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Swain v. Spinney, No. 96-2035 (1st Cir.) (117 F.3d 1) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Sandra L. Lynch)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Searches - Body/Strip

Swain v. Spinney, No. 96-2035 (1st Cir.) (117 F.3d 1) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Sandra L. Lynch) by This decision explores the boundaries of municipal liability in civil rights actions based on 43 U.S.C. § 1983 - an issue that is destined to take on increasing importance due to the …

Swain v. Spinney, No. 96-2035 (1st Cir.) (117 F.3d 1) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Sandra L. Lynch)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

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

Swain v. Spinney, No. 96-2035 (1st Cir.) (117 F.3d 1) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Sandra L. Lynch) by This decision explores the boundaries of municipal liability in civil rights actions based on 43 U.S.C. § 1983 - an issue that is destined to take on increasing importance due to the …

U.S. v. Mele, No. 96-1477 (2nd Cir.) (117 F.3d 73) (July 7, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Pre-Probation conduct

U.S. v. Mele, No. 96-1477 (2nd Cir.) (117 F.3d 73) (July 7, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Joining several other circuits, court holds that 18 U.S.C. § 3651 (repealed 1987) permits district courts to revoke probation based on pre-probation conduct.

U.S. v. Barnes, No. 96-2303 (7th Cir.) (117 F.3d 328) (June 11, 1997) (Judge John L. Coffey)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Loss - Calculation/Determination of

U.S. v. Barnes, No. 96-2303 (7th Cir.) (117 F.3d 328) (June 11, 1997) (Judge John L. Coffey) by Here the Court held that in a case involving fraud relating to food stamps, the correct measure of the loss for Guideline sentencing purposes is the value of the benefits diverted from …

U.S. v. Jackson, No. 96-8718 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 533) (July 21, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Statutory Index

U.S. v. Jackson, No. 96-8718 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 533) (July 21, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Case held that the district court improperly sentenced defendant under guideline governing civil rights violations rather than guideline for theft offenses, despite finding that defendant, a former police officer, committed civil rights violations.

U.S. v. Rutgard, No. 95-50309 (9th Cir.) (116 F.3d 1270) (June 4, 1997) (Judge John T. Jr. Noonan)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Retroactivity, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Rutgard, No. 95-50309 (9th Cir.) (116 F.3d 1270) (June 4, 1997) (Judge John T. Jr. Noonan) by Case held that 1990 amendments to Victim and Witness Protection Act, which authorized restitution for conduct beyond the counts of conviction, were substantive changes to the law and could not be …

Freund v. Butterworth, No. 93-5317 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1543) (July 16, 1997) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

Freund v. Butterworth, No. 93-5317 (11th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1543) (July 16, 1997) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat) by This extraordinarily lurid, highly-publicized case is a testimonial to the perseverance of two defense lawyers; and it contains an unusually detailed analysis of the law dealing with prejudicial conflicts of interest between …

U.S. v. Ritter, No. 97-1182 (6th Cir.) (118 F.3d 502) (July 22, 1997) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conditions of

U.S. v. Ritter, No. 97-1182 (6th Cir.) (118 F.3d 502) (July 22, 1997) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore) by Third party notification. This decision rejects a challenge to one of the Guidelines most controversial conditions of supervised release: the requirement that obligates the felon to "notify third parties of risks that …

U.S. v. Shugart, No. 96-40508 (5th Cir.) (117 F.3d 838) (July 14, 1997) (Judge Fortunato P. Benavides)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Good Faith Exception

U.S. v. Shugart, No. 96-40508 (5th Cir.) (117 F.3d 838) (July 14, 1997) (Judge Fortunato P. Benavides) by Here, even though the warrant in question had failed to describe the items to be searched with sufficient particularity, the Court upheld the validity of the search based on the officers' good …

U.S. v. Rios-Favela, No. 96-50128 (9th Cir.) (118 F.3d 653) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Stephen S. Trott)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Aggravated Felony

U.S. v. Rios-Favela, No. 96-50128 (9th Cir.) (118 F.3d 653) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Stephen S. Trott) by Here the Ninth Circuit reversed a 10-level downward departure granted by the district court on the grounds that the defendant's aggravavated felony was not serious enough to warrant a 16-level increase in …

U.S. v. Mena, No. 96-CR-1043-01 (E.D.N.Y.) (968 F.Supp. 115) (July 2, 1997) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Mena, No. 96-CR-1043-01 (E.D.N.Y.) (968 F.Supp. 115) (July 2, 1997) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein) by Once again, Judge Weinstein has granted a significant downward departure in a drug case. The defendant, a 32 year citizen of the Dominican Republic, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs. His base …

U.S. v. Johnson, No. 96-1875 (7th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1010) (June 27, 1997) (Judge Michael S. Kanne)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Grouping

U.S. v. Johnson, No. 96-1875 (7th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1010) (June 27, 1997) (Judge Michael S. Kanne) by In this case the defendant appealed from his sentence, arguing that the district court erred by failing to group a prior mail fraud count with a current tax evasion count as closely …

U.S. v. Granados, No. 96-2670 (8th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1089) (July 8, 1997) (Judge John R. Gibson)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Failure to Make Findings or Articulate Reasons

U.S. v. Granados, No. 96-2670 (8th Cir.) (117 F.3d 1089) (July 8, 1997) (Judge John R. Gibson) by Case held that the failure of the district court to make specific findings that explained contested issue of the quantity of drugs attributable to the defendant required vacation of the sentence and …

U.S. v. Nguyen, No. 95-20889 (5th Cir.) (117 F.3d 796) (July 7, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Nguyen, No. 95-20889 (5th Cir.) (117 F.3d 796) (July 7, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Although the majority rather routinely rejected a challenge based on a failure to prove the interstate commerce element of § 844(I), the case is noted principally for Judge Jones' dissent where she called this …

U.S. v. Atkins, No. 95-3114 (D.C. Cir.) (116 F.3d 1566) (July 11, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration

U.S. v. Atkins, No. 95-3114 (D.C. Cir.) (116 F.3d 1566) (July 11, 1997) (Per Curiam) by One of this issues raised in this case was whether the district court had erred when it granted a downward departure in part because of a "possible miscalculation" in the defendant's prior sentence. The …

U.S. v. Gaviria, No. 95-3124 (D.C. Cir.) (116 F.3d 1498) (June 27, 1997) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Conspiracy, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Gaviria, No. 95-3124 (D.C. Cir.) (116 F.3d 1498) (June 27, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Court observed that, prior to 1995, a defendant convicted of conspiracy could not be sentenced as a career offender. The Court observed that, prior to 1995, a defendant convicted of conspiracy could not be …

U.S. v. Bridges, No. 96-30963 (5th Cir.) (116 F.3d 1110) (June 27, 1997) (Judge Carl E. Stewart)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sentences - Authority to Modify

U.S. v. Bridges, No. 96-30963 (5th Cir.) (116 F.3d 1110) (June 27, 1997) (Judge Carl E. Stewart) by Although many cases show that when the Government wants to have a previously imposed sentence increased the courts will jump through hoops to stretch the law, this case shows that when a …

U.S. v. Lasky, No. CR 97-127 (ADS) (E.D.N.Y.) (967 F.Supp. 749) (June 10, 1997) (Judge Arthur D. Spatt)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Lasky, No. CR 97-127 (ADS) (E.D.N.Y.) (967 F.Supp. 749) (June 10, 1997) (Judge Arthur D. Spatt) by United States v. Fern, 117 F.3d 1298 (11th Cir. 1997) United States v. Lasky, 967 F.Supp. 749 (E.D.N.Y. 1997) Both of these cases deal with the sufficiency of indictments - a …

U.S. v. O'Neil, No. 96-1623, No. 1531 (2nd Cir.) (118 F.3d 65) (June 18, 1997) (Judge Roger J. Miner)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Conflict of Interest

U.S. v. O'Neil, No. 96-1623, No. 1531 (2nd Cir.) (118 F.3d 65) (June 18, 1997) (Judge Roger J. Miner) by In stark contrast to the Freund decision (Freund v. Butterworth, 117 F.3d 1543 (11th Cir. 1997) (Judge Tjoflat) which is noted in this same issue) is this second attorney-client conflict-of-interest …

Agard v. Portuondo, No. 96-2281, No. 336 (2nd Cir.) (117 F.3d 696) (July 3, 1997) (Judge James L. Oakes)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Comments on Defendant's Silence

Agard v. Portuondo, No. 96-2281, No. 336 (2nd Cir.) (117 F.3d 696) (July 3, 1997) (Judge James L. Oakes) by Among the many issues raised in this awful rape case was one intriguing question: whether the prosecutor had violated the defendant's constitutional rights by insinuating to the jury for the …