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It is unlikely that today Alfonso Vega Diaz would face a mandatory minimum sentence under A.G. Holder’s new drug charging policy (no violence, weapons, minors, serious injury or death; not an organizer, leader or supervisor; no “significant ties” to “large-scale drug trafficking organizations, gangs, or cartels;” and no or minimal criminal history). Unfortunately for Diaz,…
In those increasingly rare cases that go to trial, the defendant is entitled to a jury “selected from a fair cross-section of the community.” Defendants like Carlous Horton can be surprised to learn that this doesn’t mean a jury pool, much less an actual jury, that actually reflects racial, gender and economic demographics (in Horton’s…
How must a defendant effectively object to facts in the presentence report (PSR)? With “specificity and clarity,” the Eighth Circuit repeats in United States v. Pepper, issued on March 20, 2014 (published), so as “to put the Government on notice of the challenged facts.” In other words, it is not enough for the defense…
The fabulous Historyapolis Project, run by Kirsten Delagard, Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of History at Augsburg College, is running a series of blog entries this women’s history month showcasing notable Minneapolis women. On March 13, 2014, the Project ran this entry by JaneAnne Murray on civil rights lawyer and activist, Lena Olive Smith.
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The headline of this post may be misleading, since it implies a rare ruling excluding a defendant’s prior conviction similar to the charge at issue. In United States v. Patrick Brown Thunder, issued on March 12, 2014 (published), however, at issue was not a prior conviction of the defendant, but a prior conviction of…
Time and again, the issue on appeal involves a defendant whose presentence report estimated a guideline range far higher than that in his plea agreement – sometimes triggering three-strikes laws and mandatory minimum sentences. Two recent cases, United States v. Ruacho, issued on March 11, 2014 (published), and United Haubrich, issued on March…
Is this a bar exam question? Spot the bases for suppression in the following thumbnail description from the Eighth Circuit’s website of United States v. Douglas, issued on March 11, 2014 (published):
District court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to suppress a shotgun found hidden in a trash bag in an abandoned…
In a cautionary tale, Raymond Cortez was convicted at trial based in part (or maybe wholly) on a factual stipulation contained in a written plea agreement he had entered into with the government, but which he later rejected. In the plea agreement, Cortez “agree[d] this stipulation [could] be used against [him] at any time in…
In United States v. Vore, issued on March 4, 2014 (published), the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the defense request for a “mere presence” instruction. This instruction reminds the jury that a defendant’s mere presence near contraband or those engaged in criminal activity is not enough to establish knowledge or control…
