United States v. Ramos, No. 10-4802-cr (2d Cir. July 2, 2012) (Winter, Raggi, Chin, CJJ) This long opinion in a child pornography (“cp”) case tackles two interesting issues. Background James Ramos was on New York State parole for a sex offense; to secure his release, he agreed to a search condition, to “promptly, fully and … Read more
United States v. Stewart, No. 10-3185 (2d Cir. June 28, 2012) (Winter, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ) This opinion appears to shut the door on the long-running series of appeals in the Lynne Stewart case. Stewart was convicted after trial of conspiracy to defraud the United States, providing material support to the killing or kidnapping of persons … Read more
United States v. Esso, No. 11-570-cr (2d Cir. June 27, 2012) (Walker, Lynch, Droney, CJJ) The published opinion in this case is a short and fairly unremarkable decision holding that the district court did not err in allowing the members of a deliberating jury to take the indictment – it charged conspiracy to commit wire … Read more
United States v. Sekhar, No. 11-4298 (2d Cir. June 26, 2012) (Jacobs, Parker, Hall, CJJ) Defendant Skhar was convicted of Hobbs Act extortion and the interstate transmission of extortionate threats based on a particularly bizarre set of facts. He was a managing partner of a tech company into which the New York State Comptroller was … Read more
Here are the court’s three most recent per curiams. In United States v. Deida, No. 11-2272-cr (2d Cir. June 20, 2012) (Winter, McLaughlin, Chin, CJJ) (per curiam), the court affirmed a life sentence under the federal “three strikes” statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c). The court rejected the defendant’s argument that the statute violates the principle … Read more
Matthews v. United States, No. 10-0611-pr (2d Cir. June 14, 2012) (Kearse, Cabranes, Straub, CJJ) Petitioner Michael Matthews was convicted of a 2006 bank robbery and received a life sentence under the federal “three strikes” statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c). After exhausting his direct appeals, he filed a 2255 motion alleging, amongst other things, ineffectiveness … Read more
United States v. D’Amelio, No. 09-2541-cr (2d Cir. June 13, 2012) (Raggi, Hall, Chin, CJJ) This opinion provides some helpful clarification of the confusing precedents that try to differentiate between a constructive amendment to the indictment – which, in this circuit at least, requires reversal without a showing of prejudice – and a variance. Background … Read more
There has been a recent flurry of interesting summary orders. Enjoy! United States v. Wilke, No. 11-1122-cr (2d Cir. May 31, 2012), contains an interesting discussion of the double jeopardy implications of being convicted of both tghe receipt of and the possession of the same images of child pornography. The court, which has never decided the issue, notes … Read more
United States v. Gowing and Scheringer, Nos. 10-4037-cr, 11-683-cr (2d Cir. June 6, 2012) (Winter, Straub, Lynch, CJJ) (per curiam) The court’s latest per curiam looks at 18 U.S.C. § 3147, which enhances the sentence of a person “convicted of an offense committed while on release.” The underlying case involved a massive oil contract fraud … Read more
United States v. Decastro, No 10-3773 (2d Cir. June 1, 2012) (Jacobs, Hall, Lynch, CJJ) In 2002, Angel Decastro moved from Florida to New York to help run his father’s dry-cleaning business. After a violent confrontation with a customer, Decastro requested a handgun license application from the NYPD. He did not submit it, however; he … Read more