Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Vernier, No. 03-10021CR (S.D.Fla.) (335 F.Supp.2d 1374) (September 17, 2004) (Judge Shelby Highsmith) by This case brings home some of the issues at stake in the Supreme Court’s decision in Blakely v. Washington, 124 S.Ct. 2531 (2004) and the harsh reality of a a Guidelines system that permits, …

U.S. v. Rebmann, No. 01-5610 (6th Cir.) (321 F.3d 540) (March 4, 2003) (Judge Gilbert S. Merritt) by Here the Court held that, under Apprendi, in order to apply the sentence enhancement under USSG § 2D1.1(a)(2), the Government had to prove that death resulted from the defendant's distribution of drugs …

U.S. v. Carbajal, No. 01-40363 (5th Cir.) (290 F.3d 277) (April 25, 2002) (Judge E. Grady Jolly) by Section 2D1.1(a)(2) of the Guidelines establishes a base offense level of 38 if a defendant is convicted of drug trafficking under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) “and the offense of conviction establishes that …

U.S. v. Terry, No. 96-4919 (4th Cir.) (142 F.3d 702) (April 22, 1998) (Judge Karen J. Williams) by Here the Court vacated an enhancement under USSG § 5K2.1 based upon a death that was never charged, noting among other things, that the departure exceeded that which could have been imposed …

U.S. v. Otis, No. 96-2393 (7th Cir.) (107 F.3d 487) (February 18, 1997) (Judge Jesse E. Eschbach) by Although the court acknowledged that death and bodily injury are factors that may justify an upward departure, it reversed such a departure because the court made no findings that such elements were …