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Pinkerton v. U.S., No. 719 (U.S. Supreme Court) (328 U.S. 640; 66 S.Ct. 1180) (June 10, 2046) (Justice Douglas)

Article • October 5, 2007

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

Pinkerton v. U.S., No. 719 (U.S. Supreme Court) (328 U.S. 640; 66 S.Ct. 1180) (June 10, 2046) (Justice Douglas) by In this case the Court held that a party to a continuing conspiracy may be responsible for a substantive offense committed by a co-conspirator pursuant to and in furtherance of …

U.S. v. Colon-Solis, No. 01-1773 (1st Cir.) (354 F.3d 101) (January 8, 2004) (Judge Bruce M. Selya)

Article • December 1, 2003 • from P&J December, 2003

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Colon-Solis, No. 01-1773 (1st Cir.) (354 F.3d 101) (January 8, 2004) (Judge Bruce M. Selya) by Here the Court held that, when imposing a mandatory minimum sentence on individual defendants in a drug conspiracy case, it is error to automatically attribute to each defendant the quantity of drugs …

U.S. v. Mannino, No. 98-1748 (3rd Cir.) (212 F.3d 835) (May 15, 2000) (Judge Theodore A. McKee)

Article • July 1, 2000 • from P&J July, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Mannino, No. 98-1748 (3rd Cir.) (212 F.3d 835) (May 15, 2000) (Judge Theodore A. McKee) by This is an instructive case dealing with motions to vacate, set aside or correct sentences pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The two defendants in this case were convicted for their roles …

U.S. v. Gallo, No. 98-4381 (11th Cir.) (195 F.3d 1278) (November 17, 1999) (Judge Stanley Marcus)

Article • December 1, 1999 • from P&J December, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Gallo, No. 98-4381 (11th Cir.) (195 F.3d 1278) (November 17, 1999) (Judge Stanley Marcus) by In this case, the Eleventh Circuit held that there are different standards that apply to the use of the two-level sentence enhancement called for by U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1). For defendants who were actually …

U.S. v. Clavijo, No. 97-5197 (11th Cir.) (165 F.3d 1341) (January 29, 1999) (Per Curiam)

Article • March 1, 1999 • from P&J March, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Clavijo, No. 97-5197 (11th Cir.) (165 F.3d 1341) (January 29, 1999) (Per Curiam) by In this case the Eleventh Circuit addressed the question of whether a defendant can be precluded from receiving a "safety valve" sentence reduction under U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2 based on co-conspirator liability. The facts established …

U.S. v. Hull, No. 97-20557 (5th Cir.) (160 F.3d 265) (November 10, 1998) (Judge Jerry E. Smith)

Article • December 1, 1998 • from P&J December, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Hull, No. 97-20557 (5th Cir.) (160 F.3d 265) (November 10, 1998) (Judge Jerry E. Smith) by Ten years after the Sentencing Guidelines became binding on all sentences imposed in the Federal system, the courts still struggle with the concept that a person can be convicted of one crime …

U.S. v. Whitecotton, No. 97-30108 (9th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1194) (April 29, 1998) (Judge Robert Boochever)

Article • July 1, 1998 • from P&J July, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Whitecotton, No. 97-30108 (9th Cir.) (142 F.3d 1194) (April 29, 1998) (Judge Robert Boochever) by Case held that evidence did not support finding that drug sales made by defendant's friend to Government agent were jointly undertaken by defendant so as to justify attribution to the defendant.

U.S. v. Melton, No. 97-6028 (10th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1400) (December 15, 1997) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour)

Article • February 1, 1998 • from P&J February, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Melton, No. 97-6028 (10th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1400) (December 15, 1997) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour) by This case is noted because the Tenth Circuit vacated the defendant's sentence on two grounds. First, it held that the district court had erred by improperly attributing to the defendant acts of …

U.S. v. Thompson, No. 96-30394 (5th Cir.) (122 F.3d 304) (September 23, 1997) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Thompson, No. 96-30394 (5th Cir.) (122 F.3d 304) (September 23, 1997) (Per Curiam) by Although the Court affirmed that a conviction under § 924(c) could be justified based on the Pinkerton doctrine of co-conspirator liability, it reversed the conviction here based on the factual record of this case. …

U.S. v. Thompson, No. 96-30394 (5th Cir.) (122 F.3d 304) (September 23, 1997) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Thompson, No. 96-30394 (5th Cir.) (122 F.3d 304) (September 23, 1997) (Per Curiam) by United States v. Thompson, 122 F.3d 304 (5th Cir. 1997) (Per Curiam) United States v. Handa, 122 F.3d 690 (9th Cir. 1997) (Judge Noonan) These two gun conviction cases raise a variety of issues …

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 96-4579 (4th Cir.) (114 F.3d 429) (May 22, 1997) (Judge William W. Jr. Wilkins)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 96-4579 (4th Cir.) (114 F.3d 429) (May 22, 1997) (Judge William W. Jr. Wilkins) by Wilson did not dispute the recommended finding that a firearm was possessed under § 2D1.1(b)(1) because there was significant evidence that his coconspirators had possessed firearms. See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1)(B) (explaining …

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 95-31152 (5th Cir.) (105 F.3d 219) (January 28, 1997) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 95-31152 (5th Cir.) (105 F.3d 219) (January 28, 1997) (Per Curiam) by This case adds a new twist to the fine art of parsing the commonly-applied rule that a co-conspirator is responsible for the acts of another member of the conspiracy. Here the defendant pleaded guilty …

In Re Sealed Case, No. 95-3206 (D.C. Cir.) (105 F.3d 1460) (February 7, 1997) (Judge David S. Tatel)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

In Re Sealed Case, No. 95-3206 (D.C. Cir.) (105 F.3d 1460) (February 7, 1997) (Judge David S. Tatel) by Case held that doctrine of co-conspirator liability could not be used to demonstrate constructive possession of a gun for purposes of denying a defendant the benefits of the safety valve provisions. …

U.S. v. Sanchez, No. 94 CR 1040 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y.) (925 F.Supp. 991) (March 13, 1996) (Judge Shira A. Scheindlin)

Article • July 1, 1996 • from P&J July, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Sanchez, No. 94 CR 1040 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y.) (925 F.Supp. 991) (March 13, 1996) (Judge Shira A. Scheindlin) by This case covers a number of important sentencing issues that followed the conviction of two defendants for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. One of the defendants (named Chalarca) was …

U.S. v. Studley, No. 94-1228 (2nd Cir.) (47 F.3d 569) (February 13, 1995) (Judge James L. Oakes)

Article • April 1, 1995

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Studley, No. 94-1228 (2nd Cir.) (47 F.3d 569) (February 13, 1995) (Judge James L. Oakes) by This is a significant decision that focuses on the meaning of the "jointly undertaken criminal activity" language in the relevant conduct § 1B1.3 of the Guidelines - and the differences between accomplice …

U.S. v. Vold, No. 95-1521 (7th Cir.) (66 F.3d 915) (October 2, 1995) (Judge William J. Bauer)

Article • January 1, 1995

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Vold, No. 95-1521 (7th Cir.) (66 F.3d 915) (October 2, 1995) (Judge William J. Bauer) by In this case, the district court found that defendant Cox possessed a .38 caliber derringer "at all times during the manufacturing process" with defendant Vold. The district court relied solely on a …

U.S. v. Collado, No. 91-1492 (3rd Cir.) (975 F.3d 985) (September 16, 1992) (Judge Edward R. Becker)

Article • January 1, 1994

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Collado, No. 91-1492 (3rd Cir.) (975 F.3d 985) (September 16, 1992) (Judge Edward R. Becker) by In one of the seminal and oft-quoted decisions on accomplice liability in drug cases, the Court laid out a detailed analysis for differentiating between accomplice attribution under the Guidelines and accomplice liability …

U.S. v. Edwards, No. 89-2880 (7th Cir.) (945 F.2d 1387) (October 15, 1991) (Judge Samuel Ray Cummings)

Article • January 1, 1994

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

U.S. v. Edwards, No. 89-2880 (7th Cir.) (945 F.2d 1387) (October 15, 1991) (Judge Samuel Ray Cummings) by This decision is noted as one of the most thorough and searching analyses of the concept of accomplice liability under the Guidelines and how it differs from accomplice liability under the law …