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U.S. v. Nouri, No. 09-3627-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (711 F.3d 129) (March 4, 2013) (Judge Pierre N. Leval)

Article • December 1, 2013

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Nouri, No. 09-3627-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (711 F.3d 129) (March 4, 2013) (Judge Pierre N. Leval) by Convictions of securities fraud and related charges are affirmed, where: 1) the honest-services wire fraud jury instructions incorrectly stated the law because it did not require the jury to find that the …

U.S. v. Kottwitz, No. 08-13740 (11th Cir.) (627 F.3d 1383) (December 22, 2010) (Per Curiam)

Article • December 1, 2011

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Kottwitz, No. 08-13740 (11th Cir.) (627 F.3d 1383) (December 22, 2010) (Per Curiam) by Following their convictions for various tax-related offenses, arising out of their failure to report as income the numerous personal expenditures that corporation made on their behalf, the defendants The Court of Appeals for the …

U.S. v. Kottwitz, No. 08-13740 (11th Cir.) (614 F.3d 1241) (August 19, 2010) (Per Curiam)

Article • October 11, 2010 • from P&J October, 2010

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Kottwitz, No. 08-13740 (11th Cir.) (614 F.3d 1241) (August 19, 2010) (Per Curiam) by This is an important tax fraud decision in which the Eleventh Circuit reversed a number convictions for filing materially false personal income tax returns on the grounds that the district court erred in refusing …

U.S. v. Hassan, No. 05-6949-cr (2nd Cir.) (578 F.3d 108) (August 21, 2009) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler)

Article • October 1, 2009 • from P&J October, 2009

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Hassan, No. 05-6949-cr (2nd Cir.) (578 F.3d 108) (August 21, 2009) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler) by Defendant's money laundering convictions are reversed where, although the government had abundant evidence of defendant's khat-related activities, the circumstantial evidence that the government presented did not support an inference that his proceeds …

Smith v. Texas, No. 05-11304 (U.S. Supreme Court) (550 U.S. 297; 127 S.Ct. 1686) (April 25, 2007) (Justice Kennedy)

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

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Smith v. Texas, No. 05-11304 (U.S. Supreme Court) (550 U.S. 297; 127 S.Ct. 1686) (April 25, 2007) (Justice Kennedy) by The Supreme Court issued a third death penalty decision last week with the same 5 to 4 line-up of Justices as in the Abdul-Kabir and Brewer cases (above); but with …

Abdul-Fabir v. Quarterman, No. 05-11284 (U.S. Supreme Court) (550 U.S. 286; 127 S.Ct. 1654) (April 25, 2007) (Justice Stevens)

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

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Abdul-Fabir v. Quarterman, No. 05-11284 (U.S. Supreme Court) (550 U.S. 286; 127 S.Ct. 1654) (April 25, 2007) (Justice Stevens) by In these companion cases, the Court, by identical 5 to 4 votes, overturned the death sentences of two Texas death-row prisoners, holding that the Texas state courts had unreasonably applied …

Brewer v. Quarterman, No. 05-11287 (U.S. Supreme Court) (550 U.S. 286; 127 S.Ct. 1706) (April 25, 2007) (Justice Stevens)

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

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Brewer v. Quarterman, No. 05-11287 (U.S. Supreme Court) (550 U.S. 286; 127 S.Ct. 1706) (April 25, 2007) (Justice Stevens) by Abdul-Fabir v. Quarterman, No. 05-11284 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Apr. 25, 2007) (Justice Stevens) Brewer v. Quarterman, No. 05-11287 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Apr. 25, 2007) (Justice Stevens) In these two consolidated …

Ayers v. Belmontes, No. 05-493 (U.S. Supreme Court) (549 U.S. 7; 127 S.Ct. 469) (November 13, 2006) (Justice Kennedy)

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

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Ayers v. Belmontes, No. 05-493 (U.S. Supreme Court) (549 U.S. 7; 127 S.Ct. 469) (November 13, 2006) (Justice Kennedy) by For all practical purposes, this lengthy decision represents little more than a philosophical debate about capital punishment between the conservative and liberal factions on the Supreme Court. Certainly, it adds …

Boyde v. California, No. 88-6613 (U.S. Supreme Court) (494 U.S. 370; 110 S.Ct. 1190) (March 5, 1990) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • April 4, 2005

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Boyde v. California, No. 88-6613 (U.S. Supreme Court) (494 U.S. 370; 110 S.Ct. 1190) (March 5, 1990) (Justice Rehnquist) by Here the Court considered the various standards used by the courts to determine whether a conviction should be reversed based on jury instructions that were amiguous - and a majority …

Buchanan v. Angelone, No. 96-8400 (U.S. Supreme Court) (522 U.S. 269; 118 S.Ct. 757) (January 21, 1998) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • June 7, 2003

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Buchanan v. Angelone, No. 96-8400 (U.S. Supreme Court) (522 U.S. 269; 118 S.Ct. 757) (January 21, 1998) (Justice Rehnquist) by In this case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Virginia pattern capital sentencing instruction against a challenge on Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment grounds. As Justice Rehnquist explained: "This …

Mills v. Maryland, No. 87-5367 (U.S. Supreme Court) (486 U.S. 367; 108 S.Ct. 1860) (June 6, 1988) (Justice Blackmun)

Article • January 18, 2003

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Mills v. Maryland, No. 87-5367 (U.S. Supreme Court) (486 U.S. 367; 108 S.Ct. 1860) (June 6, 1988) (Justice Blackmun) by In this capital case, petitioner, a Maryland prison inmate, was tried by a state-court jury and convicted of the first-degree murder of his cellmate. In the trial's sentencing phase, the …

Simmons v. South Carolina, No. 92-9059 (U.S. Supreme Court) (512 U.S. 154; 114 S.Ct. 2187) (June 17, 1994) (Justice Blackmun)

Article • January 11, 2002

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Simmons v. South Carolina, No. 92-9059 (U.S. Supreme Court) (512 U.S. 154; 114 S.Ct. 2187) (June 17, 1994) (Justice Blackmun) by In this case, the defendant was tried and convicted of capital murder. Under South Carolina law, the defendant was ineligible for parole because he had previously pleaded guilty to …

Kelly v. South Carolina, No. 00-9280 (U.S. Supreme Court) (534 U.S. 246; 122 S.Ct. 726) (January 9, 2002) (Justice Souter)

Article • December 1, 2001 • from P&J December, 2001

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Kelly v. South Carolina, No. 00-9280 (U.S. Supreme Court) (534 U.S. 246; 122 S.Ct. 726) (January 9, 2002) (Justice Souter) by 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 …

Johnson v. U.S., No. 96-203 (U.S. Supreme Court) (520 U.S. 461; 117 S.Ct. 1544) (May 12, 1997) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • August 31, 2001

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Johnson v. U.S., No. 96-203 (U.S. Supreme Court) (520 U.S. 461; 117 S.Ct. 1544) (May 12, 1997) (Justice Rehnquist) by In this case the Court considered the validity of Johnson's conviction for perjury under 18 U.S.C. § 1623. The trial court, without objection and following then-settled law, had instructed the …

Shafer v. South Carolina, No. 00-5250 (U.S. Supreme Court) (532 U.S. 36; 121 S.Ct. 1263) (March 20, 2001) (Justice Ginsburg)

Article • February 1, 2001 • from P&J February, 2001

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Shafer v. South Carolina, No. 00-5250 (U.S. Supreme Court) (532 U.S. 36; 121 S.Ct. 1263) (March 20, 2001) (Justice Ginsburg) by Here the Court reversed a death sentence, holding that a trial court’s refusal to clarify to the jurors that a life sentence meant that the defendant was ineligible for …

Ramdass v. Angelone, No. 99-7000 (U.S. Supreme Court) (530 U.S. 156; 120 S.Ct. 2113) (June 12, 2000) (Justice Kennedy)

Article • May 1, 2000 • from P&J May, 2000

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Ramdass v. Angelone, No. 99-7000 (U.S. Supreme Court) (530 U.S. 156; 120 S.Ct. 2113) (June 12, 2000) (Justice Kennedy) by In this case, by a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld a death sentence under Virginia’s “three strikes law” for a convicted murderer, who argued that he had …

Weeks v. Angelone, No. 99-5746 (U.S. Supreme Court) (528 U.S. 225; 120 S.Ct. 727) (January 19, 2000) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • March 13, 2000 • from P&J January, 2000

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Weeks v. Angelone, No. 99-5746 (U.S. Supreme Court) (528 U.S. 225; 120 S.Ct. 727) (January 19, 2000) (Justice Rehnquist) by Here the Court held that, in a capital sentencing case, a jury’s inquiry about the meaning of an instruction previously given can be answered with a ritualistic and non-responsive direction …

Ramdass v. Angelone, No. 98-30 (4th Cir.) (187 F.3d 396) (August 3, 1999) (Judge Paul V. Niemeyer)

Article • October 1, 1999 • from P&J October, 1999

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Ramdass v. Angelone, No. 98-30 (4th Cir.) (187 F.3d 396) (August 3, 1999) (Judge Paul V. Niemeyer) by In this case, after the state court denied him any relief, the petitioner sought habeas relief in the Federal courts, arguing that the state court had denied him his due process rights …

Carter v. Kentucky, No. 80-5060 (U.S. Supreme Court) (450 U.S. 288; 101 S.Ct. 1112) (March 9, 1981) (Justice Stewart)

Article • July 18, 1999

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

Carter v. Kentucky, No. 80-5060 (U.S. Supreme Court) (450 U.S. 288; 101 S.Ct. 1112) (March 9, 1981) (Justice Stewart) by The Court stated that "Jurors are not experts in legal principles; to function effectively, and justly, they must be accurately instructed in the law." (Id., at 302). The Court held …

U.S. v. Whitehead, No. 98-2289 (8th Cir.) (176 F.3d 1030) (April 8, 1999) (Judge Harold D. Vietor)

Article • July 1, 1999 • from P&J July, 1999

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Whitehead, No. 98-2289 (8th Cir.) (176 F.3d 1030) (April 8, 1999) (Judge Harold D. Vietor) by Here the Court held that in a prosecution for bank fraud by falsely claiming insolvency in connection with a loan forgiveness agreement, the defendant is entitled to an instruction on the legal …