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U.S. v. Stewart, No. 06-5015-cr (L) (2nd Cir.) (597 F.3d 514) (February 23, 2010) (Per Curiam)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Sentence

U.S. v. Stewart, No. 06-5015-cr (L) (2nd Cir.) (597 F.3d 514) (February 23, 2010) (Per Curiam) by [Editor's Note: For a commentary on this ruling, see "2nd Circuit Denies En Banc Review of Lynne Stewart's Sentence," by Mark Hamblett, as published in the New York Law Journal on February 24, …

U.S. v. Navas, No. 09-1144-cr (2nd Cir.) (597 F.3d 492) (March 8, 2010) (Judge Richard C. Wesley)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Automobile Exception

U.S. v. Navas, No. 09-1144-cr (2nd Cir.) (597 F.3d 492) (March 8, 2010) (Judge Richard C. Wesley) by In a drug conspiracy prosecution, the district court's order, suppressing narcotics seized by law enforcement officers during a warrantless search of a trailer, is reversed where the search was lawful under the …

U.S. v. Mitchell, No. 2:09cr105 (W.D.Pa.) (681 F.Supp.2d 597) (November 6, 2009) (Judge David Stewart Cercone)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act

U.S. v. Mitchell, No. 2:09cr105 (W.D.Pa.) (681 F.Supp.2d 597) (November 6, 2009) (Judge David Stewart Cercone) by In this noteworthy and well-reasoned opinion, District Judge David Cercone ruled that a key provision of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, which is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 14135a, et …

U.S. v. Diaz, No. 09-CR-305 (E.D.Wisc.) (720 F.Supp.2d 139) (June 30, 2010) (Judge Lynn S. Adelman)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

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

U.S. v. Diaz, No. 09-CR-305 (E.D.Wisc.) (720 F.Supp.2d 139) (June 30, 2010) (Judge Lynn S. Adelman) by In U.S. v. Cunningham, 680 F.Supp.2d 844 (N.D.Ohio Jan. 26, 2010) (P&J, 02/08/10), District Judge John Adams joined the growing debate about the fairness of the constantly escalating sentences recommended by the Guidelines …

U.S. v. Ghailani, No. S10 98 Crim. 1023 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y.) (751 F.Supp.2d 515) (July 12, 2010) (Judge Lewis A. Kaplan)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Intelligence Assets

U.S. v. Ghailani, No. S10 98 Crim. 1023 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y.) (751 F.Supp.2d 515) (July 12, 2010) (Judge Lewis A. Kaplan) by On August 7, 1998, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania were destroyed by truck bombs within minutes of each other. …

Bailey v. Pakaki, No. 08 Civ. 8563 (JSR) (S.D.N.Y.) (722 F.Supp.2d 443) (July 6, 2010) (Judge Jed S. Rakoff)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Civil Commitment, Punch And Jurists

Bailey v. Pakaki, No. 08 Civ. 8563 (JSR) (S.D.N.Y.) (722 F.Supp.2d 443) (July 6, 2010) (Judge Jed S. Rakoff) by During the period between 1998 and 2005, former New York State Governor George Pataki made repeated attempts to get the New York State Legislature to enact legislation providing for the …

Al-Adahi v. Obama, No. 09-5333 (D.C. Cir.) (613 F.3d 1101) (July 13, 2010) (Judge A. Raymond Randolph)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Standards for Determining

Al-Adahi v. Obama, No. 09-5333 (D.C. Cir.) (613 F.3d 1101) (July 13, 2010) (Judge A. Raymond Randolph) by Here the Court reversed, as "manifestly incorrect," a habeas petition granted by Judge Kessler for a Guantanamo detainee and suggested a new and far-reaching habeas standard of "some evidence" for all the …

U.S. v. Skoien, No. 08-3770 (7th Cir.) (614 F.3d 638) (July 13, 2010) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook)

Article • July 26, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence

U.S. v. Skoien, No. 08-3770 (7th Cir.) (614 F.3d 638) (July 13, 2010) (Judge Frank H. Easterbrook) by Steven Skoien had two prior convictions for misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. While he was on probation for the second of those convictions, he was found in possession of some guns. He …

Bensayah v. Obama, No. 08-5537 (D.C. Cir.) (610 F.3d 718) (June 28, 2010) (Judge Douglas Ginsburg)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sufficiency of Evidence

Bensayah v. Obama, No. 08-5537 (D.C. Cir.) (610 F.3d 718) (June 28, 2010) (Judge Douglas Ginsburg) by Here the Court reversed a lower court ruling that had denied habeas relief to another Guantanamo detainee, after finding that the Government had changed its legal theories and had presented “no direct evidence” …

McDonald v. City of Chicago, No. 08-1521 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 742; 130 S.Ct. 3020) (June 28, 2010) (Justice Alito)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

McDonald v. City of Chicago, No. 08-1521 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 742; 130 S.Ct. 3020) (June 28, 2010) (Justice Alito) by Here, by a 5-4 vote, Court held for the first time that state and local gun regulations must comport with the Second Amendment’s guarantee of an individual’s right …

Black v. U.S., No. 08-876 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 465; 130 S.Ct. 2896) (June 24, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Black v. U.S., No. 08-876 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 465; 130 S.Ct. 2896) (June 24, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg) by Skilling v. U.S., No. 08-1394 (U.S. Sup. Ct. June 24, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg) Black v. U.S., No. 08-876 (U.S. Sup. Ct. June 24, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg) Weyhrauch v. U.S., No. …

Magwood v. Patterson, No. 09-158 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 320; 130 S.Ct. 2788) (June 24, 2010) (Justice Thomas)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Exceptions

Magwood v. Patterson, No. 09-158 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 320; 130 S.Ct. 2788) (June 24, 2010) (Justice Thomas) by In another decision involving the still controversial Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), a divided Court held that, when a criminal defendant succeeds in having his original …

U.S. v. Woods, No. 09-CR-1012-LRR (N.D.Iowa) (689 F.Supp.2d 1102) (March 3, 2010) (Judge Linda R. Reade)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Woods, No. 09-CR-1012-LRR (N.D.Iowa) (689 F.Supp.2d 1102) (March 3, 2010) (Judge Linda R. Reade) by Here the Court held that, like mandatory restitiution under 18 U.S.C. § 2259, discretionary restitution under 18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)(3) to victims of child pornography also requires proof of proximate causation of damages. …

Skilling v. U.S., No. 08-1394 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 358; 130 S.Ct. 2896) (June 24, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Skilling v. U.S., No. 08-1394 (U.S. Supreme Court) (561 U.S. 358; 130 S.Ct. 2896) (June 24, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg) by Here the Court cut back significantly on the scope of Federal prosecutions for “honest services” wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1346, holding that honest-services fraud must be limited to …

Bryan v. MacPherson, No. 08-55622 (9th Cir.) (608 F.3d 614) (June 18, 2010) (Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw)

Article • July 12, 2010 • from P&J July, 2010

Filed under: Excessive Force, Punch And Jurists

Bryan v. MacPherson, No. 08-55622 (9th Cir.) (608 F.3d 614) (June 18, 2010) (Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw) by In Bryan v. MacPherson, 590 F.3d 767 (9th Cir. Dec. 28, 2010) (P&J, 12-07-09) (“Bryan I”), a panel from the Ninth Circuit issued one of the most compelling and comprehensive rulings to …

U.S. v. Awan, No. 07-4315-cr (L) (2nd Cir.) (607 F.3d 306) (June 14, 2010) (Judge Debra Ann Livingston)

Article • July 1, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Awan, No. 07-4315-cr (L) (2nd Cir.) (607 F.3d 306) (June 14, 2010) (Judge Debra Ann Livingston) by Defendant's conspiracy to commit murder sentence is vacated and remanded where the district court erred by denying the government's request for imposition of a terrorism enhancement because the district court failed …

Abdah v. Obama, No. Civ. No. 04-1254 (HHK) (D.D.C.) (717 F.Supp.2d 21) (May 26, 2010) (Judge Henry H. Jr. Kennedy)

Article • June 28, 2010 • from P&J June, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sufficiency of Evidence

Abdah v. Obama, No. Civ. No. 04-1254 (HHK) (D.D.C.) (717 F.Supp.2d 21) (May 26, 2010) (Judge Henry H. Jr. Kennedy) by From its outset, the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has created a political, moral, legal and public relations disaster for the United States. The justifications used to …

U.S. v. Savoca, No. 08-4610-cr (2nd Cir.) (596 F.3d 154) (February 25, 2010) (Judge Richard W. Goldberg)

Article • June 28, 2010 • from P&J June, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Obstruction of Justice

U.S. v. Savoca, No. 08-4610-cr (2nd Cir.) (596 F.3d 154) (February 25, 2010) (Judge Richard W. Goldberg) by Defendant's amended sentence for attempted robbery is affirmed where: 1) an obstruction of justice enhancement applied to conduct that occurred with respect to an otherwise closely related case, such as that of …

Dolan v. U.S., No. 09-367 (U.S. Supreme Court) (560 U.S. 605; 130 S.Ct. 2533) (June 14, 2010) (Justice Breyer)

Article • June 28, 2010 • from P&J June, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Dolan v. U.S., No. 09-367 (U.S. Supreme Court) (560 U.S. 605; 130 S.Ct. 2533) (June 14, 2010) (Justice Breyer) by Here the Court held, by a 5-4 vote, that even when a sentencing court misses the statutory deadline for making an order of restitution, as set forth in 18 U.S.C. …

Holland v. Florida, No. 09-5327 (U.S. Supreme Court) (560 U.S. 631; 130 S.Ct. 2549) (June 14, 2010) (Justice Breyer)

Article • June 28, 2010 • from P&J June, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Holland v. Florida, No. 09-5327 (U.S. Supreme Court) (560 U.S. 631; 130 S.Ct. 2549) (June 14, 2010) (Justice Breyer) by In this 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court delivered a rare victory to a death penalty inmate, holding that his lawyer’s negligence and misconduct may entitle the inmate to an “equitable …