Summary orders of interest have literally been piling up on my desk. Here’s the latest crop: In United States v. Muse, No. 07-4482-cr (2d Cir. March 11, 2010), the court vacated the sentence where the district court erroneously believed that jury’ finding on a special interrogatory indicated that the defendants had been convicted only of … Read more
United States v.Deandrade, No. 08-4815-cr (2d Cir. March 12, 201(Jacobs, Hall, CJJ, Murtha, DJ) At Deandrade’s trial, two cooperating witnesses mentioned that he was incarcerated during his trial. The district court denied his mistrial motions, and on appeal, the circuit affirmed. Deandrade argued that those references improperly impaired the presumption of innocence under Estelle v. … Read more
United States v. Muse, No. 07-4483-cr (2d Cir. March 11, 2010)(Walker, Calabresi, Wesley, CJJ) (per curiam) Two defendants in a large khat prosecution appealed the multi-million dollar forfeiture orders against them, arguing that a defendant in a drug case is not subject to forfeiture where he does not have assets to satisfy the judgment at … Read more
United States v. Gardner, No. 08-4793-cr (2d Cir. March 10, 2010)(Feinberg, Katzmann, CJJ, Castel, DJ) 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) makes it a crime to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Here, the defendants challenged the applicability of this section in their case, where they purchased firearms using drugs as payment. The … Read more
United States v. Culbertson, No. 09-0485-cr (2d Cir. March 10, 2010) (Miner, Cabranes, CJJ, Rakoff, DJ) Defendant Troy Culbertson, acting pro se, moved in the circuit for poor person’s relief and for appointment of counsel to pursue an interlocutory appeal of the district court’s orders (1) denying his speedy trial motion, (2) refusing to appoint … Read more
United States v. Navas, No. 09-1144-cr (2d Cir. March 8, 2010) (Leval, Wesley, CJJ, Gleeson, DJ) In connection with a narcotics investigation, DEA agents watched the defendants unload a tractor-trailer at the Hunts Point Market. The defendants then drove it to a private warehouse, where they parked it, unhitched the cab, and lowered the legs … Read more
United States v. Walker, No. 08-3874-cr (2d Cir. February 18, 2010) (Feinberg, Katzamann, CJJ, Ellis, DJ) Here, the circuit upheld the use of Walker’s prior conviction for “strong arm robbery” – a South Carolina common law offense – as a “crime of violence” to enhance his offense level under the firearms guideline. The court rejected … Read more
United States v. Savoca, No. 08-4610-cr (2d Cir. February 25, 2010) (Sack, Parker, CJJ, Goldberg, JCIT) Defendant Savoca and his brother were both charged in an attempted robbery and shooting. Savoca accepted a plea agreement to a Hobbs Act attempt with a 37 to 46 month range and a “discharge” 924(c) with a mandatory 120-month … Read more
United States v. Green, No. 08-5426-cr (2d Cir. February 17, 2010) (Kearse, Winter, Pooler, CJJ) In this case, the Court holds that a crack sentence that was the product of an imperfectly amended Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement could not be reduced under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Last year, in United States v. Main, 579 F.3d … Read more
As noted below, the circuit has been a bit slow this month. But here are three more summary orders of interest. In United States v. Valentin, No. 07-5278-cr (2d Cir. February 9, 2010), the court ordered a Jacobson remand for the district court to clarify whether it would have imposed a shorter sentence if it … Read more