Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Illegal Reentry Sentence As Procedurally and Substantively Unreasonable

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Today the Second Circuit issued an opinion vacating a 60-month illegal reentry sentence as both procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The opinion in United States v. Latchman Singh, No. 16-1111 (Kearse, Hall, Chin) (appeal from Forrest, J., SDNY), is available here. Judge Chin’s opinion touches on a number of recurring sentencing issues, and includes an important analysis … Read more

Recent Cert. Grants

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The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in three criminal cases, the availability of sentencing reductions pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) when a Guidelines sentencing range is retroactively lowered: Hughes v. United States, No. 17-155 Question Presented: Whether, as a four-justice plurality in Freeman v. United States concluded, a defendant who enters into a Federal … Read more

Judge Weinstein on Incapicitory Sentencing

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Today Eastern District Judge Weinstein issued a carefully researched opinion explaining the relatively lengthy—and in one case statutorily mandated—sentences of three adolescent defendants who each pled guilty to one count of brandishing a firearm. The opinion, available here, includes a balanced and detailed critique of the current methods to punish and rehabilitate young offenders who … Read more

“Unrelated inquiries that prolong or add time to a traffic stop violate the Fourth Amendment absent reasonable suspicion of a separate crime.”

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The title is the holding of today’s Second Circuit opinion in United States v. Gomez (Parker, Wesley, Droney) (on appeal from D. Conn.). Specifically, the Circuit held that (1) the Fourth Amendment was violated when officers prolonged a minutes-long traffic stop to investigate matters unrelated to the pretextual basis for the stop, but that (2) … Read more

Second Circuit Opinion on Post-Arrest DNA Testing and the Confrontation Clause

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Kenneth Washington was convicted based on DNA records created after his arrest. He did not have the opportunity to cross-examine the analysts who tested the DNA. Yesterday the Second Circuit rejected Washington’s habeas petition, which argued that the admission of these records violated clearly established law governing the Confrontation Clause. The holding of Washington v. Griffin … Read more

Recent Criminal Forfeiture GVRs

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The Supreme Court has recently reversed two drug forfeiture decisions in light of its decision in Honeycutt v. United States. Sentencing Resource Counsel Ada (“Sissy”) Phleger has the details: “In the last two weeks the Supreme Court has granted, vacated, and remanded (GVR’ed) two cases in light of last summer’s Honeycutt v. United States, 581 … Read more

Second Circuit Enforces Rule 11

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Yesterday the Second Circuit vacated a conviction because a Northern District court violated the requirements of Rule 11 concerning the acceptance of a guilty plea. The summary order in United States v. Coffin (Walker, Raggi, Hall) is available here. Mr. Coffin agreed to plead guilty to one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of … Read more

EDNY Holds That ICE Can’t Detain a Defendant for Criminal Prosecution

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Chief Judge Irizarry recently issued the first EDNY decision holding that once a defendant has been granted pretrial release under the Bail Reform Act, the defendant may not be detained by ICE while his prosecution is pending. In United States v. Rosario Ventura, 17-cr-418, Judge Irizarry held that “the Government must either release Defendant under … Read more

This Week’s Cert. Grants

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The Supreme Court has recently granted certiorari in three First Amendment cases relevant to criminal practice: Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, No. 17-21 Question presented: Does the existence of probable cause defeat a First Amendment retaliatory-arrest claim as a matter of law? Cert. papers and opinion below available here: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/lozman-v-city-riviera-beach-florida/ Minnesota Voters Alliance … Read more

Second Circuit Preserves Ban On Compelled Cross-Border Testimony

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Yesterday the Second Circuit denied rehearing en banc of a case that places an important constraint on cross-border prosecutions. United States v. Allen, No. 16-898 (Cabranes, Pooler, Lynch), available here. As we previously wrote, the 81-page opinion in Allen holds that the Fifth Amendment prohibits the use of testimony in a U.S. criminal prosecution that was compelled by a … Read more