Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

Federal Defenders

Plain Error For District Court To Consider Non-Shepard Documents In Determining Whether Prior Offenses Were Committed On “Different Occasions” Under ACCA

by

United States v. Dantzler, No. 13-2930-cr (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2014) (Cabranes, Carney and Droney), available here The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), mandates a 15-year minimum sentence for certain firearms offenses if a  defendant “has three previous convictions … for violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both, committed on occasions different … Read more

Admission Of Defendant’s Social Media Profile Was Error Absent Sufficient Authentication

by

United States v. Zhyltsou, No. 13-803-cr (Wesley,Livingston, and Lohier), available here At defendant’s trial for unlawful transfer of a false identification document, the government introduced a printed copy of a webpage that it claimed was defendant’s profile page from the Russian social network VK.com.  The printout contained defendant’s photograph, as well as information (defendant’s Skype … Read more

Car Parked Outside Victim’s House Is Within Victim’s “Presence” For Purposes of Federal Carjacking Statute

by

United States v. Soler, No. 12-2077-CR (2d. Cir. July 22, 2014) (Katzmann, Walker, and Droney), available here The federal carjacking statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2119, criminalizes the forcible taking of an automobile “from the person or presence of another.”  Following decisions by all the other Courts of Appeals to have addressed the question, the Circuit … Read more

Modified Allen Charge Not Required Where Jury Poll Reveals Non-Unanimity

by

United States v. McDonald, No. 12-2056-CR (2d Cir. July 22, 2014) (Cabranes, Sack, and Lynch), Available Here During deliberations in defendant’s fraud trial, the jury announced that it had reached a guilty verdict. When the jury was polled, Jurors 1-10 so confirmed, but Juror No. 11, asked whether guilty was her verdict, answered “no.” With … Read more