Circuit Closed Monday, but the Met Is Open
Well worth a look; some say it compares to Leonardo’s “La Gioconda”. At the Met until March 2006.
Yuanchung Lee
Never Mind — Good Anti-Harris Dicta Eliminated in Amended Opinion
United States v. Sheikh, Docket No. 05-1747-cr (2d Cir. Amended Jan. 13, 2006) (Sotomayor, Meskill, Kaplan (by desig’n)): When the Court issued the original version of this decision last week, we pointed out that it included dicta seemingly undercutting the Supreme Court’s decision in Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545 (2002). (Click here for … Read more
Martha Stewart Conviction Upheld
United States v. Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, Docket Nos. 04-3953(L) (2d Cir. Jan. 6, 2005): Yet another reminder of the White Album’s timelessness: Don’t forget me martha my dearHold your head up you silly girl look what you’ve doneWhen you find yourself in the thick of itHelp yourself to a bit of what is … Read more
Immigration Issues in the Criminal Context
Our colleague Steve Sady over at the Ninth Circuit Blog has once again written a great resource for criminal defense lawyers — this time concerning immigration-related issues that arise in criminal cases. (Click here for Steve’s discussion). Steve focuses in particular on how to use the Supreme Court’s decision in Leocal to fight the Government’s … Read more
A Curious Decision Containing Excellent Anti-Harris Dicta
United States v. Sheikh, Docket No. 05-1747-cr (2d Cir. Jan. 5, 2006) (Meskill, Sotomayor, Kaplan (by desig’n)): We were puzzled by why the Court decided to publish this very short opinion, in which the Court rejects the defendant’s claim that “the district court violated his [Fifth and Sixth Amendment] rights by enhancing his sentence on … Read more
A Good Decision on When a State Court’s Finding of a Procedural Bar Is “Inadequate” to Preclude Federal Habeas Review
Monroe v. Kuhlman, Docket No. 03-3703 (2d Cir. Jan. 3, 2006) (Winter, Feinberg, Straub): This is somewhat of a rare bird: The Circuit concludes that the New York Court of Appeals improperly applied the state’s own contemporaneous objection rule and thus that its finding of a procedural default on direct appeal was “inadequate” to bar … Read more
Circuit Vacates Conviction Based on Defendant’s Uncorroborated Admissions Made in Personal Journal
United States v. Stefan Irving, Docket No. 04-0971-cr (2d Cir. Dec. 23, 2005) (Cardamone, Jacobs, Cabranes): The majority opinion by Judge Cardamone affirms the defendant’s conviction on most counts, but reverses on two counts that were based solely on the defendant’s admissions, made in his personal journal, whose essential facts were uncorroborated by independent evidence. … Read more
Evidentiary Errors Found Harmless, and Acquitted Conduct Properly Used in Role Enhancement
United States v. Alaa Al-Sadawi, Docket No. 03-1784-cr (2d Cir. Dec. 23, 2005) (Walker, Cardamone, Parker): Yet another pyrrhic victory for the defense: The Court rules that the district court committed two evidentiary errors (one involving Crawford and the introduction of a co-defendant’s plea allocution at the defendant’s trial, and the other involving the use … Read more
A Good Decision on Mootness and Appeal Waivers
United States v. Ali Hamdi, Docket No. 03-1307-cr (2d Cir. Dec. 12, 2005) (Feinberg, Winter, Sotomayor): This decision — yet another in the criminal realm by Judge Sotomayor — has two principal holdings. First, the fact the defendant has completed his sentence and been deported does not moot the instant challenge to the length of … Read more
The Guidelines Grind Continues Unabated
United States v. Phillips, Docket No. 04-2166-cr (2d Cir. Dec. 7, 2005) (Walker, Hall, Gibson (by desig’n)): Many had hoped that Booker‘s demotion of the Guidelines to mere advisory status would, at the very least, put an end to the endless stream of mind-numbing opinions analyzing Guidelines minutia churned out by the Circuit week after … Read more