Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Brown, No. Crim. No. 4:13cr110 (E.D.Va.) (5 F.Supp.3d 786) (March 7, 2014) (Judge Robert G. Doumar) by We have often wondered how the Government gets away so easily with using so many aliases and nicknames of defendants in criminal cases - especially when the nicknames are so vivid …

Williams v. Swarthout, No. 11-57255 (9th Cir.) (771 F.3d 501) (October 23, 2014) (Judge John T. Jr. Noonan) by In this case, a divided panel from the Ninth Circuit granted habeas relief to the petitioner, Bryant Williams, who was convicted in 2006 by a California state court of three sex-offense …

U.S. v. Archuleta, No. 12-2026 (10th Cir.) (737 F.3d 1287) (December 17, 2013) (Judge Mary Beck Briscoe) by This case involved the prosecution and conviction of one Nathan Archuleta for his participation “in a single plan to smuggle drugs on a single day in 2009.” (Id., at 1301). Archuleta was …

U.S. v. Curley, No. 09-3314-cr (2nd Cir.) (639 F.3d 50) (April 25, 2011) (Judge Denny Chin) by Conviction and sentencing of defendant for interstate stalking and interstate violation of a protective order is reversed because Rule 404(b) admission by district court of evidence of prior and subsequent bad acts of …

U.S. v. Sanchez, No. 10-50192 (9th Cir.) (659 F.3d 1252) (November 1, 2011) (Judge Harry Pregerson) by Here the Court overturned a drug conviction due to inflammatory and prejudicial comments made by the prosecutor during his closing rebuttal arguments in which he improperly appealed to the “passions, fears and vulnerabilities …

U.S. v. Gomez, No. 08-3829-cr (2nd Cir.) (617 F.3d 88) (August 4, 2010) (Judge Rosemary S. Pooler) by Here the Court sharply vacated a drug conviction because the Government introduced highly prejudicial hearsay testimony from a detective who testified to the jury that a co-conspirator had identified the defendant as …

U.S. v. Childs, No. 05-2308 (7th Cir.) (447 F.3d 541) (May 15, 2006) (Judge Terrence T. Evans) by After his conviction at trial on multiple drug and gun charges, the defendant, Paul Childs, appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence and his motion for a new trial or …