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U.S. v. Rozier, No. 08-17061 (11th Cir.) (598 F.3d 768) (March 4, 2010) (Per Curiam)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Rozier, No. 08-17061 (11th Cir.) (598 F.3d 768) (March 4, 2010) (Per Curiam) by It has been some 20 months since the Supreme Court issued its historic ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (June 26, 2008), declaring that the Second Amendment provides an individual …

Johnson v. U.S., No. 08-6925 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 133; 130 S.Ct. 1265) (March 2, 2010) (Justice Scalia)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Johnson v. U.S., No. 08-6925 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 133; 130 S.Ct. 1265) (March 2, 2010) (Justice Scalia) by Here a divided Court held that because Florida’s felony battery statute does not have the use of “physical force” as an element, it does not constitute a “violent felony” for …

In Re: Amy, No. 09-41238 (5th Cir.) (591 F.3d 792) (December 21, 2009) (Judge W. Eugene Davis)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

In Re: Amy, No. 09-41238 (5th Cir.) (591 F.3d 792) (December 21, 2009) (Judge W. Eugene Davis) by Here, a divided Court held that the district court was not "indisputably wrong" when it declined to order restitution on the grounds that the Government had failed to prove that the defendant's …

Bull v. City and County of San Francisco, No. 05-17080 (9th Cir.) (596 F.3d 964) (February 9, 2010) (Judge Sandra S. Ikuta)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Strip Searches, Punch And Jurists

Bull v. City and County of San Francisco, No. 05-17080 (9th Cir.) (596 F.3d 964) (February 9, 2010) (Judge Sandra S. Ikuta) by Here a bitterly divided en banc Court rejected a facial challenge to a San Francisco blanket cavity strip-search policy for individuals about to be housed in the …

U.S. v. MacPherson, No. 08-1829-cr (CON) (2nd Cir.) (590 F.3d 215) (December 30, 2009) (Per Curiam)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Pimentel Letters

U.S. v. MacPherson, No. 08-1829-cr (CON) (2nd Cir.) (590 F.3d 215) (December 30, 2009) (Per Curiam) by In this case, the defendant argued that the government violated a Pimentel-like non-binding plea agreement by advocating for a sentence higher than the estimate contained in the agreement. In the majority opinion, the …

Thaler v. Haynes, No. 09-273 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 43; 130 S.Ct. 1171) (February 22, 2010) (Per Curiam)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Demeanor Based Explanations

Thaler v. Haynes, No. 09-273 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 43; 130 S.Ct. 1171) (February 22, 2010) (Per Curiam) by In another of its growing list of cases that are decided without full briefing or argument, the Supreme Court held, in this unsigned opinion, that a trial judge need not …

Florida v. Powell, No. 08-1175 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 50; 130 S.Ct. 1195) (February 23, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Florida v. Powell, No. 08-1175 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 50; 130 S.Ct. 1195) (February 23, 2010) (Justice Ginsburg) by In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that Tampa police officers adequately warned a criminal suspect of his Miranda rights when they advised him that he had “the right to …

Maryland v. Shatzer, No. 08-680 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 98; 130 S.Ct. 1213) (February 24, 2010) (Justice Scalia)

Article • March 8, 2010 • from P&J March, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Edwards v. Arizona Rule

Maryland v. Shatzer, No. 08-680 (U.S. Supreme Court) (559 U.S. 98; 130 S.Ct. 1213) (February 24, 2010) (Justice Scalia) by In its landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 467 (1966), the Court adopted the first of a series of prophylactic measures to protect a suspect's Fifth Amendment …

Watts v. Indiana, No. 610 (U.S. Supreme Court) (338 U.S. 49; 69 S.Ct. 1347) (June 27, 2049) (Justice Frankfurter)

Article • March 7, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

Watts v. Indiana, No. 610 (U.S. Supreme Court) (338 U.S. 49; 69 S.Ct. 1347) (June 27, 2049) (Justice Frankfurter) by Here the Court reversed a conviction based on a coerced confession given after the defendant had been held incommunicado for more than four days - on that ground that such …

Colorado v. Bertine, No. 85-889 (U.S. Supreme Court) (479 U.S. 367; 107 S.Ct. 738) (January 14, 1987) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • February 28, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Standardized Criteria

Colorado v. Bertine, No. 85-889 (U.S. Supreme Court) (479 U.S. 367; 107 S.Ct. 738) (January 14, 1987) (Justice Rehnquist) by The defendant in this case was arrested and his van was inventoried and impounded by police. The van was inventoried pursuant to standardized police procedures, which required a detailed inspection …

U.S. v. Sayad, No. 08-1366 (10th Cir.) (589 F.3d 1110) (December 22, 2009) (Judge Michael R. Murphy)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sentence of Probation

U.S. v. Sayad, No. 08-1366 (10th Cir.) (589 F.3d 1110) (December 22, 2009) (Judge Michael R. Murphy) by Here the Court affirmed a sentence of probation after stating that the sentence imposed by a sentencing judge will be deemed to be substantively unreasonable only if it is “arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, …

U.S. v. Ordones-Soto, No. A-09-CR-590-SS (W.D.Tex.) ( F.Supp.2d ) (February 5, 2010) (Judge Sam Sparks)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists

U.S. v. Ordones-Soto, No. A-09-CR-590-SS (W.D.Tex.) ( F.Supp.2d ) (February 5, 2010) (Judge Sam Sparks) by Here the Court blasted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its practice of prosecuting illegal aliens who have no significant criminal history - a practice, he wrote, that was not only expensive, but was unreasonable …

U.S. v. Riley, No. 09-CR-20221 (S.D.Fla.) (655 F.Supp.2d 1298) (September 4, 2009) (Judge James Lawrence King)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

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

U.S. v. Riley, No. 09-CR-20221 (S.D.Fla.) (655 F.Supp.2d 1298) (September 4, 2009) (Judge James Lawrence King) by As we have frequently noted, sentences in child pornography cases continue to escalate like topsy. As Judge King noted in the instant decision, during the period from 1994 to 2007, the mean sentence …

U.S. v. Lemus, No. 08-50403 (9th Cir.) (596 F.3d 512) (February 18, 2010) (Per Curiam)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Warrantless Searches

U.S. v. Lemus, No. 08-50403 (9th Cir.) (596 F.3d 512) (February 18, 2010) (Per Curiam) by It is indeed fitting that this decision was published the day before the Justice Department finally decided to release the Office of Professional Responsibility’s Final Report, dated July 29, 2009, showing the results of …

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (593 F.3d 1095) (February 2, 2010) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Reasonableness of Departure/Sentence

U.S. v. Ressam, No. 09-30000 (9th Cir.) (593 F.3d 1095) (February 2, 2010) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon) by In this third reversal of a below-Guidelines sentence for the Millennium Bomber, the Court vacated a 22-year sentence as both procedurally and substantively unreasonable - a ruling that some commentarors said was …

Agredano v. U.S., No. 2008-5114 (Fed. Cir.) (598 F.3d 1278) (February 17, 2010) (Judge Haldane Robert Mayer)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal

Agredano v. U.S., No. 2008-5114 (Fed. Cir.) (598 F.3d 1278) (February 17, 2010) (Judge Haldane Robert Mayer) by Because the Federal Circuit has no jurisdiction over criminal cases (it primarily deals with patent and trademark appeals and appeals from the Federal Court of Claims), we rarely review cases from this …

U.S. v. Polouizzi, No. 06-CR-22 (JBW) (E.D.N.Y.) (687 F.Supp.2d 133) (January 20, 2010) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J April, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Nullification

U.S. v. Polouizzi, No. 06-CR-22 (JBW) (E.D.N.Y.) (687 F.Supp.2d 133) (January 20, 2010) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein) by Following the conviction of Peter Polouizzi (who is sometimes also referred to as Peter Polizzi) on eleven counts of possession of child pornography and twelve counts of receipt of child pornography, Judge …

U.S. v. Engle, No. 08-4497 (4th Cir.) (592 F.3d 495) (January 13, 2010) (Judge William B. Jr. Traxler)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Sentence of Probation

U.S. v. Engle, No. 08-4497 (4th Cir.) (592 F.3d 495) (January 13, 2010) (Judge William B. Jr. Traxler) by Here the Court rejected as both procedurally and substantively unreasonable a sentence of probation imposed on a defendant convicted of tax evasion, largely because the sentencing court failed to consider the …

U.S. v. Frankel, No. 06-1752-cr (2nd Cir.) (589 F.3d 566) (December 21, 2009) (Per Curiam)

Article • February 22, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Pro Se Issues

U.S. v. Frankel, No. 06-1752-cr (2nd Cir.) (589 F.3d 566) (December 21, 2009) (Per Curiam) by In a wire fraud prosecution, the court of appeals' prior order relieving appointed counsel as a sanction for defendant's misconduct is vacated where the order was not preceded by notice to defendant and an …

U.S. v. Cunningham, No. 1:09CR154 (N.D.Ohio) (680 F.Supp.2d 844) (January 26, 2010) (Judge John R. Adams)

Article • February 8, 2010 • from P&J February, 2010

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

U.S. v. Cunningham, No. 1:09CR154 (N.D.Ohio) (680 F.Supp.2d 844) (January 26, 2010) (Judge John R. Adams) by As readers of this newsletter are well aware, in recent years there has been an increasing number of Federal judges who have been outspoken in their criticism of the constantly escalating prison sentences …