We close out 2009 with two interesting per curiam opinions. In United States v. MacPherson, No. 08-1829-cr (2d Cir. December 30, 2009) (Newman, Calabresi, Katzmann, CJJ) (per curiam), the defendant argued that the government violated a Pimentel-like non-binding plea agreement by advocating for a sentence higher than the estimate contained in the agreement. In the … Read more
United States v. Doe, No. 08-4064-cr (2d Cir. December 14, 2009), looks the First Amendment implications of a defendant’s request to seal his case. At sentencing, Doe had asked for the total and permanent sealing of his sentencing transcript. The court denied the request, and Doe appealed. After the government agreed that the decision should … Read more
United States v. Hester, No. 08-4665-cr (2d Cir. December 16, 2009) (Winter, Cabranes, Hall CJJ) (per curiam) After pleading guilty to two sex offenses in New York State, Hester was required to register as a sex offender. He completed his initial registration – which included explicit instructions that Hester update if he moved or changed … Read more
United States v. Labbe, No. 08-0673-cr (2d Cir. December 4, 2009) (Newman, Pooler, Katzmann, CJJ) About a week before Labbe’s sentencing, the district court issued a written Sentencing Opinion describing the sentence it was likely to impose. The Opinion included a 4-level role reduction for Labbe’s “minimal” participation and announced that “Labbe is hereby sentenced … Read more
It’s been a while but at last the court has issued enough summary orders of interest for another post. Here they are: In United States v. Madarikan, No. 08-5589-cr (2d Cir. December 16, 2009), the court found a Confrontation Clause violation in the admission into evidence of a Certificate of Nonexistence of Record at an … Read more
United States v. Garcia, No. 08-1621-cr (2d Cir. December 1, 2009) (Jacobs, Sack, Lynch, CJJ) In Cuellar v. United States, 128 S.Ct. 1994 (2008), the Court held that, for the crime of transportation money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(B)(i), the government most prove more than that the money was hidden during its transportation. Rather, … Read more
United States v. Rodriguez, No. 08-2805-cr (2d Cir. November 30, 2009) (Newman, Calabresi, Katzmann, CJJ) This interesting opinion concludes that a dispute over a taxi fare did not violate the Hostage Taking Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1203. Background In 2005, Azucena Gonzalez Mendez was smuggled into the United States from Mexico. She was driven from … Read more
United States v. Stewart, No. 06-5015 (2d Cir. November 17, 2009) (Walker, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ) This 191-page opinion – three opinions, actually – deals with the aftermath of the Lynne Stewart trial. The defendants appealed their convictions – without success – while the government appealed the sentences. The court found procedural error with respect to … Read more
United States v. Hasan, No. 08-4921-cr (2d Cir. November 10, 2009) (Cabaranes, Sack, CJJ, Rakoff, DJ) Syed Hasan was convicted of a number of crimes in connection with his successful scheme to kidnap his infant son and spirit the child off to India. He appealed on a number of grounds. This long opinion covers little … Read more
United States v. Caraballo, No. 08-4640-cr (2d Cir. November 5, 2009) (Leval, Raggi, Livingston, CJJ) Gilberto Caraballo was a large-scale drug supplier in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. In September of 2000, he started dating Quincy Martinez, former girlfriend of Jose Fernandez, a dealer who worked for Caraballo. Three months into their relationship, Martinez … Read more