Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Littlejohn, No. 99-50417 (9th Cir.) (224 F.3d 960) (September 11, 2000) (Judge Stephen S. Trott)

Article • September 1, 2000 • from P&J September, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Core Concerns

U.S. v. Littlejohn, No. 99-50417 (9th Cir.) (224 F.3d 960) (September 11, 2000) (Judge Stephen S. Trott) by Famous quote from State Justice Lummus about the need for guilty pleas and the likely effects on the criminal justice system should the high ratio of guilty pleas decline. QUOTE OF THE …

U.S. v. Gonzalez-Vazquez, No. 98-2108 (1st Cir.) (219 F.3d 37) (July 18, 2000) (Judge Kermit A. Lipez)

Article • August 1, 2000 • from P&J August, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Wired/Linked/Packaged Pleas

U.S. v. Gonzalez-Vazquez, No. 98-2108 (1st Cir.) (219 F.3d 37) (July 18, 2000) (Judge Kermit A. Lipez) by One of the issues raised in this appeal came from one of the defendants, Hector Hernández-Negron, who argued that the government violated his constitutional rights by withdrawing the original plea offer and …

U.S. v. Timbana, No. 97-30001 (9th Cir.) (222 F.3d 688) (July 28, 2000) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon)

Article • July 1, 2000 • from P&J July, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Timbana, No. 97-30001 (9th Cir.) (222 F.3d 688) (July 28, 2000) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon) by Here the Court held that the district court erred by not conducting a sufficiently thorough Rule 11(c) plea colloquy in the case of a brain damaged defendant to determine whether it was …

Hughey v. U.S., No. 89-5691 (U.S. Supreme Court) (495 U.S. 411; 110 S.Ct. 1979) (May 21, 1990) (Justice Marshall)

Article • June 18, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Offense of Conviction

Hughey v. U.S., No. 89-5691 (U.S. Supreme Court) (495 U.S. 411; 110 S.Ct. 1979) (May 21, 1990) (Justice Marshall) by In this case, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count in exchange for dismissal of all other charges. He did not admit to any conduct beyond the count of conviction. …

U.S. v. Whitman, No. 99-6086 (6th Cir.) (209 F.3d 619) (March 24, 2000) (Per Curiam)

Article • April 1, 2000 • from P&J April, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Offense of Conviction

U.S. v. Whitman, No. 99-6086 (6th Cir.) (209 F.3d 619) (March 24, 2000) (Per Curiam) by Once again, the Sixth Circuit has affirmed its minority view among the Circuits that the provisions of U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 are concerned “solely with whether a defendant admits or denies material conduct during her …

U.S. v. Gonzalez, No. 99-1179 (1st Cir.) (202 F.3d 20) (January 24, 2000) (Judge Norman H. Stahl)

Article • March 1, 2000 • from P&J March, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Withdrawal

U.S. v. Gonzalez, No. 99-1179 (1st Cir.) (202 F.3d 20) (January 24, 2000) (Judge Norman H. Stahl) by In this case the defendant attempted to withdraw his plea under Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(e) on the grounds that neither his attorneys nor the district judge advised him that if he pleaded guilty, he …

U.S. v. Hernandez, No. 98-50206 (9th Cir.) (203 F.3d 614) (February 11, 2000) (Judge Stephen Reinhardt)

Article • March 1, 2000 • from P&J March, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Hernandez, No. 98-50206 (9th Cir.) (203 F.3d 614) (February 11, 2000) (Judge Stephen Reinhardt) by Here the Court held that a plea agreement entered after the district court improperly denied the defendant the right to represent himself at trial was not voluntarily entered into and had to be …

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 98-41029 (5th Cir.) (197 F.3d 156) (November 24, 1999) (Judge Henry A. Politz)

Article • January 1, 2000 • from P&J January, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Participation in plea discussions

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 98-41029 (5th Cir.) (197 F.3d 156) (November 24, 1999) (Judge Henry A. Politz) by Here the Fifth Circuit vacated a conviction and sentence after the district court had improperly involved itself in plea discussions in violation of Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(e)(1) - and it sharply defined the permitted …

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 98-41029 (5th Cir.) (197 F.3d 156) (November 24, 1999) (Judge Henry A. Politz)

Article • January 1, 2000 • from P&J January, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Participation in plea discussions

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 98-41029 (5th Cir.) (197 F.3d 156) (November 24, 1999) (Judge Henry A. Politz) by Rule 11(e)(1) of the Fed.R.Crim.P. states that a court shall not participate in any plea agreement discussions. As set forth in the Advisory Committee Notes to that Rule, there are valid reasons …

U.S. v. Hernandez-Wilson, No. 98-1212 (1st Cir.) (186 F.3d 1) (July 23, 1999) (Judge Kermit A. Lipez)

Article • October 1, 1999 • from P&J October, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Hernandez-Wilson, No. 98-1212 (1st Cir.) (186 F.3d 1) (July 23, 1999) (Judge Kermit A. Lipez) by In this case, the defendant withdrew his not guilty plea based on the Government's promise to recommend that that he be sentenced under the "safety valve provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). …

U.S. v. Morales, No. 97-1494 (2nd Cir.) (185 F.3d 74) (July 26, 1999) (Judge Chester J. Straub)

Article • July 1, 1999 • from P&J July, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Withdrawal

U.S. v. Morales, No. 97-1494 (2nd Cir.) (185 F.3d 74) (July 26, 1999) (Judge Chester J. Straub) by Case held that there was insufficient evidence to convict defendants of participation in continuing enterprise based solely on similarity of crimes where defendants spent some eight years in prison without contact with …

U.S. v. Blackwell, No. 97-1143(L) (2nd Cir.) (172 F.3d 129) (March 19, 1999) (Per Curiam)

Article • May 1, 1999 • from P&J May, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Blackwell, No. 97-1143(L) (2nd Cir.) (172 F.3d 129) (March 19, 1999) (Per Curiam) by In the topsy-turvy world of criminal law, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure can be one of its greatest enigmas. While those Rules were created to govern and to bring about an air of …

U.S. v. Andrades, No. 98-1112 (2nd Cir.) (169 F.3d 131) (February 26, 1999) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler)

Article • April 1, 1999 • from P&J April, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Andrades, No. 98-1112 (2nd Cir.) (169 F.3d 131) (February 26, 1999) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler) by The Second Circuit held that the district court's error in failing to advise the defendant of the effect of supervised release at his plea was harmless error. However the district court vacated …

U.S. v. Castaneda, No. 97-40307 (5th Cir.) (162 F.3d 832) (December 9, 1998) (Judge Jacques L. Jr. Wiener)

Article • January 1, 1999 • from P&J January, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Cooperation Agreements

U.S. v. Castaneda, No. 97-40307 (5th Cir.) (162 F.3d 832) (December 9, 1998) (Judge Jacques L. Jr. Wiener) by QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The Chronicles of Criminal Injustices: Chapter 756 - "Pulling the Rug" "It ill behooves government agents and prosecutors to enter into agreements of transactional immunity with …

U.S. v. Alvarez-Tautimez, No. 97-16763 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 573) (November 16, 1998) (Judge A. Wallace Tashima)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Withdrawal

U.S. v. Alvarez-Tautimez, No. 97-16763 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 573) (November 16, 1998) (Judge A. Wallace Tashima) by In 1997, the Supreme Court reversed a long line of Ninth Circuit precedents holding, in U.S. v. Hyde, 520 U.S. 670 (1997), that a criminal defendant does not have an absolute right …

U.S. v. Odedo, No. 97-30095 (9th Cir.) (154 F.3d 937) (August 26, 1998) (Judge Proctor Jr. Hug)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Odedo, No. 97-30095 (9th Cir.) (154 F.3d 937) (August 26, 1998) (Judge Proctor Jr. Hug) by The Court first stated: "We concur with the D.C. Circuit which addressed this issue in United States v. Lyons, 53 F.3d 1321 (D.C. Cir. 1995) and concluded that "[a]ny deviation from the …

U.S. v. Suarez, No. 97-20756 (5th Cir.) (155 F.3d 521) (September 10, 1998) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Withdrawal

U.S. v. Suarez, No. 97-20756 (5th Cir.) (155 F.3d 521) (September 10, 1998) (Per Curiam) by Case held that where defendant admitted only that he was guilty of possession of drugs, and judge failed to inquire whether he understood distribution charge, the plea colloquy was invalid and affected the defendant's …

U.S. v. Standiford, No. 98-1195 (7th Cir.) (148 F.3d 864) (July 10, 1998) (Judge Kenneth F. Ripple)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Withdrawal

U.S. v. Standiford, No. 98-1195 (7th Cir.) (148 F.3d 864) (July 10, 1998) (Judge Kenneth F. Ripple) by This case explores the interplay between Rule 11(e) and 32(e) of the pre-2002 version of the Fed.R.Crim.P. and also discusses the Circuit split on the issue of whether formal acceptance of a …

U.S. v. Gigot, No. 97-3117 (10th Cir.) (147 F.3d 1193) (May 21, 1998) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

U.S. v. Gigot, No. 97-3117 (10th Cir.) (147 F.3d 1193) (May 21, 1998) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour) by Case held that the district court's failure to inform the defendant of the elements of the charges against her and the possible penalties during the plea colloquy rendered the plea involuntary, and …

U.S. v. Toothman, No. 97-50048 (9th Cir.) (137 F.3d 1393) (March 9, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Withdrawal

U.S. v. Toothman, No. 97-50048 (9th Cir.) (137 F.3d 1393) (March 9, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay) by Court held that because he was misinformed about his Guideline sentencing range, that constituted a fair and just reason to allow him to withdraw his plea. This is a telling case in …