In its two latest per curiam opinions, the court discusses a traffic stop and the district court’s obligation to sua sponte ensure that the defendant is competent. In United States v. Harrison, No. 09-2907-cr (2d Cir. May 26, 2010)(Jacobs, Miner, Wesley, CJJ)(per curiam), the court rejected a claim that the police unreasonably prolonged an otherwise … Read more
Here are the three latest summary orders of interest. In United States v. Cabrera, No. 09-2553-cr (2d Cir. May 26, 2010), the defendant argued that claims based on his pretrial motions should not be deemed waived by his guilty plea because the district court did not advise him of this during the allocution. The circuit … Read more
United States v. Oluwanisola, No. 08-4442-cr (2d Cir. May 21, 2010)(Leval, Pooler, Parker, CJJ) Taking a case to trial after the client has proffered is a difficult thing to do. Most proffer agreements have a clause permitting the government to introduce the defendant’s proffer statements to rebut evidence offered or elicited, or factual assertions made … Read more
United States v. Needham, No. 06-5652-cr (2d Cir. May 14, 2010) (Cabranes, Katzmann, Parker, CJJ) The three defendants here were part of a larger group that was in the business of robbing drug dealers of drugs and drug proceeds. They were all convicted of a Hobbs Act conspiracy, which included robberies of cocaine and heroin … Read more
United States v. Dorvee, No. 09-0648 (2d Cir. May 11, 2010) (Cabranes, Parker, CJJ, Underhill, DJ) In this first-of-a-kind opinion, the court (1) held that a within Guideline – albeit statutory maximum – sentence was substantively unreasonable and (2) found that an offense Guideline other than the crack Guideline was not the product of the … Read more
United States v. Torres, No. 09-1771-cr (2d Cir. May 5, 2010)(Kearse, Hall, CJJ, Rakoff, DJ) Every once in a while, when the judge and jury refuse to acquit an innocent defendant, the circuit steps in and sets things right. This is such a case. Finding that the evidence was insufficient to establish that Torres knew … Read more
United States v. Hernandez, No. 09-1421-cr (2d Cir. May 5, 2010) (Jacobs, Kearse, Calabresi, CJJ) Here, the circuit found that the defendant’s sentence was procedurally unreasonable because it took the district court fifteen years to get around to imposing it. Background In 1991, Hernandez was convicted after a jury trial of drug trafficking and associated … Read more
Here are two recent summary orders of interest and one from March that we missed at the time: In United States v. Pender, No. 08-5474-cr (2d Cir. May 6, 2010), there was a factual dispute as to whether the defendant was on parole when he committed the federal offense. Although the district court had concluded … Read more
United States v. Key, No. 08-3218-cr (2d Cir. April 28, 2010) (Miner, Cabranes, Wesley, CJJ) (per curiam) This interesting per curiam holds that a defendant’s appeal of the denial of his crack resentencing motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) was rendered moot by his release from prison. Although Key was still on supervised release, the … Read more
United States v. Cerna, No. 09-1170-cr (2d Cir. April 27, 2010) (Katzmann, Hall, CJJ, Rakoff, DJ) Against the backdrop of the circuit’s ongoing concern over the “exceptionally poor quality of representation often provided by attorneys retained by aliens as they attempt to negotiate the complexities of our immigration law,” here, the circuit reversed the district … Read more