Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Meyer, No. 96-4230 (7th Cir.) (157 F.3d 1067) (September 10, 1998) (Judge Harlington Jr. Wood)

Article • November 1, 1998 • from P&J November, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Meyer, No. 96-4230 (7th Cir.) (157 F.3d 1067) (September 10, 1998) (Judge Harlington Jr. Wood) by Here the Court held that sentencing a defendant for first degree murder, even though the jury only convicted him of conspiring to distribute narcotics, did not violate his rights to due process. …

U.S. v. Brace, No. 96-50352 (5th Cir.) (145 F.3d 247) (June 24, 1998) (Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale)

Article • August 1, 1998 • from P&J August, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Entrapment Defense - Effects of Asserting

U.S. v. Brace, No. 96-50352 (5th Cir.) (145 F.3d 247) (June 24, 1998) (Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale) by Here the Court held than an entrapment defense is "a challenge to criminal intent and thus to culpability" and that a defendant who proceeds to trial asserting that defense is not entitled …

U.S. v. Wright, No. 95-8397 (11th Cir.) (133 F.3d 1412) (January 28, 1998) (Judge Emmett Ripley Cox)

Article • March 1, 1998 • from P&J March, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of

U.S. v. Wright, No. 95-8397 (11th Cir.) (133 F.3d 1412) (January 28, 1998) (Judge Emmett Ripley Cox) by This is an important decision which appears to change radically the grounds upon which a defendant may be denied a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility under the provisions of U.S.S.G. § …

U.S. v. Patel, No. 96-3331 (7th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1195) (December 10, 1997) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner)

Article • February 1, 1998 • from P&J February, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Patel, No. 96-3331 (7th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1195) (December 10, 1997) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner) by Court held that a denial of relevant conduct in this case was not sufficient to warrant a denial of the acceptance of responsibility sentence reduction. In this case, the Court vacated a …

U.S. v. Smith, No. 95-8120 (11th Cir.) (127 F.3d 987) (October 31, 1997) (Judge Joel F. Dubina)

Article • December 1, 1997 • from P&J December, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of

U.S. v. Smith, No. 95-8120 (11th Cir.) (127 F.3d 987) (October 31, 1997) (Judge Joel F. Dubina) by This is one of those shameful decisions that shows how an intemperate Court can create bad law - here the birth of a new, subjective standard by which the availability of the …

U.S. v. Plunkett, No. 96-3140 (D.C. Cir.) (125 F.3d 873) (October 3, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • November 1, 1997 • from P&J November, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Plunkett, No. 96-3140 (D.C. Cir.) (125 F.3d 873) (October 3, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Case held that offense of conviction includes "relevant conduct" for purposes of two-level sentence adjustment contained in Sec. 2D1.1(b)(6). This case examines whether a defendant can qualify for one of the oft-overlooked related benefits …

U.S. v. Dethlefs, No. 96-2071 (1st Cir.) (123 F.3d 39) (August 18, 1997) (Judge Bruce M. Selya)

Article • October 1, 1997 • from P&J October, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Preservation of Judicial Resources

U.S. v. Dethlefs, No. 96-2071 (1st Cir.) (123 F.3d 39) (August 18, 1997) (Judge Bruce M. Selya) by Here the Court rejected a series of extraordinary departures based on acceptance of responsibility, primarily because the defendants agreed to plead guilty shortly before trial, saving the court an "immense load" of …

U.S. v. Salinas, No. 96-21034 (5th Cir.) (122 F.3d 5) (August 26, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • October 1, 1997 • from P&J October, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Salinas, No. 96-21034 (5th Cir.) (122 F.3d 5) (August 26, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Court held that granting an acceptance of responsibilty reduction was not improper even though the defendant failed to accept responsibility for relevant conduct - because there was no evidence that the defendant falsely denied …

U.S. v. Wright, No. 95-8397 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1265) (July 24, 1997) (Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of

U.S. v. Wright, No. 95-8397 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1265) (July 24, 1997) (Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch) by The defendant in this case was charged and convicted of possessing machine guns in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o). The defendant was a member of a militia organization; and, initially, he …

U.S. v. Rector, No. 96-1952 (7th Cir.) (111 F.3d 503) (April 11, 1997) (Judge Daniel A. Manion)

Article • May 1, 1997 • from P&J May, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Entrapment Defense - Effects of Asserting

U.S. v. Rector, No. 96-1952 (7th Cir.) (111 F.3d 503) (April 11, 1997) (Judge Daniel A. Manion) by Here the Court held that an adjustment for acceptance of responsibility, under USSG § 3E1.1, is rarely available to those who assert the defense of entrapment, since that defense by its nature …

U.S. v. Smith, No. 95-8120 (11th Cir.) (106 F.3d 350) (February 20, 1997) (Judge Rosemary Barkett)

Article • March 1, 1997 • from P&J March, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of

U.S. v. Smith, No. 95-8120 (11th Cir.) (106 F.3d 350) (February 20, 1997) (Judge Rosemary Barkett) by The issue in this case was whether a defendant may be denied a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b) when he admits the factual basis for his guilt, but …

U.S. v. Kirkland, No. 94-3180 (D.C. Cir.) (104 F.3d 1403) (January 24, 1997) (Judge Laurence H. Silberman)

Article • March 1, 1997 • from P&J March, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Entrapment Defense - Effects of Asserting

U.S. v. Kirkland, No. 94-3180 (D.C. Cir.) (104 F.3d 1403) (January 24, 1997) (Judge Laurence H. Silberman) by Once again the D.C. Circuit affirmed its hard-and-fast rule that a claim of entrapment defeats any chance of a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. It also strongly …

Joiner v. U.S., No. 95-9344 (11th Cir.) (103 F.3d 961) (January 22, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • February 1, 1997 • from P&J February, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Entrapment Defense - Effects of Asserting

Joiner v. U.S., No. 95-9344 (11th Cir.) (103 F.3d 961) (January 22, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Here the Eleventh Circuit held that the defendant would not have been barred as a matter of law from receiving an adjustment for acceptance of responsibility merely because he asserted an entrapment defense at …

U.S. v. Stokes, No. Cr. No. 95-10379-EFH (D.Mass.) (947 F.Supp. 546) (November 18, 1996) (Judge Edward F. Harrington)

Article • February 1, 1997 • from P&J February, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Stokes, No. Cr. No. 95-10379-EFH (D.Mass.) (947 F.Supp. 546) (November 18, 1996) (Judge Edward F. Harrington) by Here the Court dismissed an indictment based on a number of factors including vindictive prosecution and long pre-indictment delay and rejected the Government's attempt to use relevant conduct as the basis …

U.S. v. Spriggs, No. 94-3067 (D.C. Cir.) (102 F.3d 1245) (December 17, 1996) (Per Curiam)

Article • February 1, 1997 • from P&J February, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Entrapment Defense - Effects of Asserting

U.S. v. Spriggs, No. 94-3067 (D.C. Cir.) (102 F.3d 1245) (December 17, 1996) (Per Curiam) by One of the many issues raised in this case was whether a defendant who asserts the defense of entrapment is entitled to a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. Although …

U.S. v. Smith, No. 95-8120 (11th Cir.) (101 F.3d 98) (December 5, 1996) (Judge Rosemary Barkett)

Article • December 1, 1996 • from P&J December, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of

U.S. v. Smith, No. 95-8120 (11th Cir.) (101 F.3d 98) (December 5, 1996) (Judge Rosemary Barkett) by Here the Court strongly condemned the philosophy that a defendant must meekly and silently "accept any punishment that the government chooses to mete out, however incommensurate with the underlying conduct" to receive a …

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 95-3023 (D.C. Cir.) (97 F.3d 1499) (October 18, 1996) (Judge A. Raymond Randolph)

Article • November 1, 1996 • from P&J November, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Entrapment Defense - Effects of Asserting

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 95-3023 (D.C. Cir.) (97 F.3d 1499) (October 18, 1996) (Judge A. Raymond Randolph) by This case shows one of the penalties of claiming the defense of entrapment. Here, the Court affirmed the district court's decision not to grant any sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility under …

U.S. v. Calhoon, No. 95-8171 (11th Cir.) (97 F.3d 518) (October 16, 1996) (Judge William W. Schwarzer)

Article • November 1, 1996 • from P&J November, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of

U.S. v. Calhoon, No. 95-8171 (11th Cir.) (97 F.3d 518) (October 16, 1996) (Judge William W. Schwarzer) by One of the issues discussed in this case was the defendant's claim that the district court's refusal to grant him an adjustment for acceptance of responsibility after he went to trial amounted …

U.S. v. Forte, No. 95-3076 (D.C. Cir.) (81 F.3d 215) (April 16, 1996) (Judge Stephen F. Williams)

Article • May 1, 1996 • from P&J May, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Forte, No. 95-3076 (D.C. Cir.) (81 F.3d 215) (April 16, 1996) (Judge Stephen F. Williams) by Case suggests that lying about relevant conduct (as opposed to the offense of conviction) may not always be an absolute bar to an acceptance of responsibility sentence adjustment under USSG § 3E1.1. …

U.S. v. Scarano, No. 94-10213 (9th Cir.) (76 F.3d 1471) (February 20, 1996) (Judge William J. Rea)

Article • April 1, 1996 • from P&J April, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevant Conduct

U.S. v. Scarano, No. 94-10213 (9th Cir.) (76 F.3d 1471) (February 20, 1996) (Judge William J. Rea) by Based on the Supreme Court's holding in Witte v. U.S., 515 U.S. 389, the Ninth Circuit reversed its prior precedent and held that double jeopardy is not violated when court considers a …