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U.S. v. Thompson, No. 13-1874 (3rd Cir.) (772 F.3d 752) (November 19, 2014) (Judge Joseph A. Jr. Greenaway)

Article • December 8, 2014 • from P&J December, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Impact of 18 USC § 3501(c)

U.S. v. Thompson, No. 13-1874 (3rd Cir.) (772 F.3d 752) (November 19, 2014) (Judge Joseph A. Jr. Greenaway) by In 2007, Dwayne Thompson, who was driving a pickup truck on an Interstate highway near Amarillo, TX, was stopped by a Texas State Trooper for driving at an excessive speed. During …

U.S. v. Young, No. 13-5714 (6th Cir.) (766 F.3d 621) (September 11, 2014) (Per Curiam)

Article • December 8, 2014 • from P&J December, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Young, No. 13-5714 (6th Cir.) (766 F.3d 621) (September 11, 2014) (Per Curiam) by This is another of the legions of cases that highlight the blatant absurdity of some of our nation’s extreme mandatory minimum sentences. The Court succinctly summed up the plight of the defendant in this …

U.S. v. Husmann, No. 13-2688 (3rd Cir.) ( F.3d ) (September 3, 2014) (Judge Julio M. Fuentes)

Article • December 8, 2014 • from P&J September, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Husmann, No. 13-2688 (3rd Cir.) ( F.3d ) (September 3, 2014) (Judge Julio M. Fuentes) by In this case, a divided panel from the Third Circuit disagreed about whether “the mere act of placing child pornography materials in a shared computer folder, available to other users of a …

Zevallos v. Obama, No. Civ. No. 13-0390 (D.D.C.) (10 F.Supp.3d 111) (January 17, 2014) (Judge Rudolph Contreras)

Article • December 8, 2014 • from P&J December, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act

Zevallos v. Obama, No. Civ. No. 13-0390 (D.D.C.) (10 F.Supp.3d 111) (January 17, 2014) (Judge Rudolph Contreras) by The plaintiff, Fernando Zevallos, was born in Peru in 1957; and he was granted permanent residency status in the United States in 1994. In the early 1990s, Mr. Zevallos and his family …

U.S. v. Hardrick, No. 13-50195 (9th Cir.) (766 F.3d 1051) (September 5, 2014) (Judge Mary H. Marguia)

Article • December 8, 2014 • from P&J September, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Hardrick, No. 13-50195 (9th Cir.) (766 F.3d 1051) (September 5, 2014) (Judge Mary H. Marguia) by Lawson Hardrick was found guilty after a jury trial of two counts of knowingly receiving visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); and …

U.S. v. Courtney, No. CR 11-2860 JB (D.N.M.) (960 F.Supp.2d 1152) (May 21, 2013) (Judge James R. Browning)

Article • December 1, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Nullification

U.S. v. Courtney, No. CR 11-2860 JB (D.N.M.) (960 F.Supp.2d 1152) (May 21, 2013) (Judge James R. Browning) by

Ligon v. City of New York, No. 13-3123-cv (2nd Cir.) (743 F.3d 362) (February 21, 2014) (Per Curiam)

Article • December 1, 2014 • from P&J February, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Ligon v. City of New York, No. 13-3123-cv (2nd Cir.) (743 F.3d 362) (February 21, 2014) (Per Curiam) by [Editor's Note: For a commentary on this decision, see "Stop-and-Frisk Cases to Return to Lower Court," by Mark Hamblett, as published in the New York Law Journal on February 24, 2014 …

U.S. v. Maynard, No. 12-5106 (2nd Cir.) (743 F.3d 374) (February 24, 2014) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs)

Article • December 1, 2014 • from P&J March, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Non-Compensable Expenses

U.S. v. Maynard, No. 12-5106 (2nd Cir.) (743 F.3d 374) (February 24, 2014) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs) by This decision provides an informative overview of the history and growth of restitution within the Federal criminal justice system, as well as a rare judicial pruning of the ever-spreading tentacles of restitution, …

U.S. v. Cortes, No. 12-50137 (9th Cir.) (757 F.3d 850) (March 17, 2013) (Judge Barry G. Silverman)

Article • December 1, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sentencing Entrapment

U.S. v. Cortes, No. 12-50137 (9th Cir.) (757 F.3d 850) (March 17, 2013) (Judge Barry G. Silverman) by See discussion of prior decision reported at U.S. v. Cortes, 732 F.3d 1078 (9th Cir. Oct. 9, 2013) (P&J, 10/21/13). On a rehearing of the prior decision reported at 732 F.3d 1078 …

U.S. v. Gill, No. 12-2207-cr (2nd Cir.) (748 F.3d 491) (May 7, 2014) (Judge Robert A. Katzmann)

Article • December 1, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Section 212(c) Waiver

U.S. v. Gill, No. 12-2207-cr (2nd Cir.) (748 F.3d 491) (May 7, 2014) (Judge Robert A. Katzmann) by [Editor's Note: For a commentary on this decision, see "Circuit Issues Important New Decision on Availability of Relief from Deportation," by Edqard Zas, as posted on the Second Circuit Blog on May …

U.S. v. Hudson, No. 2:13-cr-00126-ODW-3 (C.D.Cal.) (3 F.Supp.3d 772) (March 12, 2014) (Judge Otis D. II Wright)

Article • November 17, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Hudson, No. 2:13-cr-00126-ODW-3 (C.D.Cal.) (3 F.Supp.3d 772) (March 12, 2014) (Judge Otis D. II Wright) by In this case, District Judge Wright used a different theory to attack the Government’s unseemly but growing practice of ensnaring the weak and gullible in its reprehensible plots to get more convictions. …

U.S. v. Medina-Copete, No. 13-2026 (10th Cir.) (757 F.3d 1092) (July 2, 2014) (Judge Carlos Lucero)

Article • November 17, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Daubert Standards

U.S. v. Medina-Copete, No. 13-2026 (10th Cir.) (757 F.3d 1092) (July 2, 2014) (Judge Carlos Lucero) by Every criminal defense lawyer involved in drug cases should remember the name of U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte of the Western District of Texas, a self-described expert witness in the field of the “cultural …

U.S. v. Gomez, No. 12-1104 (7th Cir.) (763 F.3d 845) (August 18, 2014) (Judge Diane S. Sykes)

Article • November 17, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Relevance in a Propensity Free Way

U.S. v. Gomez, No. 12-1104 (7th Cir.) (763 F.3d 845) (August 18, 2014) (Judge Diane S. Sykes) by Federal agents suspected Nicolas Gomez of involvement in a cocaine-distribution ring operating in Chicago and Milwaukee. A wiretap on the phones of Robert Romero, a known Chicago supplier, revealed a reseller named …

U.S. v. Mayfield, No. 11-2439 (7th Cir.) (771 F.3d 417) (November 13, 2014) (Judge Diane S. Sykes)

Article • November 17, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Stash-House Robbery

U.S. v. Mayfield, No. 11-2439 (7th Cir.) (771 F.3d 417) (November 13, 2014) (Judge Diane S. Sykes) by This is an important decision about the availability of the defense of entrapment generally - but particularly in the context of a fake stash-house robbery orchestrated by the Government where its chief …

U.S. v. Bagdy, No. 13-2975 (3rd Cir.) (764 F.3d 297) (August 21, 2014) (Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie)

Article • November 17, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Inheritance

U.S. v. Bagdy, No. 13-2975 (3rd Cir.) (764 F.3d 297) (August 21, 2014) (Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie) by

Mahoney v. Holder, No. C14-794 MJP (W.D.Wash.) ( F.Supp.3d ) (October 17, 2014) (Judge Marsha J. Pechman)

Article • November 3, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Mahoney v. Holder, No. C14-794 MJP (W.D.Wash.) ( F.Supp.3d ) (October 17, 2014) (Judge Marsha J. Pechman) by Although there are nearly two full months left this year for additional decisions, the claims made in this case by the plaintiffs from the Seattle police force were so outlandish and so …

U.S. v. Rivera-Rodriguez, No. 11-1689 (1st Cir.) (761 F.3d 105) (August 4, 2014) (Judge Kermit A. Lipez)

Article • November 3, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Cumulative Effect

U.S. v. Rivera-Rodriguez, No. 11-1689 (1st Cir.) (761 F.3d 105) (August 4, 2014) (Judge Kermit A. Lipez) by Here the Court vacated a conviction because the district court had engaged in repeated “improper judicial intervention” by “taking on the prosecutor’s role” through hostile and prejudicial questioning of witnesses and by …

Williams v. Swarthout, No. 11-57255 (9th Cir.) (771 F.3d 501) (October 23, 2014) (Judge John T. Jr. Noonan)

Article • November 3, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prejudice

Williams v. Swarthout, No. 11-57255 (9th Cir.) (771 F.3d 501) (October 23, 2014) (Judge John T. Jr. Noonan) by In this case, a divided panel from the Ninth Circuit granted habeas relief to the petitioner, Bryant Williams, who was convicted in 2006 by a California state court of three sex-offense …

U.S. v. Salazar, No. 13-20162 (5th Cir.) (751 F.3d 326) (May 2, 2014) (Judge Jerry E. Smith)

Article • November 3, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Directing a Verdict

U.S. v. Salazar, No. 13-20162 (5th Cir.) (751 F.3d 326) (May 2, 2014) (Judge Jerry E. Smith) by The defendant in this case, Juan Salazar, was charged with four counts of multiple drug and firearms offenses; and, at trial, his sole theory of defense was that, while he had initially …

U.S. v. Thum, No. 13-50176 (9th Cir.) (749 F.3d 1143) (April 25, 2013) (Judge Milan D. Jr. Smith)

Article • November 3, 2014 • from P&J November, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Burden of Proof

U.S. v. Thum, No. 13-50176 (9th Cir.) (749 F.3d 1143) (April 25, 2013) (Judge Milan D. Jr. Smith) by In this case, the Court addressed an interesting immigration law issue - namely whether the defendant, Jorge Humberto Thum, encouraged or induced an illegal alien to reside in the United States, …