Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

Daniel Habib

Second Circuit: 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) Prohibits the Possession of Authentic Immigration Documents Obtained by Fraud, Not Just the Possession of Counterfeit Documents.

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In United States v. Greenberg, Nos. 23-7168 and 23-7249 (2d Cir. Feb. 3, 2025) (per curiam), the Second Circuit (Walker, Robinson, Merriam, JJ.) held that 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) (“Fraud and misuse of visa, permits and other documents”) prohibits the possession of authentic immigration documents that have been obtained by fraud, not just the possession … Read more

En Banc Second Circuit: A Naturalized U.S. Citizen Has A Sixth Amendment Right To Be Advised By Defense Counsel That He May Be Denaturalized And Deported As A Result Of His Guilty Plea.

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In United States v. Farhane, No. 20-1666 (2d Cir. Oct. 31, 2024), the en banc Second Circuit (Carney, joined by Wesley, Lee, Robinson, Perez, Nathan, Merriam, and Kahn) held that “a naturalized U.S. citizen” charged with a crime “has a Sixth Amendment right to be advised by counsel that he may be denaturalized and deported … Read more

Second Circuit: Postal Robbery And Aggravated Postal Robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 2114(a), Even On Pinkerton Theory Of Liability, Are 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) Crimes Of Violence.

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In Pannell v. United States, No. 21–2849 (2d Cir. Aug. 28, 2024) (Menashi, joined by Raggi and Wesley), the Second Circuit held that postal robbery and aggravated postal robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 2114(a), even pursuant to a Pinkerton theory of liability, are 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) crimes of violence. A jury convicted Pannell of conspiracy … Read more

Supreme Court: District Court’s Failure To Enter Preliminary Order Of Forfeiture Prior To Sentencing Does Not Bar Court From Ordering Forfeiture At Sentencing.

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In United States v. McIntosh, No. 22-7386 (U.S. Apr. 17, 2024), a unanimous Supreme Court held that a district court’s failure to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture prior to sentencing, as required by Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(2)(B), “does not bar a judge from ordering forfeiture at sentencing subject to harmless-error principles on appellate … Read more

Second Circuit Affirms 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B) Conviction And Sentence For Defendant Who Posted “Kill Your Senators” Video Online

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In United States v. Hunt, No. 21-3020 (2d Cir. Sept. 20, 2023) (Walker, joined by Parker and Bianco), the Circuit affirmed Hunt’s conviction and sentence for threatening to assault and murder United States officials, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)(B), based on Hunt’s online posting of a video entitled “Kill Your Senators.” In the … Read more

Second Circuit Vacates §§ 924(c) And 924(j) Convictions Predicated On Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, But Affirms § 924(c) Conviction Predicated On VICAR Assault With A Deadly Weapon.

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In two direct appeals, the Second Circuit  addressed follow-on issues arising from United States v. Taylor, 142 S. Ct. 2015 (2022) (holding that attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not an 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A) crime of violence). In United States v. Collymore, No. 19-596 (2d Cir. March 7, 2023) (per curiam) (Sullivan, Park, Nardini), the … Read more

The Second Circuit holds that N.Y. Attempted Third-Degree Sale of a Controlled Substance, N.Y.P.L. 220.39(1) is NOT a Guidelines Controlled Substance Offense

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Earlier this week, on December 6, 2022, the Second Circuit held in United States v. Gibson, No. 20-3049 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2022), that a 2002 New York state conviction for attempted third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, NYPL 220.39(1) and 110.00, is not a  “controlled substance offense” under the Guidelines. Gibson was convicted … Read more

Second Circuit: State Court’s Erroneous Denial Of Defendant’s Peremptory Strike Is Not Grounds For Federal Habeas Corpus Relief

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In Murray v. Noeth, No. 20-3136 (2d Cir. Apr. 26, 2022), the Circuit (Nardini, joined by Sack and Park), held that a state trial court’s erroneous denial of a defendant’s peremptory strike does not violate the federal Constitution under Rivera v. Illinois, 556 U.S. 148 (2009), and therefore cannot support federal habeas corpus relief. Murray … Read more

Circuit Vacates LIBOR-Rigging Convictions For Insufficient Evidence

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In United States v. Connolly, No. 19-3806 (2d Cir. Jan. 27, 2022), the Circuit (Kearse, joined by Cabranes and Pooler) reversed convictions for substantive wire fraud and for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud for insufficient evidence. This is a LIBOR-rigging prosecution. LIBOR (the “London Interbank Offered Rate”) was an interest-rate benchmark, published … Read more

Second Circuit Affirms El Chapo’s Conviction

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In United States v. Beltran Leyva (Guzman Loera), No. 19–2239 (2d Cir. Jan. 25, 2022), the Circuit (Newman, joined by Lynch and Park) affirmed the conviction of Guzman Loera (“El Chapo”), the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, for conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, and for drug trafficking, firearms, and money laundering offenses. The Circuit rejected … Read more