Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Patrick V., No. 03-2138 (1st Cir.) (359 F.3d 3) (February 19, 2004) (Judge Frank M. Coffin)

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

Filed under: Restitution, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Patrick V., No. 03-2138 (1st Cir.) (359 F.3d 3) (February 19, 2004) (Judge Frank M. Coffin) by Here the Court upheld a huge restitution order against a juvenile offender, after summarily dismissing his concerns that such an order was so burdensome as to be inimical with the rehabilitative …

U.S. v. Koubriti, No. 01-CR-80778 (E.D.Mich.) (297 F.Supp.2d 955) (January 12, 2004) (Judge Gerald E. Rosen)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Koubriti, No. 01-CR-80778 (E.D.Mich.) (297 F.Supp.2d 955) (January 12, 2004) (Judge Gerald E. Rosen) by The district court conducted a post-trial evidentiary hearing regarding the failure of the Government to disclose, either during pretrial discovery or during the course of the seven-week trial of the captioned case, a …

U.S. v. Carucci, No. 02-2198 (1st Cir.) (364 F.3d 339) (April 13, 2004) (Judge Norman H. Stahl)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sufficiency of Evidence

U.S. v. Carucci, No. 02-2198 (1st Cir.) (364 F.3d 339) (April 13, 2004) (Judge Norman H. Stahl) by In this case the First Circuit overturned the money laundering convictions of a Boston realtor, who sold several parcels of real estate to the notorious gangster Stephen Flemmi, on the grounds that …

Ramirez v. Castro, No. 02-56066 (9th Cir.) (365 F.3d 755) (April 19, 2004) (Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Three Strikes Statutes/Rule

Ramirez v. Castro, No. 02-56066 (9th Cir.) (365 F.3d 755) (April 19, 2004) (Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw) by Here the Court upheld the release of a “three strikes” defendant from prison, after concluding that his nonviolent robbery of a $199 VCR was one of those “exceedingly rare” cases where a …

U.S. v. Lauersen, No. 01-1526(L) (2nd Cir.) (362 F.3d 160) (March 24, 2004) (Judge Jon O. Newman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Substantially Overlapping Enhancements

U.S. v. Lauersen, No. 01-1526(L) (2nd Cir.) (362 F.3d 160) (March 24, 2004) (Judge Jon O. Newman) by In this decision, the Second Circuit affirmed two prior rulings that gave sentencing judges the authority to consider, on remand, a downward departure based on the “cumulative effects” of substantially overlapping enhancement …

U.S. v. Vega, No. 03-13329 (11th Cir.) (365 F.3d 988) (April 8, 2004) (Judge Eugene E. Jr. Siler)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Definitions

U.S. v. Vega, No. 03-13329 (11th Cir.) (365 F.3d 988) (April 8, 2004) (Judge Eugene E. Jr. Siler) by Joining with the Sixth Circuit, the Eleventh Circuit held that the United States Sentencing Commission exceeded its authority in providing an enhancement for crimes involving semi-automatic weapons legally possessed under the …

U.S. v. Kostakis, No. 02-1647 (2nd Cir.) (364 F.3d 45) (April 2, 2004) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler)

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

Filed under: Retroactivity, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Kostakis, No. 02-1647 (2nd Cir.) (364 F.3d 45) (April 2, 2004) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler) by Here the Second Circuit held that the Feeney Amendment to the Protect Act applies to cases pending on appeal when the Act was enacted, because the Act’s change in the standard of …

U.S. v. Prime, No. 02-30375 (9th Cir.) (363 F.3d 1028) (April 16, 2004) (Judge Stephen S. Trott)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Handwriting Analysis and Exemplars

U.S. v. Prime, No. 02-30375 (9th Cir.) (363 F.3d 1028) (April 16, 2004) (Judge Stephen S. Trott) by Joining with six other Circuits (the First, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth and Eleventh), the Ninth Circuit agreed that handwriting expert testimony satisfies the reliability threshholds established under the Daubert and Kumho Tire …

U.S. v. Hahn, No. 01-2301 (10th Cir.) (359 F.3d 1315) (March 4, 2004) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Waiver of Appeal Rights

U.S. v. Hahn, No. 01-2301 (10th Cir.) (359 F.3d 1315) (March 4, 2004) (Per Curiam) by Here the en banc court upheld the validity of appeal waiver provisions in general, and rejected the defendant's claim that such waivers can never be knowing and voluntary; but the Court did establish a …

Sweeney v. Carter, No. 02-2165 (7th Cir.) (361 F.3d 327) (March 15, 2004) (Judge Diane P. Wood)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Sweeney v. Carter, No. 02-2165 (7th Cir.) (361 F.3d 327) (March 15, 2004) (Judge Diane P. Wood) by In 1992, the defendant, Charles Sweeney, entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in which he accepted responsibility for planting a bomb underneath the car of a state detective …

U.S. v. Cruz, No. 02-1458 (2nd Cir.) (363 F.3d 187) (April 2, 2004) (Judge Thomas J. Meskill)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Expert Witnesses/Testimony

U.S. v. Cruz, No. 02-1458 (2nd Cir.) (363 F.3d 187) (April 2, 2004) (Judge Thomas J. Meskill) by In this case the Second Circuit overturned a heroin conviction because a drug agent had been allowed to testify both as a fact witness and as an expert witness, ultimately testifying as …

Cone v. Bell, No. 99-5279 (6th Cir.) (359 F.3d 785) (March 1, 2004) (Judge James L. Ryan)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Cone v. Bell, No. 99-5279 (6th Cir.) (359 F.3d 785) (March 1, 2004) (Judge James L. Ryan) by The long saga of Gary Cone’s efforts to escape the death penalty are nearly legendary by now. A Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Cone was sentenced to death by …

U.S. v. Rouse, No. 02-4956 (4th Cir.) (363 F.3d 256) (March 26, 2004) (Judge William W. Jr. Wilkins)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences

U.S. v. Rouse, No. 02-4956 (4th Cir.) (363 F.3d 256) (March 26, 2004) (Judge William W. Jr. Wilkins) by Adding to a Circuit split on the issue, the Fourth Circuit held that because the district court took relevant conduct into account in determining defendant's offense level, it erred in not …

U.S. v. Tanasi, No. 02 Cr. 0096 (S.D.N.Y.) (2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3331) (March 3, 2004) (Judge Robert W. Sweet)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Tanasi, No. 02 Cr. 0096 (S.D.N.Y.) (2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3331) (March 3, 2004) (Judge Robert W. Sweet) by Here the Court granted a downward departure pursuant to USSG § 5K2.13 to a defendant who pled guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet on the grounds that …

U.S. v. Flores-Montano, No. 02-1794 (U.S. Supreme Court) (541 U.S. 149; 124 S.Ct. 1582) (March 30, 2004) (Justice Rehnquist)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonable Suspicion

U.S. v. Flores-Montano, No. 02-1794 (U.S. Supreme Court) (541 U.S. 149; 124 S.Ct. 1582) (March 30, 2004) (Justice Rehnquist) by Here a unanimous Court held that the Government’s authority to conduct “suspicionless” searches at international borders “includes the authority to remove, disassemble, and reassemble a vehicle’s fuel tank" - and …

U.S. v. Reyna, No. 01-41164 (5th Cir.) (358 F.3d 344) (January 26, 2004) (Judge W. Eugene Davis)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Right of Allocution

U.S. v. Reyna, No. 01-41164 (5th Cir.) (358 F.3d 344) (January 26, 2004) (Judge W. Eugene Davis) by Here, abrogating prior precedent, the en banc court held that the failure to give the defendant his Rule 32 right of allocution to speak in mitigation of his sentence, no longer requires …

U.S. v. Leon H., No. 03-30129 (9th Cir.) (365 F.3d 750) (April 16, 2004) (Judge Proctor Jr. Hug)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Leon H., No. 03-30129 (9th Cir.) (365 F.3d 750) (April 16, 2004) (Judge Proctor Jr. Hug) by Here the Court held that the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 5031, et seq.) assumes that a juvenile will be sentenced based on his or her age at the …

U.S. v. McNeil, No. 02-30039 (9th Cir.) (362 F.3d 570) (March 24, 2004) (Judge Proctor Jr. Hug)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. McNeil, No. 02-30039 (9th Cir.) (362 F.3d 570) (March 24, 2004) (Judge Proctor Jr. Hug) by A defendant who feigned poverty in a request for a court-appointed public defender can’t be prosecuted for lying on a government application, since such applications are part of a “judicial proceeding” and …

U.S. v. Houston, No. 02-20470 (5th Cir.) (364 F.3d 243) (March 16, 2004) (Judge Edith Brown Clement)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Statutory Rape

U.S. v. Houston, No. 02-20470 (5th Cir.) (364 F.3d 243) (March 16, 2004) (Judge Edith Brown Clement) by Here the Court held that it was “clear error” for the district court to have held that statutory rape (at least as defined by Texas) was a qualifying “crime of violence” for …

U.S. v. Plotts, No. 02-4575 (3rd Cir.) (359 F.3d 247) (February 19, 2004) (Judge Thomas L. Ambro)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Right of Allocution

U.S. v. Plotts, No. 02-4575 (3rd Cir.) (359 F.3d 247) (February 19, 2004) (Judge Thomas L. Ambro) by Defendant appealed the decision of the District Court revoking his supervised release and imposing a sentence of imprisonment. Defendant alleged that he was denied the right of allocution at his release revocation …