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Author Archive | Darrell Fields

Thursday, May 19th, 2016

District court’s decision denying a motion for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C.§ 3582(c)(2) is vacated — explanation was insufficient to permit meaningful appellate review

United States v. Mazza, No.15-2394-cr  (2d Cir. May 19, 2016)
(summary order) (Jacobs, Parker, and Raggi).

Congratulations to the Federal Defenders in New Haven for obtaining a vacatur and remand of a district judge’s refusal to grant a defendant’s motion for a reduction of sentence under 18 U.S.C.  § 3582(c)(2).  In this summary order, the Circuit concluded that the district judge’s explanation for the summary denial of the motion was not sufficient for meaningful appellate  review, even under an abuse- of-discretion standard.

Mazza  had been convicted and sentenced in 2011 for a marijuana conspiracy:  for conspiring to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute over 1000 marijuana plants. The district court sentenced Mazza to 168 months in prison, which was the top of the Sentencing Guidelines range (of 135-168 months) as calculated at the 2011 sentencing.

But under a subsequent retroactive amendment to the Guidelines  — Amendment 782,  reducing …

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Categories: 3582(c)(2)

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Categories: 3582(c)(2)

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Friday, May 13th, 2016

NEW RULES OF THE ROAD FOR CJA COUNSEL ABOUT INFORMING CLIENTS OF THEIR RIGHT TO SEEK REHEARING AND REHEARING EN BANC

 Today’s published decision,  JAVEL TAYLOR  v. UNITED  STATES No. 15-827  (Opinion of May 13, 2016)(Katzmann, Chief Judge, Cabranes, Circuit Judge, and Kaplan, District Judge), is addressed to how appointed appellate counsel should advise clients about  seeking rehearing and rehearing en banc from an adverse decision in their case.  Addressing  an issue of first impression for this Circuit, the Court holds that,  under the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”), 18 U.S.C. §3006A,  indigent defendants have the right to the assistance of counsel in filing petitions for rehearing and for rehearing en banc with the Circuit.  And this right triggers a set of obligations for CJA counsel on appeal.

The case arises from a pro se  petition, under 28 U.S.C.§2255, where Javel Taylor alleged that he did not learn of the Circuit’s decision affirming his conviction and (84-month) sentence, until one month after the decision, and was thereby denied …

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Categories: 2255

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Friday, April 15th, 2016

Second Circuit Updates – April 15, 2016

No published opinions today, only two summary orders: a direct appeal and a collateral (§2255) challenge.

UNITED STATES v. JAMES PASS, No. 15-1446-CR (Summary Order of April 15,  2016)(Kearse, Cabranes, and Chin).  This summary affirmance is interesting for the Circuit’s  criticisms of how the  judge conducted this sentencing in the E.D.N.Y.

Defendant Pass claims three categories of errors occurred at his E.D.N.Y. sentencing.  He claims the district court  (1) committed several procedural errors; (2) erroneously allowed him to proceed pro se; and (3) abused its discretion in refusing to adjourn the sentencing. Although the Circuit affirmed the top-of-the-range 71-month sentence (for a felon-in-possession conviction),  it expressed concern about the judge’s handling of the sentencing.

  1. Procedural reasonableness of the sentencing.  The defendant claims that the judge failed a) to calculate the Guidelines range; b) to rule on objections to the presentence report;  c) to consider the statutory sentencing
…
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Categories: 2255

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Tuesday, April 5th, 2016

Second Circuit Updates – April 5, 2016

There were no opinions in criminal cases from the Circuit this day.  The Circuit issued a single summary affirmance in United States v. Miller, No.15-108-cr, where it rejected the defendant’s claim that his 144-month – but nevertheless below-Guidelines – sentence was substantively unreasonable.

United States v. Miller, No.15-108-cr:

Miller was convicted of a  drug distribution conspiracy ( 21 U.S.C. § 846)  involving a (b)(1)A)-quantity of drugs — i.e., 21 U.S.C. § 841.  The drugs were more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.  He committed the offense “while on supervised release from a prior conviction for cocaine trafficking and firearms possession.”  His sole contention on appeal, according to the Circuit, was that his 144-month prison sentence, which was a downward variance from a Guidelines range of 151 to 188 months, “was substantively unreasonable the because the only reasonable sentence is one at the statutory minimum of 120 months’ …

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Categories: guideline, marijuana

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Monday, March 7th, 2016

Sentence Imposing Imprisonment is Final Even if the Amount of Restitution is Undetermined; Pro Se Litigant’s Third 2255 Motion Deemed Successive Petition

The Second Circuit issued two opinions today.

UNITED STATES v. TULSIRAM, No. 14-2483 (2d Cir. March 7, 2016)(Cabranes, Parker, and Lynch).

The Circuit addresses two issues in this case: the first concerns its jurisdiction to review a judgment of conviction that imposes a sentence of imprisonment and restitution but leaves the restitution undetermined; the second, whether the district court’s failure to advise the defendant about mandatory restitution, during the plea allocution, is plain error warranting vacutur of the defendant’s guilty plea.

The Circuit holds (1) that a judgment of conviction imposing both a sentence of imprisonment and restitution, but that leaves the amount of restitution for a later determination — and one that here, never happens — is nevertheless “final” under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and the Circuit therefore has jurisdiction to review the judgment; and (2) that a district court’s failure to advise the defendant of mandatory restitution …

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Categories: Rule 11, Uncategorized

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