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U.S. v. Zuk, No. 16-4727 (4th Cir.) (874 F.3d 398) (October 24, 2017) (Judge Paul V. Niemeyer)

Article • January 15, 2018 • from P&J January, 2018

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reciprocal Obligations for the Government

U.S. v. Zuk, No. 16-4727 (4th Cir.) (874 F.3d 398) (October 24, 2017) (Judge Paul V. Niemeyer) by Here the Court addressed an interesting question about appellate waivers in plea agreements, namely whether the Government should be imlicitely barred from filing an appeal when the defendant has agreed to waive …

Hulen, No. 16-30160 (9th Cir.) (879 F.3d 1015) (January 10, 2018) (Judge Richard R. Clifton)

Article • January 15, 2018 • from P&J January, 2018

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Not Deemed a Criminal Case

Hulen, No. 16-30160 (9th Cir.) (879 F.3d 1015) (January 10, 2018) (Judge Richard R. Clifton) by Here the Court held that admissions made by a defendant during his mandatory sex-offender treatment may be used against him to revoke his supervised release because revocation proceedings are not a "criminal case" for …

U.S. v. Wells, No. 14-30146 (9th Cir.) (879 F.3d 900) (January 11, 2018) (Judge Donald E. Walter)

Article • January 15, 2018 • from P&J January, 2018

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Profiling Evidence

U.S. v. Wells, No. 14-30146 (9th Cir.) (879 F.3d 900) (January 11, 2018) (Judge Donald E. Walter) by Here the Court held that districy court committed reversible error by allowing the Government to use criminal profile testimony as substantive evidence of guilt without regard to Rules 403, 404(a)(1) and 404(b) …

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 16-98 (D.D.C.) (255 F.Supp.3d 100) (June 28, 2017) (Judge Coleen Kollar-Kotelly)

Article • January 15, 2018 • from P&J January, 2018

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Legitimate Medical Purpose

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 16-98 (D.D.C.) (255 F.Supp.3d 100) (June 28, 2017) (Judge Coleen Kollar-Kotelly) by U.S. v. Robinson, 255 F.Supp.3d 199 (D.D.C. June 15, 2017) (District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly) U.S. v. Robinson, 258 F.Supp.3d 87 (D.D.C. June 28, 2017) (District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly) These two decisions are part of …

U.S. v. Poulson, No. 16-1224 (3rd Cir.) (871 F.3d 261) (September 14, 2017) (Judge Marjorie O. Rendell)

Article • December 18, 2017 • from P&J December, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Substantial Financial Hardship

U.S. v. Poulson, No. 16-1224 (3rd Cir.) (871 F.3d 261) (September 14, 2017) (Judge Marjorie O. Rendell) by We highlight this case because it is the first appellate case we have seen to explore in a meaningful way the purpose and effect of U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(2)(A)-(H), a recent Guidelines Amendment …

Bacall v. Stoddard, No. 16-2668 (6th Cir.) (2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 24382) (November 29, 2017) (Judge David W. McKeague)

Article • December 18, 2017 • from P&J December, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Bacall v. Stoddard, No. 16-2668 (6th Cir.) (2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 24382) (November 29, 2017) (Judge David W. McKeague) by This habeas decison is noted for Judge Daughtrey’s powerful concurrence in which she all but conceded that Federal habeas relief is virtually impossible any more under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 …

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 15-4098 (6th Cir.) (862 F.3d 760) (June 14, 2017) (Judge John M. Rogers)

Article • December 18, 2017 • from P&J December, 2017

Filed under: Discrimination, Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 15-4098 (6th Cir.) (862 F.3d 760) (June 14, 2017) (Judge John M. Rogers) by We close out our review of 2017 cases with a gem of a dissent by another Sixth Circuit Judge - Bernice B. Donald - who has given us an inspiring and spirited …

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 16-CR-323-002 (E.D.N.Y.) ( F.Supp.3d ) (December 7, 2017) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein)

Article • December 18, 2017 • from P&J December, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Mandatory Minimums

U.S. v. Rivera, No. 16-CR-323-002 (E.D.N.Y.) ( F.Supp.3d ) (December 7, 2017) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein) by Here Judge Weinstein issued another classic sentencing decision in which he complained about the severity and rigidness of today’s mandatory minimum sentences and bemoaned the “lack of sentencing alternatives” for young violent criminals. …

U.S. v. Adams, No. 16-2786 (6th Cir.) (873 F.3d 512) (October 11, 2017) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore)

Article • December 18, 2017 • from P&J December, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Unreliable and Unsubstantiated Assertions

U.S. v. Adams, No. 16-2786 (6th Cir.) (873 F.3d 512) (October 11, 2017) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore) by Ernest Adams is a seventy-one-year-old opiate addict with an extensive criminal history of approximately 20 convictions. All of those prior convictions were closely linked to Adams’ substance-abuse problems. While on supervised release …

U.S. v. Singh, No. 16-1111-cr (2nd Cir.) (877 F.3d 107) (December 12, 2017) (Judge Denny Chin)

Article • December 18, 2017 • from P&J December, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Substantively Unreasonable

U.S. v. Singh, No. 16-1111-cr (2nd Cir.) (877 F.3d 107) (December 12, 2017) (Judge Denny Chin) by This is a model Guidelines sentencing decision filled with nuggets of pure gold in which the district judge (Katherine Forrest of the S.D.N.Y.) was sharply rebuked for imposing an above-Guidelines sentence in an …

Watson v. U.S., No. 16-655(L) (2nd Cir.) (865 F.3d 123) (July 31, 2017) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs)

Article • December 1, 2017 • from P&J July, 2017

Filed under: Damages, Punch And Jurists

Watson v. U.S., No. 16-655(L) (2nd Cir.) (865 F.3d 123) (July 31, 2017) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs) by This wrongful-detention immigration case presents a striking and disturbing illustration of the critical need for an overhaul of the patchwork of U.S. immigration laws and their uneven enforcement that leave even the …

U.S. v. Silver, No. 16-1615-cr (2nd Cir.) (864 F.3d 102) (July 13, 2017) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes)

Article • December 1, 2017 • from P&J July, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Post McDonnell v. U.S.

U.S. v. Silver, No. 16-1615-cr (2nd Cir.) (864 F.3d 102) (July 13, 2017) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes) by The Supreme Court’s recent decision in McDonnell v. U.S., 579 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 2355 (2016), continues to wreak havoc with prosecutors’ attempts to rein in politicians accused of wide-scale bribery, …

U.S. v. Jones, No. 15-1518-cr (2nd Cir.) (878 F.3d 10) (October 5, 2017) (Judge John M. Jr. Walker)

Article • December 1, 2017 • from P&J October, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Jones, No. 15-1518-cr (2nd Cir.) (878 F.3d 10) (October 5, 2017) (Judge John M. Jr. Walker) by This decision is noted as an example of the crocodile tears often shed by Federal judges after endorsing a Guideline sentence that is admittedly absurd and unjust, perhaps as a way …

U.S. v. Conti, No. 16-898-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (864 F.3d 63) (July 19, 2017) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes)

Article • December 1, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Compelled Testimony

U.S. v. Conti, No. 16-898-cr(L) (2nd Cir.) (864 F.3d 63) (July 19, 2017) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes) by Judge Cabranes explained the setting of this case in his opening paragraph, where he wrote: “This case—the first criminal appeal related to the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") to reach this (or …

U.S. v. Conley, No. 15-3442 (7th Cir.) (875 F.3d 391) (November 14, 2017) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner)