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U.S. v. Castillo, No. 11-2792 (7th Cir.) (695 F.3d 672) (August 22, 2012) (Judge Richard A. Posner)

Article • September 3, 2012 • from P&J September, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Standards for Determining

U.S. v. Castillo, No. 11-2792 (7th Cir.) (695 F.3d 672) (August 22, 2012) (Judge Richard A. Posner) by Any defense counsel who has ever sought to challenge a Government request for an above-Guidelines sentence knows that the task is not only daunting, it can be downright confusing - a fact …

U.S. v. Shippley, No. 11-1076 (10th Cir.) (690 F.3d 1192) (August 14, 2012) (Judge Neil M. Gorsuch)

Article • September 3, 2012 • from P&J September, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Shippley, No. 11-1076 (10th Cir.) (690 F.3d 1192) (August 14, 2012) (Judge Neil M. Gorsuch) by Anthony Shippley, who served as the “Sergeant at Arms” for a chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, was tried on various drug conspiracy charges. As the Court then explained: “At the end …

U.S. v. Skinner, No. 09-6497 (6th Cir.) (690 F.3d 772) (August 14, 2012) (Judge John M. Rogers)

Article • September 3, 2012 • from P&J September, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Warrantless Searches

U.S. v. Skinner, No. 09-6497 (6th Cir.) (690 F.3d 772) (August 14, 2012) (Judge John M. Rogers) by In U.S. v. Jones, 565 U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 945 (2012), the Supreme Court unanimously held that physically attaching a GPS tracking device to a vehicle constitutes a search under the Fourth …

Shelton v. Secretary, Dept. of Corrections, No. 11-13515 (11th Cir.) ( F.3d ) (August 24, 2012) (Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham)

Article • September 3, 2012 • from P&J September, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Mens Rea

Shelton v. Secretary, Dept. of Corrections, No. 11-13515 (11th Cir.) ( F.3d ) (August 24, 2012) (Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham) by Because the foundations of our criminal justice system, which date back to the earliest days of common law, are so well established, it is rare to see a debate …

U.S. v. Burge, No. 11-3495 (7th Cir.) (683 F.3d 829) (June 27, 2012) (Judge Clyde H. Hamilton)

Article • September 3, 2012 • from P&J September, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Misdemeanors and Petty Offenses

U.S. v. Burge, No. 11-3495 (7th Cir.) (683 F.3d 829) (June 27, 2012) (Judge Clyde H. Hamilton) by This case is a good example of how blind adherence to the Guidelines paint-by-the-numbers philosophy can lead to absurd results that defy common sense. Fortunately, at least in this case, wisdom and …

Bell v. Howes, No. 2:06-CV-15086 (E.D.Mich.) (841 F.Supp.2d 1018) (January 18, 2012) (Judge Arthur Tarnow)

Article • September 3, 2012 • from P&J September, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Use of Marijuana

Bell v. Howes, No. 2:06-CV-15086 (E.D.Mich.) (841 F.Supp.2d 1018) (January 18, 2012) (Judge Arthur Tarnow) by Here the Court held that the fact that a person, who was on release due to the grant of a conditional writ of habeas corpus, tested positive on five separate occasions to marijuana was …

U.S. v. Owens, No. 10-15877 (11th Cir.) (682 F.3d 1358) (June 8, 2012) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 20, 2012 • from P&J August, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Expert and Opinion Evidence/Testimony

U.S. v. Owens, No. 10-15877 (11th Cir.) (682 F.3d 1358) (June 8, 2012) (Per Curiam) by Despite the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to establish a new rule requiring courts to evaluate eyewitness evidence made in a suggestive setting before it is submitted to the jury (see, Perry v. New Hampshire, …

U.S. v. Neff, No. 10-3336 (10th Cir.) (681 F.3d 1135) (June 5, 2012) (Judge Mary Beck Briscoe)

Article • August 20, 2012 • from P&J August, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, TerryStops

U.S. v. Neff, No. 10-3336 (10th Cir.) (681 F.3d 1135) (June 5, 2012) (Judge Mary Beck Briscoe) by In City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 531 U.S. 32 (2000), the Supreme Court held that a police program of setting up suspicionless roadblocks at random checkpoints to catch possible drug offenders violates …

U.S. v. Burwell, No. 06-3070 (D.C. Cir.) (690 F.3d 500) (August 3, 2012) (Judge Janice Rogers Brown)

Article • August 20, 2012 • from P&J August, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Machine Guns

U.S. v. Burwell, No. 06-3070 (D.C. Cir.) (690 F.3d 500) (August 3, 2012) (Judge Janice Rogers Brown) by In its excellent amicus brief filed in this case, the NACDL framed the issue before the Court as follows: “This case addresses the important question of the level of scienter required by …

Floyd v. City of New York, No. 08 Civ. 1034 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y.) (910 F.Supp.2d 506) (August 17, 2012) (Judge Shira A. Scheindlin)

Article • August 20, 2012 • from P&J February, 2014

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Floyd v. City of New York, No. 08 Civ. 1034 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y.) (910 F.Supp.2d 506) (August 17, 2012) (Judge Shira A. Scheindlin) by For some time, we have been following with interest the course of this class action lawsuit against the City of New York, in which the plaintiffs have …

U.S. v. Reibel, No. 11-3416 (7th Cir.) (688 F.3d 868) (August 6, 2012) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 20, 2012 • from P&J August, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Lack of Empirical Support for Guidelines Sentence

U.S. v. Reibel, No. 11-3416 (7th Cir.) (688 F.3d 868) (August 6, 2012) (Per Curiam) by Even though many sentences for child pornography crimes already exceed, by a wide margin, the sentences imposed for most murders, rapes and armed bank robberies, the courts seem reluctant to correct that disparity; and …

U.S. v. Mahaffy, No. 09-5349-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (693 F.3d 113) (August 2, 2012) (Judge Barrington D. Jr. Parker)

Article • August 20, 2012 • from P&J August, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Evidence - Failure to Disclose

U.S. v. Mahaffy, No. 09-5349-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (693 F.3d 113) (August 2, 2012) (Judge Barrington D. Jr. Parker) by Here the Court issued a stinging rebuke to Federal prosecutors for their failure to comply with their disclosure obligations under Brady v. Maryland, after concluding that “on multiple occasions" they had …

City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, No. 99-1030 (U.S. Supreme Court) (531 U.S. 32; 121 S.Ct. 447) (November 28, 2000) (Justice O'Connor)

Article • August 17, 2012 • from P&J November, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, General Law Enforcement Objectives

City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, No. 99-1030 (U.S. Supreme Court) (531 U.S. 32; 121 S.Ct. 447) (November 28, 2000) (Justice O'Connor) by In August, 1998, the Indianapolis Police Department began a practice of setting up roadblocks at random checkpoints - "to interrupt the flow of illegal drugs throughout the city," …

U.S. v. Ferro, No. 10-55734 (9th Cir.) (681 F.3d 1105) (June 11, 2012) (Judge Carlos T. Bea)