Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Sanchez-Lima, No. 97-50146 (9th Cir.) (161 F.3d 545) (December 11, 1998) (Judge Alfred T. Goodwin)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Criticism of Government

U.S. v. Sanchez-Lima, No. 97-50146 (9th Cir.) (161 F.3d 545) (December 11, 1998) (Judge Alfred T. Goodwin) by Case is noted for the willingness of the courts to pamper the prosecutors by deleting from the final version of its decision all reference to the name of the individual prosecutor who …

U.S. v. Holloway, No. 3:96-00004 (M.D.Tenn.) (29 F.Supp.2d 435) (December 3, 1998) (Judge Thomas A. Jr. Wiseman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

U.S. v. Holloway, No. 3:96-00004 (M.D.Tenn.) (29 F.Supp.2d 435) (December 3, 1998) (Judge Thomas A. Jr. Wiseman) by The defendant in this case, a white man, moved for discovery of information disclosing racial discrimination in the decision by the Department of Justice selecting the defendant to face the death penalty. …

U.S. v. Navarro, No. 97-16794 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 1254) (November 24, 1998) (Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez)

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

Filed under: Prosecutors, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Navarro, No. 97-16794 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 1254) (November 24, 1998) (Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez) by When reading cases from the Ninth Circuit, it is always important to note the makeup of the panel. To a greater degree than any other Circuit, the outcome of criminal cases in …

U.S. v.DuBose, No. 07-30067 (9th Cir.) (146 F.3d 1141) (June 26, 1998) (Judge Michael Daly Hawkins)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v.DuBose, No. 07-30067 (9th Cir.) (146 F.3d 1141) (June 26, 1998) (Judge Michael Daly Hawkins) by The Court observed: "Although one district court has held that restitution is not punishment, see United States v. Marron, No. CRIM.A.93-90, (E.D. Pa. Nov. 22, 1996), restitution under the MVRA is punishment because …

Ortega v. Roe, No. 97-17232 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 534) (November 2, 1998) (Judge Robert R. Beezer)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Ortega v. Roe, No. 97-17232 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 534) (November 2, 1998) (Judge Robert R. Beezer) by The Court held that its previous decision, U.S. v. Stearns, 68 F.3d 328 (9th Cir. 1995), did not express a "new rule" of law which barred retroactive application on this appeal, and …

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 97-2002 (1st Cir.) (162 F.3d 135) (December 7, 1998) (Judge Juan R. Torruella)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sentencing Disparity

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 97-2002 (1st Cir.) (162 F.3d 135) (December 7, 1998) (Judge Juan R. Torruella) by Here the Court rejected a constitutional challenge that the enormous disparity between sentences given to those who plead guilty versus those who go to trial constituted an impermissible "chilling" of the defendant's …

U.S. v. Vitale, No. 98-5072 (3rd Cir.) (159 F.3d 810) (November 6, 1998) (Judge Dolores K. Sloviter)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Grouping

U.S. v. Vitale, No. 98-5072 (3rd Cir.) (159 F.3d 810) (November 6, 1998) (Judge Dolores K. Sloviter) by The Court held: "This court dealt with a comparable situation in United States v. Astorri, 923 F.2d 1052 (3d Cir. 1991), where defendant, a stockbroker who defrauded various vulnerable investors, pled guilty …

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 97-4181 (7th Cir.) (159 F.3d 296) (October 23, 1998) (Judge Richard A. Posner)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crimes of Violence/Violent Felony

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 97-4181 (7th Cir.) (159 F.3d 296) (October 23, 1998) (Judge Richard A. Posner) by The thorny question of what constitutes a "violent felony" continues to plague the courts; and that question is becoming increasingly important because of a great number of sentencing enhancements that can be …

U.S. v. Burns, No. 98-1271 (1st Cir.) (160 F.3d 82) (November 20, 1998) (Judge Conrad K. Cyr)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Burns, No. 98-1271 (1st Cir.) (160 F.3d 82) (November 20, 1998) (Judge Conrad K. Cyr) by The Court decisively rejected a similar attempt by a defendant to read into a written plea agreement an implied constraint on the government. In this case, ther defendant, in the course of …

Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, No. 98-50302 (5th Cir.) (195 F.3d 242) (November 24, 1999) (Judge Emilio M. Garza)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Probable/Proximate Cause

Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, No. 98-50302 (5th Cir.) (195 F.3d 242) (November 24, 1999) (Judge Emilio M. Garza) by Here a divided en banc court held that no Fourth Amendment violation occurred when the police arrested and booked a mother for driving without a seat belt and failing …

U.S. v. Jones, No. 97-2176 (8th Cir.) (160 F.3d 473) (November 17, 1998) (Judge Roger L. Wollman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prosecutorial Misconduct

U.S. v. Jones, No. 97-2176 (8th Cir.) (160 F.3d 473) (November 17, 1998) (Judge Roger L. Wollman) by This case deals with disproportionate sentences that result from the plea bargaining process; but here the Eighth Circuit looked at the issues raised in a decidedly different manner than the First Circuit …

U.S. v. Orozco, No. 97-8213 (11th Cir.) (160 F.3d 1309) (November 17, 1998) (Judge Stanley F. Jr. Birch)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Orozco, No. 97-8213 (11th Cir.) (160 F.3d 1309) (November 17, 1998) (Judge Stanley F. Jr. Birch) by Here the 11th Circuit followed the majority rule that a defendant is not eligible for a Rule 35(b) sentence reduction filed more than a year after sentencing, even if the Government …

U.S. v. MacAllister, No. 97-2144 (11th Cir.) (160 F.3d 1304) (November 16, 1998) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jurisdiction - Extraterritorial

U.S. v. MacAllister, No. 97-2144 (11th Cir.) (160 F.3d 1304) (November 16, 1998) (Per Curiam) by Here the Court held that the cocaine conspiracy statute could be applied extraterritorially to the defendant who was a Canadian citizen so long as his actions produced some effect in the U.S. or some …

U.S. v. Woods, No. 98-1884WM (8th Cir.) (159 F.3d 1132) (November 5, 1998) (Judge Richard S. Arnold)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Applicable Guidelines Issues

U.S. v. Woods, No. 98-1884WM (8th Cir.) (159 F.3d 1132) (November 5, 1998) (Judge Richard S. Arnold) by In this case the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's downward departure, achieved by the court's refusal to apply the severe money laundering Guidelines to a defendant, because the Court did not …

U.S. v. Sanchez-Rodriguez, No. 97-10238 (9th Cir.) (161 F.3d 556) (November 20, 1998) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Delays in Prosecution of Case

U.S. v. Sanchez-Rodriguez, No. 97-10238 (9th Cir.) (161 F.3d 556) (November 20, 1998) (Judge Betty Binns Fletcher) by One of the issues considered by the en banc court in this case was the Government's claim that the district court erred in departing downward based on the fact that, because of …

Lee v. Coughlin, No. 93 Civ. 8417 (SS) (S.D.N.Y.) (26 F.Supp.2d 615) (October 27, 1998) (Judge Sonia Sotomayor)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Lee v. Coughlin, No. 93 Civ. 8417 (SS) (S.D.N.Y.) (26 F.Supp.2d 615) (October 27, 1998) (Judge Sonia Sotomayor) by This lengthy decision is noted, in part, because Judge Sotomayor is frequently rumored to be a front-runner for the next vacancy on the Supreme Court, and, in part, because it delves …

U.S. v. Partlow, No. 97-50617 (9th Cir.) (159 F.3d 1218) (November 18, 1998) (Judge Edward Leavy)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Application Instructions

U.S. v. Partlow, No. 97-50617 (9th Cir.) (159 F.3d 1218) (November 18, 1998) (Judge Edward Leavy) by The Court emphasized that § 1B1.1(b) requires the sentencing court to "determine the base offense level and apply any specific offender characteristics . . . Contained in the particular guideline in Chapter Two …

Ghana v. Pearce, No. 97-35588 (9th Cir.) (159 F.3d 1206) (November 5, 1998) (Judge J. Clifford Wallace)

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

Filed under: Interstate Corrections Compact, Punch And Jurists

Ghana v. Pearce, No. 97-35588 (9th Cir.) (159 F.3d 1206) (November 5, 1998) (Judge J. Clifford Wallace) by Here the Ninth Circuit held that officials' alleged violation of the Interstate Corrections Compact could not provide a basis for a civil rights action under 42 U.S.S. § 1883. Here, citing Cuyler …

U.S. v. Hsia, No. Crim. No. 98-0057(PLF) (D.D.C.) (24 F.Supp.2d 14) (August 13, 1998) (Judge Paul L. Friedman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Surplusage

U.S. v. Hsia, No. Crim. No. 98-0057(PLF) (D.D.C.) (24 F.Supp.2d 14) (August 13, 1998) (Judge Paul L. Friedman) by This decision is one of three related decisions by Judge Friedman addressing a series of pretrial motions filed in a high-profile illegal campaign contribution case. Because there were allegations that the …

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 98-3002 (D.C. Cir.) (158 F.3d 1291) (October 6, 1998) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 98-3002 (D.C. Cir.) (158 F.3d 1291) (October 6, 1998) (Per Curiam) by In this case the district court first reduced the defendant's criminal history category under the provisions of § 4A1.3 on the grounds that it significantly overrepresented the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history. Then …