Search | 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)

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 …

U.S. v. Bailey, No. 06-CR-232 (JFB) (E.D.N.Y.) (468 F.Supp.2d 373) (September 6, 2006) (Judge Joseph F. Bianco)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Arrest Incident to Search

U.S. v. Bailey, No. 06-CR-232 (JFB) (E.D.N.Y.) (468 F.Supp.2d 373) (September 6, 2006) (Judge Joseph F. Bianco) by Judge Bianco was appointed to the bench in January of 2006; and, by virtue of his long service in the Department of Justice, he too could be considered a Bush loyalist. He …

U.S. v. Gordon, No. 04-6384 (10th Cir.) (480 F.3d 1205) (March 28, 2007) (Judge Paul J. Jr. Kelly)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Offense of Conviction

U.S. v. Gordon, No. 04-6384 (10th Cir.) (480 F.3d 1205) (March 28, 2007) (Judge Paul J. Jr. Kelly) by Here the Court held (a) that a defendant who signed a waiver of appellate rights did not waive her right to challenge a restitution order which she claimed was unlawful under …

U.S. v. Amerson, No. 05-1423-cr (2nd Cir.) (483 F.3d 73) (April 4, 2007) (Judge Guido Calabresi)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, 2004 DNA Act

U.S. v. Amerson, No. 05-1423-cr (2nd Cir.) (483 F.3d 73) (April 4, 2007) (Judge Guido Calabresi) by Almost more certain than death and taxes is the inevitably of Congress taking a popular statute and milking it, time and time again, to create an ever expanding mantle of Governmental regulation over …

U.S. v. Spano, No. 06-1562 (7th Cir.) (476 F.3d 476) (February 7, 2007) (Judge Richard A. Posner)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Spano, No. 06-1562 (7th Cir.) (476 F.3d 476) (February 7, 2007) (Judge Richard A. Posner) by Here the Court held that a sentencing court has no obligation to consider that defendant was a police officer (and thus subject to harsher treatment in prison) when imposing sentence. The three …

U.S. v. Clay, No. 06-10088 (11th Cir.) (483 F.3d 739) (April 3, 2007) (Judge William H. Jr. Pryor)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Objective Risk Assessment

U.S. v. Clay, No. 06-10088 (11th Cir.) (483 F.3d 739) (April 3, 2007) (Judge William H. Jr. Pryor) by John Clay was convicted at trial of possession of pseudoephedrine, with reasonable cause to believe it would be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. He was also acquitted of a more …

U.S. v. Heredia, No. 03-10585 (9th Cir.) (481 F.3d 1188) (April 2, 2007) (Judge Alex Kozinski)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowledge of Illegality

U.S. v. Heredia, No. 03-10585 (9th Cir.) (481 F.3d 1188) (April 2, 2007) (Judge Alex Kozinski) by The question whether one can “knowingly” possess drugs without having actual knowledge of it has always vexed defense counsel - and has even confused the courts. More than 30 years ago, the Ninth …

McClish v. Nugent, No. 06-11826 (11th Cir.) (483 F.3d 1231) (April 11, 2007) (Judge Stanley Marcus)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Warrants - Requirements/Scope/Exceptions

McClish v. Nugent, No. 06-11826 (11th Cir.) (483 F.3d 1231) (April 11, 2007) (Judge Stanley Marcus) by Under the Fourth Amendment, officers typically need a warrant in order to arrest a suspect inside his home. The question that divided this Eleventh Circuit panel was whether the police can grab a …

U.S. v. McGriff, No. 04-CR-966 (E.D.N.Y.) (468 F.Supp.2d 445) (January 8, 2007) (Judge Frederic Block)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Pre-Trial Detainees

U.S. v. McGriff, No. 04-CR-966 (E.D.N.Y.) (468 F.Supp.2d 445) (January 8, 2007) (Judge Frederic Block) by In a rare ruling, Judge Block ordered the BOP to remove a pre-trial detainee from administrative segragation, concluding its actions in placing him here were not rationally related to a claimed investigation and excessive …

In Re: Iraq and Afghanistan Detainees Litigation, No. 06-0145 (D.D.C.) (479 F.Supp.2d 85) (March 27, 2007) (Judge Thomas F. Hogan)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Torture

In Re: Iraq and Afghanistan Detainees Litigation, No. 06-0145 (D.D.C.) (479 F.Supp.2d 85) (March 27, 2007) (Judge Thomas F. Hogan) by In this 58-page decision, Judge Thomas Hogan of the D.D.C. threw out a lawsuit against former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and three officers in the United States …

U.S. v. Askew, No. 04-3092 (D.C. Cir.) (482 F.3d 532) (April 6, 2007) (Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Scope of Permissible Searches

U.S. v. Askew, No. 04-3092 (D.C. Cir.) (482 F.3d 532) (April 6, 2007) (Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh) by Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals in May of 2006, Judge Brett Kavanaugh served as an associate counsel to President Bush for three years, and then, from 2003 to …

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 …

U.S. v. Howard, No. 03-50524 (9th Cir.) (480 F.3d 1005) (March 27, 2007) (Judge Mary M. Schroeder)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Pre-Trial Detainees

U.S. v. Howard, No. 03-50524 (9th Cir.) (480 F.3d 1005) (March 27, 2007) (Judge Mary M. Schroeder) by For the third time in two years, the Ninth Circuit has considered whether a district-wide policy that requires all pretrial detainees making their first appearance before a magistrate judge to wear leg …

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. Powell, No. 05-3047 (D.C. Cir.) (483 F.3d 836) (April 17, 2007) (Judge Douglas Ginsburg)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Searches - Incident to Arrest

U.S. v. Powell, No. 05-3047 (D.C. Cir.) (483 F.3d 836) (April 17, 2007) (Judge Douglas Ginsburg) by In U.S. v. Powell, 451 F.3d 682 (D.C. Cir. June 23, 2006) (“Powell I”), a divided panel held that a warrantless “search incident to arrest” can only take place after an arrest. After …

U.S. v. Garcia-Carrasquillo, No. 05-1684 (1st Cir.) (483 F.3d 124) (April 3, 2007) (Judge Juan R. Torruella)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reversible Error

U.S. v. Garcia-Carrasquillo, No. 05-1684 (1st Cir.) (483 F.3d 124) (April 3, 2007) (Judge Juan R. Torruella) by A year prior to this decisions, the First Circuit issued an en banc decision in U.S. v. Jiménez-Beltre, 440 F.3d 514 (1st Cir. March 9, 2006) (P&J, 02/06/06) “to provide stable guidance …

U.S. v. Watson, No. 04-3082 (D.C. Cir.) (483 F.3d 828) (April 13, 2007) (Judge Judith W. Rogers)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Physically Disabled Jurors

U.S. v. Watson, No. 04-3082 (D.C. Cir.) (483 F.3d 828) (April 13, 2007) (Judge Judith W. Rogers) by The principal question in this appeal was whether a prosecutor's peremptory challenge of two visually impaired jurors was lawful under the rule of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). Under the …

U.S. v. Black, No. 05-10640 (9th Cir.) (482 F.3d 1035) (April 9, 2007) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Emergency Aid Doctrine

U.S. v. Black, No. 05-10640 (9th Cir.) (482 F.3d 1035) (April 9, 2007) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher) by The United States District Court for the District of Nevada denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence of a gun and defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession. Defendant was sentenced …

U.S. v. Wen, No. 06-1385 (7th Cir.) (477 F.3d 896) (February 21, 2007) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook)

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

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

U.S. v. Wen, No. 06-1385 (7th Cir.) (477 F.3d 896) (February 21, 2007) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook) by In this case, a panel from the Seventh Circuit unanimously rejected the defendant’s argument that evidence gathered under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA") cannot be used in domestic criminal investigations or prosecutions. …