Steve Statsinger Interesting summary orders have been piling up. Here is the latest crop: In United States v. Strand, No. 08-3730-cr (2d Cir. July 8, 2009), the court held that the district court lacked the authority to impose a drug sentence lower than the mandatory minimum to “adjust” for time served on state sentences for related conduct, … Read more
United States v. Lucky, No. 08-1939-cr (2d Cir. June 19, 2009) (Calabaresi, Katzmann, CJJ, Eaton, J CIT) Damon Lucky appealed the denial of his Speedy Trial Act (STA) dismissal motion. The circuit, finding only 69 days of nonexcluded time, one short of the magic number, affirmed. Lucky’s argument was that there was no proper STA … Read more
United States v. Jass, No. 06-4899-cr (2d Cir. June 16, 2009) (Walker, Cabranes, Raggi, CJJ) Marian Jass was jointly tried with her much older boyfriend, Kenneth Leight, on charges that they sexually exploited Leight’s daughter and one of her friends. Leight, but not Jass, was also charged with several child pornography counts, based on materials … Read more
United States v. Ivezaj, No. 06-3112-cr (2d Cir. June 11, 2009) (Feinberg, Miner, Parker, CJJ) Six defendants were convicted of racketeering and related offenses arising from their efforts to break the hold that New York City’s traditional organized crime families had on illegal gambling. The primary challenge on appeal concerned two RICO predicate acts that … Read more
United States v. Timewell, No. 07-4587-cr (2d Cir. June 1, 2009) (Miner, Raggi, Livingston, CJJ) Here, the circuit held that the district court’s reasons for denying a Crosby remand rendered the sentence procedurally unreasonable. It remanded the case for reconsideration, with instructions. Background Gregory Timewell was a major international trafficker in marijuana and hashish. In … Read more
United States v. Savoy, No. 08-4800-cr (2d Cir. May 27, 2009)(per curiam) After a 1998 jury trial on crack distribution charges, Demetric Savoy faced a guideline sentencing range of 188 to 235 months’ imprisonment, and received a sentence at the bottom of the range. In 2008, he moved, under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), for a … Read more
United States v. Tureseo, No. 07-2933-cr (2d Cir. May 14, 2009)(Miner, Cabranes, CJJ, Berman, DJ) Juan Tureseo was deported in 1997, after an assault conviction. Immigration agents found him in the United States in 2006, at which time he insisted he was a United States citizen named Danny Ortega. When the agents warned him that … Read more
There have been five summary orders of interest in the past month or so. Here they are: In United States v. Al Manware, No. 08-2235-cr (2d Cir. May 4, 2009), the court ordered resentencing on a supervised release violation because the district court did not provide the defendant an opportunity to allocute before imposing sentence. … Read more
United States v. Ness, No. 05-4401-cr (2d Cir. May 8, 2009) (Winter, Calabresi, Pooler, CJJ) Samuel Ness was convicted of money laundering offenses in connection with his armored car business, which received and distributed millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. On his first appeal, the circuit affirmed. … Read more
United States v. Vargas, No. 08-1542-cr (2d Cir. May 5, 2009)(Calabresi, Livingston, CJJ, Restani, JCIT) In connection with a drug conviction, Raphael Varas was sentenced to a five-year term of supervised release. In January of 2008, he pled guilty to a supervised release violation. At his sentencing, the district judge said “the sentence is going … Read more