Sentencing
What Are The 5 Sentencing Objectives That Justify Criminal Punishment?
We get hit, and we hit back. It is a primal instinctual reaction. It is a fundamental part of being human. Yet, what does that reaction signify? Most likely, we don’t think deeply about it. Indeed, in the moment, the reaction is sudden, immediate, and done without contemplation. Sentencing Objectives Built Into Our Instinct of…
Read MoreCriminal Forfeiture and Substitute Property
If a defendant is charged with a crime, the government may also bring a criminal forfeiture action to collect the property used in the criminal activity. When the defendant’s actual property is not available, the government can obtain an order for the value of the property instead. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals tackled the…
Read MoreEighth Amendment’s Prohibition on Excessive Fines
Fines and asset forfeiture are common elements of sentencing in cases involving theft or fraud. The government can seize a defendant’s assets that are alleged to have been involved in his criminal activities. However, the court may order that assets be turned back over to the defendant at sentencing. One of the ways that defendants…
Read MoreSentence Reduction: Adopting the Letter, Not the Spirit of the Law
If a criminal defendant is at the point of already being convicted and sentenced to prison time for a federal offense, then a sentence reduction is a positive development. But what happens if the district court disagrees with an appellate court order for a sentence reduction based on the unreasonableness of the original sentence? The…
Read MoreSupreme Court Narrows Federal Criminal Restitution
According to the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), defendants convicted of crimes in federal court are required to pay their victims criminal restitution for the losses that they suffered. The case of Lagos v. United States involved an issue of interpretation over the act’s language regarding what types of losses would be eligible for restitution.…
Read MoreSecond Circuit Affirms $10 Million Fine for Tax Evasion
Tax evasion is a serious crime that can result in prison time and hefty fines. Defendants convicted of tax-related crimes typically receive a downward variance from the applicable sentencing range according to the Sentencing Guidelines. However, the opposite proved true for a wealthy defendant involved in a high-profile tax case in New York. The Second…
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