Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Ford, No. 15-1303 (1st Cir.) (821 F.3d 63) (April 13, 2016) (Judge William J. Jr. Kayatta) by In this case of first impression, the First Circuit held that a defendant could not be convicted of aiding and abetting her husband’s unlawful possession of a firearm absent proof that …

McFadden v. U.S., No. 14-378 (U.S. Supreme Court) (576 U.S. ___; 136 S.Ct. 2298) (June 18, 2015) (Justice Thomas) by This appeal involved multiple convictions of the petitioner, Stephen McFadden, arising from the sale of “controlled substance analogues” in violation of an almost unreadable statutory riddle, the Controlled Substance Analogue …

Rosemond v. U.S., No. 12-895 (U.S. Supreme Court) (572 U.S. 65; 134 S.Ct. 1240) (March 5, 2014) (Justice Kagan) by The question before the Court in this drug deal gone bad case was whether the federal offense of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation …

Shelton v. Secretary, Dept. of Corrections, No. 11-13515 (11th Cir.) ( F.3d ) (August 24, 2012) (Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham) by Because the foundations of our criminal justice system, which date back to the earliest days of common law, are so well established, it is rare to see a debate …

Fowler v. U.S., No. 10-5443 (U.S. Supreme Court) (563 U.S. 668; 131 S.Ct. 2045) (May 26, 2011) (Justice Breyer) by Here, a sharply divided Court debated the burden of proof required to obtain a conviction under the Federal witness tampering statute, namely 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C); and ultimately chose, over …

Flores-Figueroa v. U.S., No. 08-108 (U.S. Supreme Court) (556 U.S. 646; 129 S.Ct. 1886) (May 4, 2009) (Judge Charles R. Breyer) by In this case, the Court addressed a Circuit split over the scope of the mens rea requirement in one of the many obtuse mandatory minimum Congressional statutes - …

U.S. v. Handy, No. 07-CR-906 (E.D.N.Y.) (570 F.Supp.2d 437) (August 4, 2008) (Judge Jack B. Weinstein) by The defendant in this case, Ramel Handy, pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The gun in question was stolen, although Handy …

U.S. v. Dupre, No. 04 CR. 267 DLC (S.D.N.Y.) (339 F.Supp.2d 534) (October 8, 2004) (Judge Denise Cote) by The defendants, Roberta Dupre and Beverly Stambaugh, were indicted for wire fraud arising out of their wild scheme to defraud potential investors by falsely inducing them to pay “advance fees” in …