United States v. Ayon-Robles, No. 07-0785-cr (2d Cir. February 24, 2009) (Jacobs, Wesley, CJJ, Arcara, DJ) (per curiam) Recently, in an immigration case, Alsol v. Mukasey, 548 N.Y.S.2d 207 (2d Cir. 2009), the court held that a second state-court conviction for simple drug possession was not an “aggravated felony” under the relevant immigration statute, 8 … Read more
United States v. Carr, No. 06-5490-cr (2d Cir. February 19, 2009) (Kearse, Sack, Kaztmann, CJJ) Carr was convicted after a jury trial of racketeering, drug and firearms offenses. At his original sentencing, since the racketeering predicate was murder, the then-mandatory guidelines prescribed a life sentence, and that is what he received, plus five years on … Read more
United States v. Reyes, No. 06-3699-cr (2d Cir. February 19, 2009)(Leval, Cabranes, Livingston, CJJ) (per curiam) Defendant Reyes participated in the beating of a victim with, amongst other things, a baseball bat. The victim was left with severe brain damage – his wife told the court that he would “never wake up again.” Reyes pled … Read more
United States v. Gutierrez, No. 08-3581-cr (2d Cir. February 11, 2009)(Cabranes, Sotomayor, CJJ, Rakoff, DJ) Before Gutierrez was sentenced, his counsel filed a lengthy sentencing memorandum outlining five separate grounds for a below-guideline sentence. The government’s written response sought a guideline sentence. At sentencing, the court did not address the attorneys at all. It gave … Read more
United States v. Poindexter, No. 07-1151-pr (2d Cir. February 10, 2009) (Walker, Calabresi, Katzmann, CJJ) (per curiam) In 1995, Melvin Poindexter was charged with a cocaine conspiracy, with no drug quantity specified in the indictment. He therefore faced a 20-year maximum, but no mandatory minimum. Before trial, the government filed a prior felony information, which … Read more
In the past month or so, there have been only two summary orders of interest. Here they are: Guidelines section 4A1.2(c)(2) lists offenses that are too petty to count in the criminal history score, and instructs that offenses “similar to” those on the list are also excluded. In United States v. Muse, No. 08-0831-cr (2d … Read more
United States v. Parker, No. 07-0620-cr (2d Cir. February 3, 2009) (Feinberg, Leval, Cabranes, CJJ) Recently, the court held that the “buyer-seller” rule did not apply where the defendant, a drug buyer who resold the drugs, clearly had a stake in the seller’s operation. See “Buyer’s Remorse,” posted October 26, 2008. Here, the court goes … Read more
United States v. Pope, No. 08-1007-cr (2d Cir. February 3, 2009) (Cabranes, Livingston, CJJ, Eaton, DJ) Steven W. Pope pled guilty to two counts of bank burglary, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). During one of the burglaries, he broke a side window of a Chase branch with a sledgehammer. Based on this, at … Read more
United States v. Varrone, No. 07-4533-cr (2d Cir. January 30, 2009) (Calabresi, Sotomayor, Parker, CJJ) Joseph A. Castello ran a check cashing business. He cashed more than $200 million in checks that exceeded $10,000 – charging a four percent check-cashing fee – for which he was obligated to file currency transaction reports (CTR’s). He did … Read more
Gibbons v. Savage, No. 07-3306-pr (2d Cir. January 28, 2009)(McLaughlin, Leval, Pooler, CJJ). At Robert Gibbons’ state court trial, the judge closed the courtroom during jury selection, expelling the only spectator, Gibbons’ mother. After exhausting his state court appeals, Gibbons filed a 2254 petition, which the district court dismissed. The circuit affirmed. In doing so, … Read more