News · Page 4 of 10
News and articles
- How to Get a Federal Sentence Reduced: Appeals, Resentencing and Other Paths
A federal sentence can sometimes be reduced after it is imposed, through an appeal and resentencing, compassionate release, a retroactive guideline change, or cooperation.
- Does Restitution Cover a Victim's Private Investigation Costs? Not After Lagos
No. In Lagos v. United States, the Supreme Court held that this part of the restitution law covers only government investigations and criminal cases.
- Can a Judge Fine You Far Above the Guidelines for Tax Evasion?
Yes. In United States v. Zukerman, the Second Circuit upheld a $10 million tax evasion fine when the Guidelines range topped out at $250,000.
- Can You Appeal After Pleading Guilty in Federal Court?
· Appeals
Sometimes: under Class v. United States, a guilty plea alone does not stop you from arguing on direct appeal that the law you broke is unconstitutional.
- Can a Person With Intellectual Disability Be Executed? Moore v. Texas
· Appeals
No. The Eighth Amendment bars it, and in Moore v. Texas the Supreme Court held that courts must judge intellectual disability by current medical standards.
- Do You Have a Right to a Lawyer Before You Are Indicted?
· Trial
Generally not: the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches when formal charges begin, and the Supreme Court declined to extend it to pre-indictment plea offers.
- Can Misusing Your Employer's Confidential Information Be Wire Fraud?
· Trial
Yes: the Fifth Circuit held in Hager that confidential business information is property, so a scheme to take it can be mail or wire fraud.
- Restitution in a Federal Tax Case: Can You Challenge the Amount?
You usually cannot avoid restitution after a conviction, but you can challenge the amount, and you get credit for tax the IRS later collects from others.
- What Do Sentencing Terms Like Concurrent and Consecutive Mean?
A concurrent sentence is served at the same time as another; a consecutive one starts after the first ends. Here are those and other sentencing terms in plain English.
- Can a Judge Impose Any Supervised Release Condition It Wants?
No. Supervised release conditions must relate to your offense or your history, and in United States v. Mears the Second Circuit struck conditions that did not.
- Does a Traffic Stop Count as an Arrest for Your Criminal History Score?
In the Third Circuit and several others, no: a traffic stop that ends with a summons is not an intervening arrest, so two prior sentences may count as one.
- Charged With Failing to Register as a Sex Offender? Federal Sentencing
Knowingly failing to register or update a sex offender registration can be a federal felony carrying up to 10 years in prison.
- What If the Judge Pressured You Into a Plea Deal?
A federal judge may not take part in plea talks, and in Iazzetta the Ninth Circuit threw out a sentence because a judge did.
- Does Burglary of an RV or Mobile Home Count Under the ACCA?
Yes. The Supreme Court held in United States v. Stitt that burglary of a vehicle or structure adapted for overnight stays can count toward the ACCA's 15-year minimum.
- What Is the Possible Sentence for a Federal Conspiracy Charge?
It depends on the law: general federal conspiracy carries up to 5 years, while drug conspiracy carries the same penalties as the drug crime itself.
- Is an Appeal Waiver Valid If the Plea Deal Gave You Nothing?
· Appeals
Not always: the Second Circuit refused to enforce an appeal waiver in Lutchman because the defendant got no benefit from the plea deal in exchange.
- Old Crack Cocaine Sentence? Fair Sentencing Act Retroactivity Questions Answered
If your crack cocaine offense was committed before August 3, 2010, Section 404 of the First Step Act may let you ask the judge for a shorter sentence.
- A Rare Habeas Win: Lawyer Never Challenged Un-Mirandized Statements
Habeas relief is rare, but the First Circuit granted it in Rivera v. Thompson because trial counsel never moved to suppress statements taken without Miranda warnings.
- Does a Judge Have to Explain a Sentence Reduction?
Not in much detail: a short form order can be enough, as long as the record shows the judge had a reasoned basis for the decision.
- Could Appealing Your Supervised Release Term Backfire?
It can. Winning a sentencing appeal can reopen the whole sentence, as Lopez-Pastrana shows, even when the court agrees the supervised release term was improper.