Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

The 5-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2G2.2(b)(3)(B) for distribution of child pornography “for the receipt, or expectation of receipt, of a thing of value,” requires “specific, individualized evidence” of the bargained-for exchange.

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Last week, the Second Circuit vacated the sentence in United States v. Bennett, No. 15-0024 (“Opinion”). The Court held that, in order to justify the 5-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2G2.2(b)(3)(B) for distribution of child pornography “for the receipt, or expectation of receipt, of a thing of value,” “the Government must advance specific, individualized evidence that … Read more

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No Second Circuit decisions today. In EDNY news: On Friday, Jeffrey Hurant, the CEO of Rentboy.com, pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution. He will be sentenced on February 2. Rentboy.com allowed escorts to advertise their services online. The case made headlines last year when Hurant and others were arrested and the files of Rentboy.com seized. The … Read more

U.S. v. Jones: Hold That Thought…

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In United States v. Jones, previously blogged about here, the Second Circuit held New York robbery is not a categorical “crime of violence” under the Career Offender Guideline, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2.  The Court’s opinion was based in part on the view, shared by the government and all but one of the circuits, that the Guideline’s residual clause … Read more

OIG Reports finds problems with DEA’s use of confidential sources

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The Office of the Inspector General released an audit of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s management and oversight of its confidential source program.  The report contains a lot of useful information about the way the DEA confidential source program is supposed to work and provides counsel with potentially fruitful avenues of cross examination and specific Brady requests.  … Read more

SUNY Trustees Vote to Remove Question about Felony Convictions from Their Applications

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Today SUNY voted to remove questions from applications about the applicant’s criminal record. This is an important step towards making access to education easier for people who have been convicted of crimes. As explained in a detailed report from the New York City Bar Association*, over the past decade, colleges and universities have increasingly included … Read more

Defense attorneys move to dismiss cases based on equal protection violations

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Defense attorneys in Chicago have moved to dismiss cases on the basis that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (the ATF) violated the equal protection clause by targeting people of color for its fake stash house sting cases.  The Federal Defenders, CJA Panel attorneys, and the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic at the University … Read more

Is Hobbs Act Extortion a “Crime of Violence”?

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In today’s United States v. Sheehan, the Second Circuit (Winter, Wesley, Lynch) affirmed a conviction for using a “destructive device” during a “crime of violence,” in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(ii). Wearing a wig, an arm sling and makeup, Sheehan planted an almost-complete pipe bomb in a Home Depot on Long Island.  He sent a letter … Read more

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In today’s United States v. Harris, the Second Circuit (Newman, Calabresi, Raggi) decided two things with respect to supervised release. First, “18 U.S.C. § 3583(e) does not preclude revocation of supervised release on the basis of conduct that earlier prompted a modification of supervision conditions.”  Here, the district court first modified Harris’s terms of supervision — based on … Read more