Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Mercado-Flores, No. Crim.No. 14-466 (GAG) (D.Puerto Rico) ( F.Supp.3d ) (June 4, 2015) (Judge Gustavo A. Gelpi) by This is an interesting decision that proves the wisdom of always reading the statute under which your client has been indicted. Here, because of a statutory omission, a defendant who …

U.S. v. Bigley, No. 12-3022 (D.C. Cir.) (786 F.3d 11) (May 15, 2015) (Per Curiam) by Detective Timothy Palchak, who the Court described as an “undercover operative” from the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia, engaged in a private online chat with John Bigley, a 75 year old …

U.S. v. Payton, No. 13-1242 (6th Cir.) (754 F.3d 375) (June 12, 2014) (Judge Gilbert S. Merritt) by In another of a long line of brilliant and principled sentencing decisions, Judge Merritt concluded that an above-Guidelines 45 year sentence imposed on a 46 year old serial bank robber was excessive …

U.S. v. Pickard, No. 12-3142 (10th Cir.) (733 F.3d 1297) (November 5, 2013) (Judge David M. Ebel) by In 2003, a jury convicted Defendants/Appellants William Pickard and Clyde Apperson of several drug offenses. At the trial, one of Defendants' accomplices, Gordon Todd Skinner, testified against them. Skinner had acted as …

U.S. v. Lente, No. 10-2194 (10th Cir.) (647 F.3d 1021) (July 29, 2011) (Judge Scott M. Jr. Matheson) by Here the Court vacated, as procedurally unreasonable, a 192-month sentence on the grounds that the district court did not “expressly consider” 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) and its directive that sentences must …

U.S. v. Lowe, No. 10-2832 (7th Cir.) (632 F.3d 996) (January 25, 2011) (Judge William J. Bauer) by District Judge J. Phil Gilbert of the S.D.Ill. had a “general policy” of routinely refusing to grant any motions, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(1), for early termination of supervised release, unless …