Today the Second Circuit issued a 104-page en banc opinion in United States v. Ganias, 12-240-cr. In Ganias, the Court affirmed the judgment of the district court, holding that the government had relied on a search warrant in good faith and declining to reach the Fourth Amendment question raised by the defendant. The case involved … Read more
The Court issued two summary orders in criminal cases today. Neither Appellant prevailed. United States v. Humphries, No. 14-985-cr (2d Cir. May 26, 2016) (Cabranes, Straub, and Lohier) Humphries was convicted after a jury trial of interstate travel in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud to defeat Canadian tax revenue, conspiracy to manufacture … Read more
Senior Eastern District Judge Frederic Block issued a 42-page opinion in United States v. Nesbeth, 15-CR-18(FB), calling for a close reexamination of the collateral consequences that follow felony convictions, the ways these consequences hamper rehabilitation efforts, and their inclusion as a factor in determining the appropriate sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). (N.B. Ms. Nesbeth was represented by … Read more
The Court did not issue any decisions in criminal cases today.
The Second Circuit issued four summary orders in criminal cases today. United States v. Rigo, 15-1914, remanded the case for resentencing. The Second Circuit held that the district court committed plain error in calculating the loss amount for the purposes of determining the guideline range. The Circuit explained that “the scope of conduct for which … Read more
There were three summary orders from the Second Circuit. Of particular interest is the Court’s order in United States v. Choudhry, No. 15-1737-cr. There a panel of the Second Circuit (Newman, Cabranes, Lohier, Jr.) addressed, among other issues, whether jury instructions regarding the charge of transmission of a threat to injure were erroneous in light … Read more
United States v. Mazza, No.15-2394-cr (2d Cir. May 19, 2016) (summary order) (Jacobs, Parker, and Raggi). Congratulations to the Federal Defenders in New Haven for obtaining a vacatur and remand of a district judge’s refusal to grant a defendant’s motion for a reduction of sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). In this summary order, the … Read more
The Second Circuit did not issue any criminal decisions today.
Nothing relevant from the Second Circuit today.
In United States v. Kent, 14-2082, the Second Circuit vacated a sentence and remanded for resentencing after concluding that the District Court’s application of a 4-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a) was not supported by adequate factual findings. The district court determined that Mr. Kent was a leader or organizer of criminal activity that was … Read more