United States v. Hsu, No. 09-4152-cr (2d Cir. February 17, 2012) (Winter, Lynch, Carney, CJJ) Norman Hsu, a prominent, if corrupt, political fundraiser, used the connections he made in politics to run a giant Ponzi scheme. He pled guilty to mail and wire fraud, and was convicted by a jury of campaign finance fraud. In … Read more
United States v. Gilliard, No. 11-1088 (2d Cir. February 16, 2012) (Wesley, Lohier, CJJ, Rosenthal, DJ) Tapia v. United States, 131 S.Ct. 2382 (2011), held that the district court cannot impose or lengthen a prison sentence based on the defendant’s rehabilitative needs. Here, the circuit joins the national trend of reading Tapia narrowly. Troy Gilliard, … Read more
United States v. Coppola, No. 10-0065-cr (2d Cir. February 14, 2012) (Raggi, Lynch, Wallace, CJJ) This very long, and very fact-bound mob-related RICO appeal covers very little new ground. However, it has an interesting discussion of the applicability of Skilling to extortion cases. Defendant Michael Coppola spent three decades rising through the ranks of the … Read more
Four more summary orders of note: In United States v. Magner, No. 11-0751-cr (2d Cir. January 25, 2012), a child pornography case, the court voided a special condition of supervised release prohibiting the defendant from using an electronic device to access “pornography of any kind,” including any “website depicting images of nude adults or minors.” … Read more
United Sates v. Culbertson, 10-1766-cr (2d Cir. February 3, 2012) (Hall, Lynch, Lohier, CJJ) Defendant Culbertson was arrested during an investigation into the importation of heroin and cocaine into the United States from Trinidad, after his girlfriend was arrested at the airport. He was charged with offenses that, based on the drug type and quantity … Read more
United States v. Knight, No. 09-5195-cr (2d Cir. February 1, 2012) (Walker, Straub, Livingston, CJJ) While a Western District grand jury was investigating defendant’s involvement in a “high yield” investment scheme, the district court granted the government’s application pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3292 to toll the statute of limitations while it sought the assistance … Read more
United States v. Cain, 09-0707-cr (2d Cir. January 31, 2012) (Newman, Lynch, CJJ, Restani, JCIT) This is a case, oddly enough, about trees. Appellant David Cain, Jr., proprietor of David’s Tree Service, assisted by his brother, Chris Cain, a cousin, Jamie Soha, and others, was trying to corner the tree service and logging market in … Read more
United States v. Watkins, No. 10-2971-cr (2d Cir. January 26, 2012) (Miner, McLaughlin, Pooler, CJJ) Anthony Watkins was a 48-year-old homeless career criminal who lived in a baseball dugout in Schenectady, New York. Using a computer from the local public library, and posing as a 38-year-old, he began an on-line relationship with a 15-year-old girl … Read more
The circuit consistently produces summary orders that are worthy of note. Here are the most recent three: In L.M. v. United States, No. 10-371-cr (2d Cir. January 17, 2012), the court vacated the sentence that Judge Platt imposed on a cooperator. The facts of the case are truly exceptional. The defendant cooperated for seventeen years, … Read more
United States v. Barner, No. 10-3700-cr (2d Cir. (Sack, Raggi, CJJ, Eaton, JCIT) This decision, a government appeal, reverses a district court order suppressing evidence obtained during a parole search. Barner was released to New York State parole in 2007, and signed a Certificate of Release that included his consent to having his parole officer … Read more