News · Page 5 of 10
Federal Sentencing News Archive, Page 5
- 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.
- Federal Restitution Orders: How They Work and When You Can Challenge Them
Federal restitution is a court order to repay a victim's losses from the crime. You usually cannot avoid it after a conviction, but you can challenge the amount.
- 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.
- What Is Supervised Release in the Federal System?
Supervised release is the period of court supervision that follows a federal prison term. Here is how it works, how long it lasts, how it can end early and what happens after a violation.
- 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.
- Chavez-Meza v. United States: Must a Judge Explain a § 3582(c)(2) 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.
- Convictions Reversed Because the Defendants Never Personally Waived a Jury
· Appeals
Only you can give up your right to a jury, and in Laney the Ninth Circuit reversed convictions because only the lawyers had signed the waiver.
- The Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act: Restitution in Child Pornography Cases
In a federal child pornography trafficking or possession case, the court must order at least $3,000 in restitution for each victim, and victims can also draw on a federal fund.
- The First Step Act of 2018, Section by Section, in Plain English
The First Step Act changed how federal prisoners earn time off, let them ask a judge for compassionate release, and shortened some drug and gun sentences.
- The First Step Act Passes the Senate, 87-12
The Senate passed the First Step Act 87-12 on December 18, 2018, and the President signed it into law three days later.
- D.C. Sniper Lee Boyd Malvo and the Challenge to Juvenile Life Sentences
· Appeals
Two Supreme Court rulings on juvenile life sentences let D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo win new sentencing hearings, but the case ended after Virginia changed its parole law.