United States v. Drachenberg, No. 09-3114-cr (2d Cir. October 2, 2010) (Kearse, Pooler, Hall, CJJ) (per curiam) The court’s latest per curiam puts to rest several recurring tax-protester argumenst. Representing himself pro se, Drachenberg argued that federal courts had no jurisdiction over him because “New York is not subject to the legislative or territorial jurisdiction … Read more
United States v. Marks, No. 08-1207-cr (2d Cir. October 19, 2010) (Leval, Hall, Livingston, CJJ) Defendant Chad Marks was convicted after a jury trial of drug trafficking offenses and two § 924(c) counts, and was sentenced to the resulting 40-year mandatory minimum. The trial came after months of plea negotiations, including an offer by the … Read more
Portolatin v. Graham, No. 07-1599-pr (2d Cir. October 18, 2010) (en banc) Earlier this year, a Second Circuit panel held that New York’s persistent felony offender (PFO) statute violated the right to a jury trial under Apprendi. See The Persistents of Apprendi, posted April 9, 2010. In this en banc opinion, authored by Judge Wesley, … Read more
This is hot off the presses – today, in a summary order, the court held that the Fair Sentencing Act is not retroactive, since it “contains no express statement that it is intended to have retroactive effect nor can we infer such intent from its language.” The case is United States v. Baldwin, No. 09-1725-cr … Read more
Well, it’s been a while, but the court has finally issued a couple of summary orders of interest. In United States v. De La Cruz, No. 09-4641-cr (2d Cir. October 21, 2010), the district court, in imposing sentence, remarked that a “Guideline sentence by definition really can’t create unwarranted sentencing disparity.” The circuit agreed with … Read more
United States v. Folkes, No. 09-3389-cr (2d Cir. September 29, 2010) (Newman, Hall, CJJ, Restani, JCIT) (per curiam) A conceded plain error in applying the definition of “crime of violence” in the illegal reentry Guideline is the subject of the court’s most recent per curiam. Before he was deported, Walford Folkes had been convicted in … Read more
United States v. Mazza-Alaluf, No. 09-3940-cr (2d Cir. September 22, 2010) (Sack, Raggi, Lynch, CJJ) Mazza-Alaluf operated an unlicensed money-transfer business that, while based in Chile, sent millions of dollars through New York, Illinois and Michigan, without acquiring the appropriate state licenses. After a bench trial, the district court convicted him of violating 18 U.S.C. … Read more
United States v. Paris, No. 08-5071-cr (2d Cir. September 17, 2010) (Jacobs, Wesley, Chin, CJJ) This interesting Batson decision deals with gender-based peremptory challenges, a subject that the circuit has not previously discussed. Background For about five years, Dennis Paris ran a multi-state prostitution ring centered in the Hartford, Connecticut, area and recruited teenage girls … Read more
United States v. Ahders, No. 09-4093-cr (2d Cir. September 16, 2010) (Katzmann, Hall, Chin, CJJ) (per curiam) In this latest per curiam, the court vacated a long sentence imposed for producing child pornography, because the district court did not make adequate findings on a sentencing enhancement. Steven Ahders pled guilty to a single production count … Read more
As summer draws to a close, here are two more summary orders of interest. In United States v. Reap, No. 06-5793-cr (2d Cir. August 30, 2010), the court notes that it is an open question in the circuit whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) requires proof that the defendant knew that he had a prior felony … Read more