Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Richardson, No. 05-7005-cr (2nd Cir.) (516 F.3d 145) (February 15, 2008) (Judge Roger J. Miner)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Sentence

U.S. v. Richardson, No. 05-7005-cr (2nd Cir.) (516 F.3d 145) (February 15, 2008) (Judge Roger J. Miner) by Sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, which was substantially reduced premised on defendant's substantial assistance with the government, is vacated and remanded where: 1) the sentence departed approximately 93% …

U.S. v. Villanueva-Sotelo, No. 07-3055 (D.C. Cir.) (515 F.3d 1234) (February 15, 2008) (Judge David S. Tatel)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Mens Rea Element

U.S. v. Villanueva-Sotelo, No. 07-3055 (D.C. Cir.) (515 F.3d 1234) (February 15, 2008) (Judge David S. Tatel) by Here, creating a conflict with three other Circuits, a divided Court ruled that the mens rea element of the aggravated identity theft statute (18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1)) was ambiguous; and it therefore …

Almendarez-Torres v. U.S., No. 96-6839 (U.S. Supreme Court) (523 U.S. 224; 118 S.Ct. 1219) (March 24, 1998) (Justice Breyer)

Article • February 14, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prior Conviction Exception

Almendarez-Torres v. U.S., No. 96-6839 (U.S. Supreme Court) (523 U.S. 224; 118 S.Ct. 1219) (March 24, 1998) (Justice Breyer) by In a decision that the Court has subsequently described as "at best an exceptional departure from [our] historic practice," (see Jones v. U.S., 526 U.S. 227 (1999)), the Court confronted …

Castaneda v. U.S., No. CV 07-07241 DDP (C.D.Cal.) (538 F.Supp.2d 1279) (March 11, 2008) (Judge Dean D. Pregerson)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Medical Care/Treatment

Castaneda v. U.S., No. CV 07-07241 DDP (C.D.Cal.) (538 F.Supp.2d 1279) (March 11, 2008) (Judge Dean D. Pregerson) by Here the Court denied a defense motion to dismiss a Bivens action against a number of individual Public Health Service defendants, holding that the law did not preclude such actions for …

U.S. v. Grant, No. CR 05-813 JSL (C.D.Cal.) (524 F.Supp.2d 1204) (November 30, 2007) (Judge J. Spencer Letts)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Mandatory Minimums

U.S. v. Grant, No. CR 05-813 JSL (C.D.Cal.) (524 F.Supp.2d 1204) (November 30, 2007) (Judge J. Spencer Letts) by Although this decision seems to have been ignored by most commentators, it is an extremely important sentencing decision in which Judge Letts held that the ten year mandatory minimum sentence contained …

Clark v. Perez, No. 06-5340-pr (2nd Cir.) (510 F.3d 382) (January 3, 2008) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Pro Se Issues

Clark v. Perez, No. 06-5340-pr (2nd Cir.) (510 F.3d 382) (January 3, 2008) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs) by In case where petitioner was convicted of second degree murder, robbery, and lesser crimes in state court, judgment of district court granting petitioner a writ of habeas corpus is reversed where: 1) …

Ogunwomoju v. U.S., No. 06-3734-pr (2nd Cir.) (512 F.3d 69) (January 7, 2008) (Judge Roger J. Miner)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immigration Detention

Ogunwomoju v. U.S., No. 06-3734-pr (2nd Cir.) (512 F.3d 69) (January 7, 2008) (Judge Roger J. Miner) by Where 28 U.S.C.S. § 2254 petition challenging alien's state court conviction was filed after alien served his state court sentence and while alien was in immigration custody as consequence of state court …

U.S. v. Hudspeth, No. 05-3316 (8th Cir.) (518 F.3d 954) (March 11, 2008) (Judge William J. Riley)

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

Filed under: Computers, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Hudspeth, No. 05-3316 (8th Cir.) (518 F.3d 954) (March 11, 2008) (Judge William J. Riley) by The Eighth Circuit, sitting en banc, reversed a panel's holding that was reported at U.S. v. Hudspeth, 459 F.3d 922 (8th Cir. Mo. Aug. 25, 2006) ("Hudspeth I"). This appeal addresses whether …

U.S. v. Molina, No. 06-CR-482 (JG) (E.D.N.Y.) (541 F.Supp.2d 530) (February 28, 2008) (Judge John Gleeson)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, False Equivalencies

U.S. v. Molina, No. 06-CR-482 (JG) (E.D.N.Y.) (541 F.Supp.2d 530) (February 28, 2008) (Judge John Gleeson) by This decision is noted for Judge Gleeson’s candid and sharp criticism of the Guidelines’ Drug Equivalency Tables (herein the “DE Tables”), which are required to be used in cases involving more than one …

Medellin v. Texas, No. 06-984 (U.S. Supreme Court) (552 U.S. 491; 128 S.Ct. 1346) (March 25, 2008) (Justice (John G.) Roberts)

Article • February 1, 2008 • from P&J March, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Enforceable Rights/Remedies

Medellin v. Texas, No. 06-984 (U.S. Supreme Court) (552 U.S. 491; 128 S.Ct. 1346) (March 25, 2008) (Justice (John G.) Roberts) by Here the Court held that neither a ruling by the World Court nor a directive by the President, both aimed at enforcing a consular rights treaty signed by …

Snyder v. Louisiana, No. 06-10119 (U.S. Supreme Court) (552 U.S. 472; 128 S.Ct. 1203) (March 19, 2008) (Justice Alito)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Selection

Snyder v. Louisiana, No. 06-10119 (U.S. Supreme Court) (552 U.S. 472; 128 S.Ct. 1203) (March 19, 2008) (Justice Alito) by Allen Snyder, an African-American, was convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder in a Louisiana state court and he was sentenced to death. In the jury selection process, there were nine …

U.S. v. Kahn, No. MJ-07-536-JPD (W.D.Wash.) (524 F.Supp.2d 1278) (December 18, 2007) (Judge Magistrate)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Statutory Interpretation

U.S. v. Kahn, No. MJ-07-536-JPD (W.D.Wash.) (524 F.Supp.2d 1278) (December 18, 2007) (Judge Magistrate) by This is an interesting decision involving an issue of first impression nationwide under the bail release provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act of 2006 (the “Walsh Act”). The defendant, Mark Kahn, was …

U.S. v. Torres-Gonzalez, No. 07-170 (JAG) (D.Puerto Rico) (526 F.Supp.2d 210) (November 30, 2007) (Judge Jay A. Garcia-Gregory)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prejudicial Surplusage

U.S. v. Torres-Gonzalez, No. 07-170 (JAG) (D.Puerto Rico) (526 F.Supp.2d 210) (November 30, 2007) (Judge Jay A. Garcia-Gregory) by Rule 7(d) of the Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(d) states that a defendant may move to strike “surplusage” from an indictment. The Rule is silent, however, as to what constitutes “surplusage,” although the accompanying …

U.S. v. DeMott, No. 05-4285-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (513 F.3d 55) (January 15, 2008) (Per Curiam)

Article • February 1, 2008 • from P&J March, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Different Judge

U.S. v. DeMott, No. 05-4285-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (513 F.3d 55) (January 15, 2008) (Per Curiam) by Order resentencing defendant following his guilty plea to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over one thousand kilograms of marijuana is vacated where the court violated: 1) defendant's right to be …

Yusupov v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., No. 05-4232 (3rd Cir.) (518 F.3d 185) (March 14, 2008) (Judge Thomas L. Ambro)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Security Threat

Yusupov v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., No. 05-4232 (3rd Cir.) (518 F.3d 185) (March 14, 2008) (Judge Thomas L. Ambro) by Here the Third Circuit held that an alien who "may pose" a danger to national security is not necessarily the same as an alien who "is" a danger …

U.S. v. Nacchio, No. 07-1311 (10th Cir.) (519 F.3d 1140) (March 17, 2008) (Judge Michael W. McConnell)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Exclusion of Witnesses at Trial

U.S. v. Nacchio, No. 07-1311 (10th Cir.) (519 F.3d 1140) (March 17, 2008) (Judge Michael W. McConnell) by Joseph Nacchio, the former CEO of Qwest Communications International, Inc., was charged with 42 counts of insider trading in an indictment that accused him of selling Qwest stock between January and May …

In Re Motion For Release of Court Records, No. Misc. 07-01 (F.I.S.C.) (526 F.Supp.2d 484) (December 11, 2007) (Judge John D. Bates)

Article • February 1, 2008 • from P&J March, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)

In Re Motion For Release of Court Records, No. Misc. 07-01 (F.I.S.C.) (526 F.Supp.2d 484) (December 11, 2007) (Judge John D. Bates) by In this case, the ACLU sought release of what it identifies as court orders and government pleadings regarding a program of surveillance of suspected international terrorists by …

U.S. v. Liddell, No. 07-1337 (8th Cir.) (517 F.3d 1007) (February 25, 2008) (Judge James B. Loken)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Public Safety Exception

U.S. v. Liddell, No. 07-1337 (8th Cir.) (517 F.3d 1007) (February 25, 2008) (Judge James B. Loken) by Here the Court joined a Circuit split by holding that statements made to the police by a defendant who has been placed under arrest but has not been given any Miranda warnings …

Sample v. Miles, No. 05-50624 (5th Cir.) (239 Fed.Appx. 14) (February 9, 2007) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Sample v. Miles, No. 05-50624 (5th Cir.) (239 Fed.Appx. 14) (February 9, 2007) (Per Curiam) by Here the Court the Court affirmed a sanction against an Assistant U.S. Attorney for a discovery violation; but then elected to report its ruling as an unpublished decision where it cannot be cited as …

Safeco Insurance Co. v. Burr, No. 06-84 (U.S. Supreme Court) (551 U.S. 47; 127 S.Ct. 2201) (June 4, 2007) (Justice Souter)

Article • January 24, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Safeco Insurance Co. v. Burr, No. 06-84 (U.S. Supreme Court) (551 U.S. 47; 127 S.Ct. 2201) (June 4, 2007) (Justice Souter) by In a widely splintered decision, but with all nine Justices joining in the result, the Court ruled that a company can be found to have willfully violated the …