It’s been a slow week for the Second Circuit, but today it issued a summary order reversing a sentence for violations of supervised release as procedurally unreasonable. This holding is unremarkable in light of the district court’s failure to articulate any specific reasons for the defendant’s above-Guidelines sentence. Somewhat notable, however, is the panel’s discussion … Read more
Today the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s sentence imposing as a special condition of supervised release that the defendant refrain from using any alcohol whatsoever while on supervision. The summary order in United States v. Betts, No. 17-231-cr (Leval, Calabresi, Cabranes) (appeal from W.D.N.Y.) is available here. The defendant in Betts was originally convicted of conspiracy to … Read more
Two valuable opinions have been published outside the Second Circuit in recent weeks: (1) The First Circuit has held that attempted second-degree robbery in New York is not a “crime of violence” for purposes of the Career Offender Guideline’s force clause, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.(2)(a)(1). The opinion in United States v. Steed, No. 17-1011 (1st Cir. 2018) (Barron, J.) … Read more
Today the Second Circuit ordered that a defendant’s indictment be dismissed with prejudice because his 6th Amendment speedy trial right was violated. The opinion in United States v. Tigano, 15-3073 (2d Cir. 2018) (Winter, Walker, Pooler), available here, is a case study in “poor trial management,” slip op at 5, and the improper use of competency hearings. (Like … Read more
Today Judge Vitaliano (EDNY) dismissed an indictment with prejudice after ruling that the government must choose between (1) complying with the Bail Reform Act or (2) continuing to hold the defendant in immigration detention notwithstanding that she had been released on bond. See United States v. Lopez, 17-cr-683 (1/19/18 electronic order). This decision is the most recent … Read more
Sentencing Resource Counsel Ada (“Sissy”) Phleger has the details, including as to the practical relevance of the case: On Monday, the Supreme Court granted-vacated-and-remanded a case involving the Speedy Trial Act, White v. United States (17-270), in light of the Solicitor General’s confession of error. While the Government’s confession blocked merits review in Mr. White’s … Read more
Yesterday the Second Circuit issued a short opinion concerning the burdens of proof for modifying restitution orders under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 3663A & 3664. Specifically, the panel held that the district court acted within its discretion in requiring the defendant to prove that a victim recovered money in civil litigation “for … Read more
The Federal Defenders Guidelines and Legislative Committees have released a fact sheet, available here, critiquing a recent Sentencing Commission report which concludes that racial disparities in sentencing have increased in the wake of Booker. In November 2017, the Sentencing Commission released a report concluding that “the gap between the sentence lengths for Black and White male offenders [has] … Read more
Today the Second Circuit vacated a sentence as procedurally unreasonable because the sentencing judge withheld the third point of a Guideline reduction for acceptance of responsibility. The summary order in United States v. Reyes, No. 16-2936 (Winter, Lynch, Droney) (appeal from Townes, J., EDNY), is available here. Mr. Reyes was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty … Read more
In an otherwise slow holiday week, Eastern District Chief Judge Irizarry has reaffirmed that ICE cannot detain noncitizens who are being federally prosecuted and have met their bond conditions. The opinion in United States v. Benzadon Boutin, No. 17-cr-590 (DLI), is available here. The decision is the latest in the “Trujillo” line of cases, see United States v. Trujillo-Alvarez, … Read more