As this decision shows, the battle over this country’s Megan-laws continues. The plaintiffs in this much litigated class action lawsuit are convicted sex offenders who are subject to the registration and community notification provisions of New Jersey's Megan's Law. In a previous stage of this litigation, the district court rejected ...

This case is a study of life in the Bronx and it is noted for its discussion of two separate downward departure sentencing issues. Judge Scheindlin granted downward departures based on her conclusions that (a) the defendant’s Criminal History Category over-represented the seriousness of the defendants’s past conduct (despite the ...

Here, although the Court agreed that the defendants were the prevailing parties, it declined to grant fees under the Hyde Amendment because it concluded that the criminal action had not been filed for vexatious reasons, or frivolously or in bad faith.

In this case the defendants were charged with falsely ...

The Court summarized its views by stating: " I find that the Defendant, Paul Baxt, has not demonstrated that the Government's delay in bringing the indictment in this case was caused by an effort by the Government to obtain a tactical advantage over Baxt. Moreover, Baxt has failed to demonstrate ...

Adding to the Circuit split on this issue, a majority held that the recent BOP regulations which deny participation in drug treatment programs to prisoners whose offenses involved firearms were a reasonable exercise of the BOP's authority.

The background and issues covered in this decision were clearly explained in Judge ...

In holding that the mandatory detention of aliens pending removal proceedings violated the aliens' rights under the Due Process Clause, the Court noted that the Third Circuit has not, as yet, addressed the effect of the "jurisdiction-stripping" clause of 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(9); and it noted that the "Courts are ...

This case raises two interesting peripheral attacks by the Government on the propriety of granting a downward sentencing departure based on family ties and responsibilities under U.S.S.G. § 5H1.6. While that section states that family ties and responsibilities “are not ordinarily relevant” in determining whether a sentence should be outside ...

In this case Judge Gertner concluded that the proper method for determining whether a defendant's employment record justified a departure was to compare his circumstances to others convicted of the same crime.

In this case, Judge Gertner outlined a procedure for determining whether a defendant's employment history or family obligations ...

In this case, Judge Gertner granted a defendant a downward departure for "extraordinary" family obligations and work history; and in the process she outlined a procedure for determining whether a defendant's employment history or family obligations are "extraordinary" for purposes of granting a downward departure under U.S.S.G. §§ 5H1.5 and ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The dangers of using “obscure or strained interpretations of state law” as a “jurisdictional hook” to commence Federal prosecutions.

“[T]his Court re-emphasizes the threat to the liberty and reputation of individuals which occurs when federal prosecutors selectively transform state ethics violations . . . into ...

This is a rare decision in which Judge Harrington granted a Writ of Coram Nobis to vacate a conviction and expunge the defendant’s criminal record, after the defendant had pled guilty and had served his entire sentence.

It is also a significant decision because of its informative discussion of the ...

This case is noted for its review of the constitutional importance of public trials; and what is particularly significant is the sweeping scope of the Court’s language. For example, the Court noted that the “denial of the right to a public trial . . . [is] a structural error [and ...