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U.S. v. Johnson, No. 01-3918 (7th Cir.) (347 F.3d 635) (October 20, 2003) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Johnson, No. 01-3918 (7th Cir.) (347 F.3d 635) (October 20, 2003) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner) by This decision deals with one of those complex and highly technical parsing issues under the Guidelines that seems to drive everyone mad. Despite the esoteric nature of the issues before the court, …

U.S. v. Beckett, No. 99-1135 (3rd Cir.) (208 F.3d 140) (March 21, 2000) (Judge Richard L. Nygaard)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Beckett, No. 99-1135 (3rd Cir.) (208 F.3d 140) (March 21, 2000) (Judge Richard L. Nygaard) by Here the Court held that the definition of "common scheme or plan" as used in the relevant conduct provisions of the Guidelines does not apply to the career offender provisions of § …

U.S. v. Irons, No. 98-3732 (6th Cir.) (196 F.3d 634) (October 27, 1999) (Judge Leroy J. Jr. Contie)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Irons, No. 98-3732 (6th Cir.) (196 F.3d 634) (October 27, 1999) (Judge Leroy J. Jr. Contie) by Here the Sixth Circuit held that separate crimes were not part of a "single common scheme or plan" simply because they were part of the same crime spree, had the same …

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 98-50271 (5th Cir.) (187 F.3d 516) (August 30, 1999) (Judge W. Eugene Davis)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Robinson, No. 98-50271 (5th Cir.) (187 F.3d 516) (August 30, 1999) (Judge W. Eugene Davis) by This is a rare case in which the Court held that the district court erred in sentencing the defendant as a career offender under U.S.S.G. §§ 4B1.1 and 4A1.2, which nearly doubled …

U.S. v. Wall, No. 98-50838 (5th Cir.) (180 F.3d 641) (July 8, 1999) (Judge Carolyn Dineen King)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Wall, No. 98-50838 (5th Cir.) (180 F.3d 641) (July 8, 1999) (Judge Carolyn Dineen King) by This is one of those relevant conduct cases that shows how the Government seeks to expand drug sentences beyond reason. The defendant was initially indicted for various drug offenses arising out of …

U.S. v. Miller, No. 98-20340 (5th Cir.) (179 F.3d 961) (August 16, 1999) (Judge Carl E. Stewart)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Miller, No. 98-20340 (5th Cir.) (179 F.3d 961) (August 16, 1999) (Judge Carl E. Stewart) by This is one of those "safety valve" cases that shows how the law can be twisted by savvy drug dealers. In this case the Court held that the defendant's untruthful statements about …

U.S. v. Gilbert, No. 97-1792 (6th Cir.) (173 F.3d 974) (April 2, 1999) (Judge David A. Nelson)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Gilbert, No. 97-1792 (6th Cir.) (173 F.3d 974) (April 2, 1999) (Judge David A. Nelson) by Over the dissent of Judge Coffman, the Court rejected the defendant's claim that two prior crack transactions shoiuld not have been included as relevant conduct in determining his sentence for selling .14 …

U.S. v. Gomez, No. 96-9455 (11th Cir.) (164 F.3d 1354) (January 14, 1999) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Gomez, No. 96-9455 (11th Cir.) (164 F.3d 1354) (January 14, 1999) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat) by After his conviction on drug charges, the defendant in this case challenged the calculation of his base offense level under the Guidelines. The district court (Judge Moore) found that he was responsible …

U.S. v. Jackson, No. 97-3122 (D.D.C.) (161 F.3d 24) (October 23, 1998) (Judge David B. Sentelle)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Jackson, No. 97-3122 (D.D.C.) (161 F.3d 24) (October 23, 1998) (Judge David B. Sentelle) by The defendant in this case, Adolph Jackson, was arrested in a reverse sting operation that was masterminded by a drug lord, one Rayful Edmond, who was serving a life sentence in a Federal …

U.S. v. Bacallao, No. 98-1443 (7th Cir.) (149 F.3d 717) (July 24, 1998) (Judge Daniel A. Manion)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Bacallao, No. 98-1443 (7th Cir.) (149 F.3d 717) (July 24, 1998) (Judge Daniel A. Manion) by This case is a good reminder of another important limitation on the use of uncharged relevant conduct to enhance a defendant's sentence - namely the so-called "aggregation rule" which permits a sentencing …

U.S. v. Bacallao, No. 98-1443 (7th Cir.) (149 F.3d 717) (July 24, 1998) (Judge Daniel A. Manion)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Bacallao, No. 98-1443 (7th Cir.) (149 F.3d 717) (July 24, 1998) (Judge Daniel A. Manion) by This case is a good reminder of another important limitation on the use of uncharged relevant conduct to enhance a defendant's sentence - namely the so-called "aggregation rule" which permits a sentencing …

U.S. v. Perulena, No. 92-4491 (11th Cir.) (146 F.3d 1332) (July 24, 1998) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Perulena, No. 92-4491 (11th Cir.) (146 F.3d 1332) (July 24, 1998) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat) by Case held that importation of marijuana almost a year before defendant joined drug conspiracy was not conduct for which the defendant could be held "otherwise accountable" under the Sentencing Guidelines. United States …

U.S. v. Blanc, No. 97-8613 (11th Cir.) (146 F.3d 847) (July 14, 1998) (Judge Stanley Marcus)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Blanc, No. 97-8613 (11th Cir.) (146 F.3d 847) (July 14, 1998) (Judge Stanley Marcus) by Citing U.S. v. Maxwell, 34 F.3d 1006, 1010-11 (11th Cir, 1994), the Court reasoned that "when illegal conduct does exist in 'discrete, identifiable units' apart from the offense of conviction, the Guidelines anticipate …

U.S. v. Patel, No. 96-3331 (7th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1195) (December 10, 1997) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Patel, No. 96-3331 (7th Cir.) (131 F.3d 1195) (December 10, 1997) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner) by This important holding affirms the principle that for conduct to be deemed "relevant conduct" under § 1B1.3 it must be "part either of the same course of conduct as the charged offense …

U.S. v. Cowart, No. 95-5506 (6th Cir.) (90 F.3d 154) (July 22, 1996) (Judge James L. Ryan)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Cowart, No. 95-5506 (6th Cir.) (90 F.3d 154) (July 22, 1996) (Judge James L. Ryan) by Here the Court held that, while the Guidelines do not define the expression "common scheme or plan" for purposes of the career offender provisions of USSG § 4B1.1, the relevant conduct definition …

U.S. v. Crockett, No. 94-3217 (7th Cir.) (82 F.3d 722) (April 26, 1996) (Judge Richard D. Cudahy)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Crockett, No. 94-3217 (7th Cir.) (82 F.3d 722) (April 26, 1996) (Judge Richard D. Cudahy) by One of the issues raised by the defendant on this appeal was that the trial court erred by improperly taking into account a transaction that was outside the scope of the charged …

U.S. v. Hill, No. 95-5246 (6th Cir.) (79 F.3d 1477) (March 28, 1996) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Hill, No. 95-5246 (6th Cir.) (79 F.3d 1477) (March 28, 1996) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore) by Court held that where two drug transactions are separated by more than one year, a relevant conduct finding generally may not be premised on the sole similarity that the transactions involved the …

U.S. v. Maxwell, No. 92-6349 (11th Cir.) (34 F.3d 1006) (October 7, 1994) (Judge Thomas A. Clark)

Article • January 1, 1994

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Same course of conduct or common scheme

U.S. v. Maxwell, No. 92-6349 (11th Cir.) (34 F.3d 1006) (October 7, 1994) (Judge Thomas A. Clark) by The Court stated: "We do not think that two offenses constitute a single course of conduct simply because they both involve drug distribution. To so conclude would be, in the words of …