Here a divided panel held that strip searches of detainees being held on misdemeanor charges must still be based on a "reasonable suspicion" that the person being searched has a weapon or other contraband.

In this case the Court addressed a ruling by District Judge Wexler in which he held ...

Appellant sought review of the decision from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granting appellee's petition for habeas corpus relief.

Appellee was convicted of murder but while her motion for a new trial was pending, she escaped from prison. After her return to custody, she ...

Here the Seventh Circuit affirmed its rule that Apprendi does not require drug quantity to be submitted to the jury where the defendant has stripulated to the drug quantity.

This is an interesting case that will have a double impact: on the one hand, it will make it more difficult for counsel to withdraw from a case even when he can show irreconcilable differences with his client - and on the other hand it will make it more difficult ...

Here the defendants were convicted of armed bank robbery and of using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). At sentencing, the district court concluded that the defendants had used a semiautomatic assault weapon as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(30) ...

By a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court overturned a death sentence imposed on the petitioner, William Kelly, because the trial court had violated his rights to due process by refusing to advise the jurors that, if they sentenced him to life in prison, there was no chance that ...

Here the Court reversed a 5-level enhancement for use of a gun during a bank robbery because it wasn't based on evidence but on the district court's “greatly exaggerated view” that bank robberies never occur without a firearm.

This is a rare case in which the Court not only reversed ...

The defendant in this case was one of a number of inmate incarcerated at the Federal penitentiary in Greenville, Illinois who were convicted of a number of bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering crimes arising out of a check kiting scheme. On appeal he attacked both the sufficiency of ...

Here the Court held that the district court's dismissal of a juror, over the objections of the defendants, based on claims by the majority of the jurors that the dismissed juror was not applying the law as directed, was not clearly erroneous.

In affirming the district court's decision to remove ...

Both petitioners brought their habeas petitions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct their sentences. Petitioner one moved for reconsideration and petitioner two also sought a certificate of appealability.

Petitioners, after state court decisions, had prior convictions vacated. These convictions were a basis for sentence ...

Petitioner federal prisoner appealed the judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon that he was entitled to a total of 47, rather than 54, good time credits under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b).

The prisoner was sentenced to prison for a year and a day, and ...

In a significant victory for black motorists suing over alleged “racial profiling” by New Jersey state troopers, District Judge Pisano ruled that former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Veniero - who now sits on the New Jersey Supreme Court - can be held personally liable for monetary damages in a ...

Here the Court held that the Government could not use expert testimony to establish a “match” between fingerprints taken at a crime scene and those of the defendant because such testimony was both subjective and unreliable under Daubert.

It is hard to tell where this 49-page decision will lead, or ...

Here, joining a recent decision from the Third Circuit, the Court held that a key provision of the immigration laws, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), which denies bail to aliens awaiting deportation is “unconstitutional as applied to lawful permanent resident aliens".

In the second such ruling in the past three weeks, ...

This case is noted for its extensive discussion of an important question: when does a trial judge’s extensive involvement in the questioning of witnesses cross the boundaries of propriety and deprive a defendant of his right to a fair trial before an impartial judge?

Here, two defendants were convicted on ...

Tarza Nelson brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against officials of the California Department of Corrections, after holds were placed upon his inmate trust account. His principal contention was that 38 U.S.C. § 5301(a), which provides for the exempt status of veteran's benefits, was violated. The district court agreed, ...

In a significant decision, the First Circuit adopted a new per se rule in this case for determining when a downward departure at sentencing is permissible based on exceptional family circumstances pursuant to the provisions of U.S.S.G. § 5H1.6. Under the new rule, a district court must find that the ...

This case is noted for its extended discussion of the purpose, different types and adequacy of offers of proof under Fed.R.Evid. 103(a)(2).

In reviewing the standards that apply to an offer of proof under Fed.R.Evid. 103(a)(2), the Court noted the following: "Federal Rule of Evidence 103(a)(2) does not mandate a ...

Here the Court affirmed its prior rulings that Apprendi does not require that a defendant's prior felony drug convictions alleged in the Government's information be submitted to the jury or found beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defendant in this case was convicted of a number of crimes, including unlawful possession of a firearm. On appeal, he argued that the district court had erred by failing to suppress evidence of the gun based on a Miranda violation that had occurred. He contended that, since his confession ...

Here the 7th Circuit concluded that even though the Sentencing Commission had subsequently proposed an amendment to tie money laundering more closely to the underlying offense, it declined to give any weight to those proposals because they were not final.

In one of a number of arguments raised in this ...