Criminal Law

Decision

U.S. v. Williamson

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Monday, June 3, 2013

A sentence that includes five years of supervised release is not an abuse of discretion, manifestly unjust or shocking to the conscience, even if the defendant's plea agreement included the defendant's agreement not to appeal, if the District Court capped the defendant's supervised release at four years.

Decision

U.S. v. Steele

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Monday, June 3, 2013

Absent a government motion for a departure based on substantial assistance, a defendant who applies for re-sentencing based on a retroactive lowering of the base-offense levels for crack cocaine may not be entitled to a downward departure from his original criminal history category, pursuant to §3582(c)(2), even if he previously received a downward departure, when he originally was sentenced.

Decision

U.S. v. Rawls

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Monday, June 3, 2013

U.S. Sentencing Guideline §3B1.1(a) permits enhancement, if the defendants were organizers or leaders of criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive.

Decision

U.S. v. McLean

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Monday, June 3, 2013

It may constitute a procedural error, if the District Court fails to adequately explain a rationale for a defendant's sentence.

Decision

State v. Henderson

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Monday, June 3, 2013

In the 2007 case of State v. Bell, the Connecticut Supreme Court concluded that a provision in C.G.S. §53a-40(h) requiring the trial court to make the determination as to whether extended incarceration of the defendant would best serve the public interest violated the defendant's constitutional right to due process and a trial by jury.

Decision

State v. Spencer

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Monday, June 3, 2013

When law enforcement agents possess a warrant to search and discover additional items that are not included in the search warrant, law enforcement agents can charge a defendant with possession of the additional items, if they are discovered in "plain view."

Decision

U.S. v. Ahmad

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Even if information is "tangentially relevant" to a defendant's case, the government can file an ex parte motion and invoke the state secrets privilege for classified material, the disclosure of which could endanger national security; the government can also request permission to substitute unclassified abstracts, in order to comply with discovery.

Decision

U.S. v. Davis

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Monday, May 27, 2013

A District Court commits a procedural error, if the court treats the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines as mandatory.

Decision

Williams v. Commissioner of Correction

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Monday, May 27, 2013

As explained in the 2011 U.S. Supreme Court case of Harrington v. Richter, "a court deciding an actual ineffectiveness claim must judge the reasonableness of counsel's challenged conduct on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel's conduct?," and the standard is one of reasonableness.

Decision

State v. Dickerson

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Meghan's Law, which requires all convicted sex offenders to register, does not violate the Equal Protection rights of a nonviolent offender.