News · Page 8 of 10
News and articles
- Can a Judge Order Drug Testing on Release If You Have No Drug Problem?
Not without support in the record. The Fifth Circuit struck a special drug testing condition because nothing showed a current drug problem.
- Does a Texas Burglary Conviction Count Under the ACCA?
Yes. After two Supreme Court rulings, the full Fifth Circuit held in 2019 that Texas burglary is generic burglary and counts toward the ACCA's 15-year minimum.
- My Lawyer's Bad Advice Led Me to Plead Guilty. Can I Undo the Plea?
Possibly. Under Lee v. United States, you can challenge a plea caused by bad advice if you show you would have gone to trial, even with a weak defense.
- Can a Judge Reject a Magistrate's Credibility Findings Without a Hearing?
No. In a 2255 case, a district judge may not reject a magistrate judge's credibility findings without hearing the witnesses again, the Seventh Circuit held.
- Police Can't Split One Illegal Stop Into Two: $167,070 Suppressed
· Trial
The Ninth Circuit held that two coordinated traffic stops count as one, so cash found after an illegally extended first stop had to be suppressed.
- When Is an Online Post an "Advertisement" Under 18 U.S.C. § 2251?
· Trial
It can be a question for the jury: the Ninth Circuit held a defendant had the right to argue that posts on a small, closed, encrypted board were not advertisements.
- Can You Be Made to Forfeit Drug Money Your Co-Conspirators Got?
No. In Honeycutt v. United States, the Supreme Court held that drug forfeiture reaches only what you yourself obtained, not what your co-conspirators received.
- Sessions v. Dimaya: Why the Supreme Court Struck Down 18 U.S.C. § 16(b)
The Supreme Court held in Sessions v. Dimaya (2018) that the residual clause in 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) is unconstitutionally vague, and it struck down a similar § 924(c) clause in 2019.
- What the Sentencing Commission Found About Young Federal Offenders (2017)
The Commission's 2017 report found that people 25 and under made up 18% of federal sentencings, and most of their crimes were nonviolent.
- Restitution After a Mortgage Fraud Conviction: United States v. Ritchie
Courts may look at the actual facts to decide whether restitution is mandatory, and a bank that took over a fraudulent loan can recover the full unpaid balance.
- Is Texas Injury to a Child a Crime of Violence? The Fifth Circuit Said No
No. The Fifth Circuit held in 2017 that Texas injury to a child is broader than a crime of violence, so it could not support an illegal reentry enhancement.
- Can Amendment 782 Lower a Money Laundering Sentence?
Yes, if the money laundering offense level was based on the drug offense level, the Fifth Circuit held that Amendment 782 can lower that sentence too.
- The 2017 Federal Budget Gave the Federal Prison System Over $7 Billion
The 2017 federal budget gave the Federal Prison System just over $7 billion for salaries and expenses, with little change from prior years.
- Why the Sentencing Commission Made No Guideline Changes in 2017
The Commission lacked a voting quorum for almost three months, leaving too little time to adopt amendments before the May 1 deadline.
- Can You Challenge the Drug Quantity Used at Sentencing?
Yes. A judge may estimate drug quantity at sentencing, but the estimate must rest on reliable evidence, and the Tenth Circuit threw one out that did not.
- Sex Trafficking Conviction Reversed Because the Jury Instructions Changed the Charge
· Trial
The Ninth Circuit reversed an attempted sex trafficking conviction because the jury was given a way to convict that the indictment never charged.
- Leavenworth Prison Guard Sentenced for Smuggling Tobacco to Inmates
Marc Buckner, a former guard at USP Leavenworth, got three years in federal prison for taking bribes to smuggle tobacco to inmates.
- Can a Judge Offset a 924(c) Gun Sentence? Dean v. United States
Yes. In Dean v. United States, the Supreme Court held that a judge may shorten the sentence on the other counts to make up for a mandatory 924(c) gun sentence.
- What the Sentencing Commission Proposed in 2017, and What Became Law
Two of the 2017 proposals later took effect in other forms: the acceptance of responsibility change in 2018 and a first-offender reduction in 2023.
- Four Federal Criminal Justice Reform Bills in Congress (March 2017)
None of these four 2017 reform bills became law as written, though Congress later acted on prison phone rates and passed the First Step Act.