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U.S. v. Johnson, No. 12-3811 (6th Cir.) (2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 17266) (August 20, 2013) (Judge Damon J. Keith)

Article • September 9, 2013 • from P&J September, 2013

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

U.S. v. Johnson, No. 12-3811 (6th Cir.) (2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 17266) (August 20, 2013) (Judge Damon J. Keith) by [Editor's Note: As a matter of interest, this amended opinion was originally published as U.S. v. Johnson, No. 12-3811 (6th Cir. Aug. 20, 2013); and it was reported on Lexis …

U.S. v. Doe, No. XX-XXXX (6th Cir.) (731 F.3d 518) (August 27, 2013) (Judge Damon J. Keith)

Article • September 9, 2013 • from P&J September, 2013

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

U.S. v. Doe, No. XX-XXXX (6th Cir.) (731 F.3d 518) (August 27, 2013) (Judge Damon J. Keith) by The Sixth Circuit continues to struggle to find ways to remedy the inequities created by the enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA”), which was passed “to restore fairness to …

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (679 F.3d 1069) (March 12, 2012) (Judge Richard R. Clifton)

Article • April 2, 2012 • from P&J April, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Departure/Sentence

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (679 F.3d 1069) (March 12, 2012) (Judge Richard R. Clifton) by The 22-year sentence for the so-called "Millennium Bomber" is vacated and the case is remanded for resentencing, where the sentence was substantively unreasonable, based on the Ninth Circuit's definite and firm conviction …

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 10-1199-cr (2nd Cir.) (662 F.3d 166) (October 21, 2011) (Judge John Gleeson)

Article • October 31, 2011 • from P&J October, 2011

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 10-1199-cr (2nd Cir.) (662 F.3d 166) (October 21, 2011) (Judge John Gleeson) by In an appeal from a judgment of the district court denying defendant's motion for a sentence modification of a 292-month term of imprisonment for a crack cocaine offense, judgment is reversed where the …

U.S. v. Holcomb, No. 11-1558 (7th Cir.) (657 F.3d 445) (August 24, 2011) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook)

Article • September 5, 2011 • from P&J September, 2011

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

U.S. v. Holcomb, No. 11-1558 (7th Cir.) (657 F.3d 445) (August 24, 2011) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook) by Here the full Court declined, by an equally divided 5-5 vote, to grant a rehearing en banc in order to review its recent decision in U.S. v. Fisher in which a panel …

U.S. v. Douglas, No. 09-202-P-H (D.Me.) (746 F.Supp.2d 220) (October 27, 2010) (Judge D. Brock Hornby)

Article • February 7, 2011 • from P&J February, 2011

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

U.S. v. Douglas, No. 09-202-P-H (D.Me.) (746 F.Supp.2d 220) (October 27, 2010) (Judge D. Brock Hornby) by Here the Court held that a defendant who pled guilty of committing a crack offense in 2009 but who was not yet sentenced on November 1, 2010, is entitled to be sentenced under …

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (629 F.3d 793) (December 10, 2010) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon)

Article • December 1, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Departure/Sentence

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (629 F.3d 793) (December 10, 2010) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon) by Editor's Notes: This decision amends and supersedes the panel decision previously reported at U.S. v. Ressam, 593 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2010); see previous summary reported in P&J, 01/22/10. However, …

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (593 F.3d 1095) (February 2, 2010) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Departure/Sentence

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (593 F.3d 1095) (February 2, 2010) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon) by In this third reversal of a below-Guidelines sentence for the Millennium Bomber, the Court vacated a 22-year sentence as both procedurally and substantively unreasonable - a ruling that some commentarors said was …

U.S. v. Paull, No. 07-3482 (6th Cir.) (551 F.3d 516) (January 9, 2009) (Judge Danny J. Boggs)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Departure/Sentence

U.S. v. Paull, No. 07-3482 (6th Cir.) (551 F.3d 516) (January 9, 2009) (Judge Danny J. Boggs) by Jerry Paull, a 65 year-old, retired minister, who suffered from a broad range of both physical and mental ailments, pled guilty to four counts of knowing possession of child pornography, in violation …

U.S. v. Willis, No. 04-CR-190 (E.D.Wisc.) (479 F.Supp.2d 927) (March 28, 2007) (Judge Lynn S. Adelman)

Article • March 1, 2007 • from P&J March, 2007

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Willis, No. 04-CR-190 (E.D.Wisc.) (479 F.Supp.2d 927) (March 28, 2007) (Judge Lynn S. Adelman) by Leave it to Judge Adelman to sort through the maze of conflicting decisions and confounding directions from the appellate courts to find and describe a clearly-delineated path around some of the craziness generated …

U.S. v. Williams, No. 6:04-cr-111 (M.D.Fla.) (481 F.Supp.2d 1298) (March 1, 2007) (Judge Gregory A. Presnell)

Article • February 1, 2007 • from P&J February, 2007

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Williams, No. 6:04-cr-111 (M.D.Fla.) (481 F.Supp.2d 1298) (March 1, 2007) (Judge Gregory A. Presnell) by

U.S. v. Spears, No. 05-4468 (8th Cir.) (469 F.3d 1166) (December 5, 2006) (Judge William J. Riley)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Spears, No. 05-4468 (8th Cir.) (469 F.3d 1166) (December 5, 2006) (Judge William J. Riley) by In a decision that contains an excellent review of the history and purpose of the 100:1 crack vs. power cocaine ration, the Eighth Circuit declined to grant en banc review of that …

U.S. v. Williams, No. 05-13205 (11th Cir.) (472 F.3d 835) (December 13, 2006) (Judge Stanley F. Jr. Birch)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Williams, No. 05-13205 (11th Cir.) (472 F.3d 835) (December 13, 2006) (Judge Stanley F. Jr. Birch) by U.S. v. Spears, 469 F.3d 1166 (8th Cir. Dec. 5, 2006) (En banc) (Judge Riley) U.S. v. Williams, 472 F.3d 835 (11th Cir. Dec. 13, 2006) (En banc) (Per Curiam) Ever …

U.S. v. Pope, No. 05-11552 (11th Cir.) (461 F.3d 1331) (August 22, 2006) (Judge Stanley Marcus)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Pope, No. 05-11552 (11th Cir.) (461 F.3d 1331) (August 22, 2006) (Judge Stanley Marcus) by

U.S. v. Castillo, No. 05-3454-cr (2nd Cir.) (460 F.3d 337) (August 16, 2006) (Judge Robert A. Katzmann)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Castillo, No. 05-3454-cr (2nd Cir.) (460 F.3d 337) (August 16, 2006) (Judge Robert A. Katzmann) by Joining the First, Fourth, Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, the Second Circuit has now held that district courts “do not have the authority to reject unilaterally the 100:1 [crack-cocaine] sentencing ratio on policy …

U.S. v. Jointer, No. 05-4632 (7th Cir.) (457 F.3d 682) (August 9, 2006) (Judge Kenneth F. Ripple)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Jointer, No. 05-4632 (7th Cir.) (457 F.3d 682) (August 9, 2006) (Judge Kenneth F. Ripple) by This decision is another example of the many appellate sentencing cases that give little or no guidance to the lower courts and the criminal defense bar about what constitutes a “reasonable” sentence …

U.S. v. Tabor, No. 05-2169 (8th Cir.) (439 F.3d 826) (March 3, 2006) (Judge John R. Gibson)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Tabor, No. 05-2169 (8th Cir.) (439 F.3d 826) (March 3, 2006) (Judge John R. Gibson) by After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base, in violation of …

U.S. v. Saenz, No. CR 03-4089-MWB (N.D.Iowa) (429 F.Supp.2d 1081) (March 23, 2006) (Judge Mark W. Bennett)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Departure/Sentence

U.S. v. Saenz, No. CR 03-4089-MWB (N.D.Iowa) (429 F.Supp.2d 1081) (March 23, 2006) (Judge Mark W. Bennett) by Kim Saenz was one of four defendants arrested and charged with the distribution of marijuana. She immediately pled guilty and, on the day of her arrest, she began cooperating with the Government …

U.S. v. Hamilton, No. 6:05-cr-157-ORL (M.D.Fla.) (428 F.Supp.2d 1253) (March 16, 2006) (Judge Gregory A. Presnell)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Hamilton, No. 6:05-cr-157-ORL (M.D.Fla.) (428 F.Supp.2d 1253) (March 16, 2006) (Judge Gregory A. Presnell) by Here Judge Presnell added another powerful and articulate voice to the ongoing debate about what he called the “radical” sentencing disparity that exists under the Guidelines for crimes involving crack cocaine versus crimes …

U.S. v. Eura, No. 05-4437 (4th Cir.) (440 F.3d 625) (January 24, 2006) (Judge Clyde H. Hamilton)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Eura, No. 05-4437 (4th Cir.) (440 F.3d 625) (January 24, 2006) (Judge Clyde H. Hamilton) by IThe principal issue addressed by the Court in this case was “whether a district court in the post-Booker world can vary from the advisory sentencing range under the Guidelines by substituting its …