Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Kirkland, No. 16-40255 (5th Cir.) (851 F.3d 499) (March 17, 2017) (Judge James L. Dennis)

Article • May 29, 2017 • from P&J May, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Failure to Recommend the Sentence Promised

U.S. v. Kirkland, No. 16-40255 (5th Cir.) (851 F.3d 499) (March 17, 2017) (Judge James L. Dennis) by In September 2015, an undercover detective, posing as the mother of fictitious 11- and 14-year-old daughters, placed an advertisement on Craigslist soliciting sexual partners for the fictitious girls. The defendant in this …

U.S. v. Villa-Vazquez, No. 07-3160 (10th Cir.) (536 F.3d 1189) (August 20, 2008) (Judge Harris L. Hartz)

Article • August 1, 2008 • from P&J August, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Villa-Vazquez, No. 07-3160 (10th Cir.) (536 F.3d 1189) (August 20, 2008) (Judge Harris L. Hartz) by Jesus Villa-Vazquez was indicted on one count of illegal reentry after a prior deportation for an aggravated felony. He entered into a plea agreement that required the government, among other things, to …

U.S. v. Scott, No. 05-6082 (10th Cir.) (455 F.3d 1188) (July 31, 2006) (Judge William J. Jr. Holloway)

Article • August 1, 2006 • from P&J August, 2006

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Scott, No. 05-6082 (10th Cir.) (455 F.3d 1188) (July 31, 2006) (Judge William J. Jr. Holloway) by In significant decision (albeit one which is so factually oriented that it probably has limited precedential value), a divided panel from the Tenth Circuit concluded that the Government breached its plea …

U.S. v. Norris, No. 04-2073 (8th Cir.) (439 F.3d 916) (March 10, 2006) (Judge Michael J. Melloy)

Article • February 1, 2006 • from P&J February, 2006

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Norris, No. 04-2073 (8th Cir.) (439 F.3d 916) (March 10, 2006) (Judge Michael J. Melloy) by After Jamal Norris negotiated and signed a plea agreement with the Government, a new AUSA took over his case for sentencing. The new prosecutor believed that his predecessor had given Norris too …

U.S. v. Scott, No. 05-6082 (10th Cir.) (469 F.3d 1335) (October 27, 2006) (Judge William J. Jr. Holloway)

Article • January 1, 2006 • from P&J January, 2006

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Scott, No. 05-6082 (10th Cir.) (469 F.3d 1335) (October 27, 2006) (Judge William J. Jr. Holloway) by ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR PANEL REHEARING The United States has filed a petition for panel rehearing. The motion is denied. The petition has, however, brought to the court's attention two errors …

U.S. v. Brown, No. 03-10479 (9th Cir.) (425 F.3d 681) (October 4, 2005) (Per Curiam)

Article • September 1, 2005 • from P&J September, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Dismissal of Counts With Prejudice

U.S. v. Brown, No. 03-10479 (9th Cir.) (425 F.3d 681) (October 4, 2005) (Per Curiam) by This brief, per curiam decision is noted for an important principle governing the interpretation of plea agreements. The defendant pled guilty to 44 counts of various fraud charges (a number that, by itself, is …

U.S. v. Munoz, No. 04-40481 (5th Cir.) (408 F.3d 222) (April 29, 2005) (Judge Edward C. Prado)

Article • June 1, 2005 • from P&J June, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Munoz, No. 04-40481 (5th Cir.) (408 F.3d 222) (April 29, 2005) (Judge Edward C. Prado) by Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C.S. §§ 371, 1956(a)(1)(A)(I), (h). He appealed after the United …

U.S. v. Vaval, No. 04-0121-cr (2nd Cir.) (404 F.3d 144) (April 12, 2005) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter)

Article • March 1, 2005 • from P&J March, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sentencing Advocacy

U.S. v. Vaval, No. 04-0121-cr (2nd Cir.) (404 F.3d 144) (April 12, 2005) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter) by Troy Vaval pled guilty to robbing a confidential informant who was carrying Federal funds for the purpose of making a controlled buy of illegal firearms. The plea agreement specified that the …

U.S. v. Holbrook, No. 02-4844 (4th Cir.) (376 F.3d 259) (July 21, 2004) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 2004 • from P&J July, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Holbrook, No. 02-4844 (4th Cir.) (376 F.3d 259) (July 21, 2004) (Per Curiam) by

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 02-3067 (3rd Cir.) (365 F.3d 213) (April 15, 2004) (Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer)

Article • April 1, 2004 • from P&J April, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 02-3067 (3rd Cir.) (365 F.3d 213) (April 15, 2004) (Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer) by Here, over the dissent of Judge Chertoff, a majority of the active judges denied en banc review of a panel's prior decision reported at 357 F.3d 290 (3rd Cir. 2004).

U.S. v. DeWitt, No. 03-2779 (8th Cir.) (366 F.3d 667) (April 28, 2004) (Judge Steven M. Colloton)

Article • April 1, 2004 • from P&J April, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. DeWitt, No. 03-2779 (8th Cir.) (366 F.3d 667) (April 28, 2004) (Judge Steven M. Colloton) by Following her guilty plea to possessing a listed chemical, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, the District Court sentenced defendant. Defendant sought review, …

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 02-3067 (3rd Cir.) (357 F.3d 290) (February 9, 2004) (Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer)

Article • March 1, 2004 • from P&J March, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 02-3067 (3rd Cir.) (357 F.3d 290) (February 9, 2004) (Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer) by Appellant inmate challenged the judgment of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey sentencing him 324 months in prison after applying a four-level increase in his offense level …

U.S. v. Gonczy, No. 02-2399 (1st Cir.) (357 F.3d 50) (February 2, 2004) (Judge Juan R. Torruella)

Article • January 1, 2004 • from P&J January, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Gonczy, No. 02-2399 (1st Cir.) (357 F.3d 50) (February 2, 2004) (Judge Juan R. Torruella) by Here the Court vacated a sentence after finding that the prosecutor paid lip service to its obligation to recommend a sentence at the low end of the Guideline range, while at the …

U.S. v. Rose, No. 02-5163 (6th Cir.) (357 F.3d 615) (February 11, 2004) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore)

Article • January 1, 2004 • from P&J January, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Rose, No. 02-5163 (6th Cir.) (357 F.3d 615) (February 11, 2004) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore) by The defendant in this case pled guilty to selling a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover agent and to agreeing to sell him two pounds in the future, and he was sentenced …

U.S. v. Guzman, No. 02-3070 (10th Cir.) (318 F.3d 1191) (February 10, 2003) (Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer)

Article • March 1, 2003 • from P&J March, 2003

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Guzman, No. 02-3070 (10th Cir.) (318 F.3d 1191) (February 10, 2003) (Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer) by

U.S. v. Franco-Lopez, No. 00-50422 (9th Cir.) (312 F.3d 984) (November 27, 2002) (Judge Marsha L. Berzon)

Article • November 1, 2002 • from P&J November, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Franco-Lopez, No. 00-50422 (9th Cir.) (312 F.3d 984) (November 27, 2002) (Judge Marsha L. Berzon) by Here the Court held that the Government had breached the defendant's plea agreement by recommending against a safety valve departure without an independent finding by the Probation Department that the departure was …

U.S. v. Fitch, No. 00-6223 (6th Cir.) (282 F.3d 364) (March 8, 2002) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones)

Article • April 1, 2002 • from P&J April, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Fitch, No. 00-6223 (6th Cir.) (282 F.3d 364) (March 8, 2002) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones) by In this case the Court found that the Government had breached an essential provision of the defendant’s plea agreement by recommending a sentence enhancement for a leadership role in the offense where …

U.S. v. Riggs, No. 00-2460 (1st Cir.) (287 F.3d 221) (April 24, 2002) (Judge Juan R. Torruella)

Article • April 1, 2002 • from P&J April, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Riggs, No. 00-2460 (1st Cir.) (287 F.3d 221) (April 24, 2002) (Judge Juan R. Torruella) by Here the Court vacated a sentence after finding that the Government fell "woefully short" of satisfying the "meticulous standards" expected by ignoring its agreement to recomment 5-to-50 grams of crack and recommending …

U.S. v. Barnes, No. 00-5567 (6th Cir.) (278 F.3d 644) (January 30, 2002) (Judge Eric L. Clay)

Article • February 1, 2002 • from P&J January, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

U.S. v. Barnes, No. 00-5567 (6th Cir.) (278 F.3d 644) (January 30, 2002) (Judge Eric L. Clay) by This is a rare case in which the Court found that even if sentencing court implied that it would not have accepted the Government's recommendation that was promised in a plea agreement, …

Santobello v. New York, No. 70-98 (U.S. Supreme Court) (404 U.S. 257; 92 S.Ct. 495) (December 20, 1971) (Justice Burger)

Article • June 21, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements

Santobello v. New York, No. 70-98 (U.S. Supreme Court) (404 U.S. 257; 92 S.Ct. 495) (December 20, 1971) (Justice Burger) by In this seminal case on guilty pleas, the Court held that when a plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, so that …