Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Hilton, No. CRIM. 97-78-P-C (D.Me.) (999 F.Supp. 131) (March 30, 1998) (Judge Gene Carter)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Hilton, No. CRIM. 97-78-P-C (D.Me.) (999 F.Supp. 131) (March 30, 1998) (Judge Gene Carter) by Case held that the Child Pornography Prevention Act was unconstitutional as impermissibly vague and overbroad - although the Court held that it was narrowly tailored to serve the Government's legitimate interests.

U.S. v. Lominac, No. 96-4282 (4th Cir.) (144 F.3d 308) (May 11, 1998) (Judge M. Blane Michael)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Supervised Release - Imposition of New Term

U.S. v. Lominac, No. 96-4282 (4th Cir.) (144 F.3d 308) (May 11, 1998) (Judge M. Blane Michael) by Excellent case that summarizes the law dealing with the authority of the courts to impose new terms of supervised release after an earlier term has been revoked. This case is noted because …

U.S. v. Munoz, No. 96-2797 (2nd Cir.) (143 F.3d 632) (April 22, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Possession or Use of Firearms

U.S. v. Munoz, No. 96-2797 (2nd Cir.) (143 F.3d 632) (April 22, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay) by In defining the charged crime to the jury, the district court stated: "Ignore the word 'carry'. I am simply going to instruct you about use." The majority concluded that "even though the …

U.S. v. LaHue, No. 97-20031-01-JWL (D.Kan.) (998 F.Supp. 1182) (May 28, 1998) (Judge John W. Lungstrum)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Federal Funds

U.S. v. LaHue, No. 97-20031-01-JWL (D.Kan.) (998 F.Supp. 1182) (May 28, 1998) (Judge John W. Lungstrum) by QUOTE OF THE WEEK - The bondage of the "Federal funds" programs. "Congress's enactment of the Jacob Wetterling Act, Pub.L. No. 103-322, Title XVII, § 170101, 108 Stat. 2038 (1994), was another impetus …

Haywood v. Nye, No. Civ. No. 2:95-CV-216C (D.Utah) (999 F.Supp. 1451) (March 24, 1998) (Judge Tena Campbell)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

Haywood v. Nye, No. Civ. No. 2:95-CV-216C (D.Utah) (999 F.Supp. 1451) (March 24, 1998) (Judge Tena Campbell) by Court denied the defendants' motions for qualified immunity based on a palpably false sting operation in which prison officials attempted to punish an employee and his wife for filing a complaint against …

Bass v. Singletary, No. 96-3095 (11th Cir.) (143 F.3d 1442) (June 19, 1998) (Judge Paul H. Roney)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Regulations

Bass v. Singletary, No. 96-3095 (11th Cir.) (143 F.3d 1442) (June 19, 1998) (Judge Paul H. Roney) by Case held that a prison regulation which treated legal papers of one inmate found in the possession of another as contraband did not violate the inmates' right of access to the courts …

U.S. v. Kang, No. 97-3423 (8th Cir.) (143 F.3d 379) (April 23, 1998) (Judge Richard S. Arnold)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Disclosure Obligations

U.S. v. Kang, No. 97-3423 (8th Cir.) (143 F.3d 379) (April 23, 1998) (Judge Richard S. Arnold) by Case held that the Government's statement at sentencing that defendant was not being truthful regarding additional quantities of drugs involved in his offense was not sufficient to bar defendant's eligibility for safety …

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 97-2185 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 104) (May 8, 1998) (Judge Bruce M. Selya)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Factual Disputes/Findings

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 97-2185 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 104) (May 8, 1998) (Judge Bruce M. Selya) by Here the Court confirmed that the Federal Rules of Evidence do not apply at sentencing and that the court may consider evidence that would be inadmissible at trial so long as it …

Byrd v. Hasty, No. 97-2129 (11th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1395) (June 11, 1998) (Judge Richard Mills)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Drug Testing/Treatment Programs

Byrd v. Hasty, No. 97-2129 (11th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1395) (June 11, 1998) (Judge Richard Mills) by This case contains a good review of the holdings of the various Circuits on the validity of Bureau of Prison's (BOP) controversial policies regarding prisoners' eligibility for sentence reductions following completion of the …

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 97-2185 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 104) (May 8, 1998) (Judge Bruce M. Selya)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 97-2185 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 104) (May 8, 1998) (Judge Bruce M. Selya) by Here the Court held that because crack cocaine is chemically indistinguishable from other forms of cocaine base, lay testimony could be used for sentencing purposes to establish the nature of the substance. …

U.S. v. Grossi, No. 97-2723 (7th Cir.) (143 F.3d 348) (May 29, 1998) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Federal Funds

U.S. v. Grossi, No. 97-2723 (7th Cir.) (143 F.3d 348) (May 29, 1998) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook) by Case affirmed a conviction under 18 USC § 666 of an official accused of accepting bribes, even though the fund he managed used no Federal funds, because the court ruled that money …

U.S. v. Phath, No. 97-2213 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 146) (May 20, 1998) (Judge Norman H. Stahl)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, More than Minimal Planning

U.S. v. Phath, No. 97-2213 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 146) (May 20, 1998) (Judge Norman H. Stahl) by This is one of those inscrutable decisions that's kind of hard to figure out. Here, the defendant was convicted of bank fraud after depositing two counterfeit checks in a savings bank and …

U.S. v. Lopez-Bustamante, No. 96-CR-93-S (D.Colo.) (999 F.Supp. 1404) (March 13, 1998) (Judge Magistrate)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Lopez-Bustamante, No. 96-CR-93-S (D.Colo.) (999 F.Supp. 1404) (March 13, 1998) (Judge Magistrate) by Butler v. Apfel, 144 F.3d 622 (9th Cir. 1998) (Per Curiam) Mujahid v. Crabtree, 999 F.Supp. 1398 (D.Or. 1998) (Magistrate Judge) United States v. Lopez-Bustamante, 998 F.Supp. 1404 (D.Colo. 1998) (Magistrate Judge) This trio of …

Gatto v. U.S., No. Crim. No. 92-233-2 (E.D.Pa.) (997 F.Supp. 620) (August 11, 1997) (Judge Jay C. Waldman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Mandatory Minimums

Gatto v. U.S., No. Crim. No. 92-233-2 (E.D.Pa.) (997 F.Supp. 620) (August 11, 1997) (Judge Jay C. Waldman) by Citing U.S. v. Valente, 961 F.2d 133, 135 (9th Cir. 1992), the Court noted that §§ 5K2.0-5K2.15 address departures from the Guideline ranges and not from statutory mandatory minimum sentences. Case …

U.S. v. Ruff, No. CR. 97-172-N (M.D.Ala.) (998 F.Supp. 1351) (March 20, 1998) (Judge Myron H. Thompson)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Ruff, No. CR. 97-172-N (M.D.Ala.) (998 F.Supp. 1351) (March 20, 1998) (Judge Myron H. Thompson) by Of particular note, the decision makes reference to two law review articles on this topic, Marjorie Rifkin, Farmer v. Brennan: Spotlight on an Obvious Risk of Rape in a Hidden World, 26 …

U.S. v. Terry, No. 96-4919 (4th Cir.) (142 F.3d 702) (April 22, 1998) (Judge Karen J. Williams)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Victims - Generally

U.S. v. Terry, No. 96-4919 (4th Cir.) (142 F.3d 702) (April 22, 1998) (Judge Karen J. Williams) by The Court held that, despite the absence of any definition of the term "victim" in § 5K2.3, and the use of various definitions of that term in other sections of the Guidelines, …

U.S. v. Glick, No. 97-1118, No. 1024 (2nd Cir.) (142 F.3d 520) (April 14, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Labor Racketeering

U.S. v. Glick, No. 97-1118, No. 1024 (2nd Cir.) (142 F.3d 520) (April 14, 1998) (Judge Donald P. Lay) by Case held that an agent with a contractually established commision rate is not, without further indicia, a fiduciary to an employee benefits plan for purposes of a § 2E5.1(b)(1) enhancement.

U.S. v. Mohammad, No. 95 C 7428 (N.D.Ill.) (999 F.Supp. 1198) (April 7, 1998) (Judge Robert W. Gettleman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Strickland Standard

U.S. v. Mohammad, No. 95 C 7428 (N.D.Ill.) (999 F.Supp. 1198) (April 7, 1998) (Judge Robert W. Gettleman) by This case is a prime example of how dicta can often be overly broad. The defendant in this case was convicted of multiple counts of bankruptcy fraud, mail and wire fraud, …

U.S. v. Martinez, No. 97-2350 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 189) (June 2, 1998) (Judge Bruce M. Selya)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine

U.S. v. Martinez, No. 97-2350 (1st Cir.) (144 F.3d 189) (June 2, 1998) (Judge Bruce M. Selya) by Case held that the Government had adduced sufficient competent evidence through testimony of chemist that substance was crack cocaine, and not another form of cocaine base, even though they are chemically indistinguishable.

Gatto v. U.S., No. Crim. No. 92-233-2 (E.D.Pa.) (997 F.Supp. 620) (August 11, 1997) (Judge Jay C. Waldman)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Post-Offense Conduct

Gatto v. U.S., No. Crim. No. 92-233-2 (E.D.Pa.) (997 F.Supp. 620) (August 11, 1997) (Judge Jay C. Waldman) by Case firmly held that post-sentence rehabilitative efforts "clearly" do not provide a legal basis for a sentencing departure.