Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

breach

The Second Circuit vacates and remands for resentencing because of the erroneous application of the Sentencing Guidelines enhancements for possessing a “dangerous weapon” (§ 2B3.1, cmt. n.2) and “physical restraint” (§ 2B3.1(b)(4)(B)) – – which increase the offense level for robbery offenses. United States v. Taylor, No. 18-1710,  __F.3d__, 2020 WL 2745536  (May 27,  2020). 

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In United States v. Taylor, the Circuit interprets two provisions of the Sentencing Guidelines that increase the offense level for robbery. It concludes that the sparse facts “set forth in the Presentence Report (PSR), upon which the district court relied at sentencing, are insufficient to support the application of either enhancement.” 2020 WL 2745536 at … Read more

Second Circuit vacates and remands for fact-finding on claim the government breached a plea agreement by its oral representations during plea negotiations, despite the agreement’s “merger clause” (saying the written agreement is “the total agreement” between the parties). United States v. Feldman, Nos. 17-2868-cr, 17-2869-cr,  __F.3d__, 2019 WL 4419378  (Sept. 17,  2019). 

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In United States v. Feldman, an opinion authored by Judge Pierre Leval, the Circuit addresses the government’s obligations under a plea agreement based on oral representations “made by the government to the defendant in the course of plea negotiations[.]” 2019 WL 4419378 at *1. The defendant in this case wasn’t seeking vacatur of his guilty … Read more

Breach Blanket Bingo

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United States v. Bell, No. 07-0715-cr (2d Cir. June 10, 2008) (Jacobs, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ) (per curiam) In this case, the circuit had to sift through competing claims as to which party breached the plea agreement. Defendants Brumer and Klein pled guilty to various offenses relating to healthcare fraud. Their agreements with the government stipulated … Read more

Breach Baby

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United States v. Griffin, No. 05-4106-cr (2d Cir. December 21, 2007) (Pooler, Sack, Wesley, CJJ) In this case, a divided panel concluded that the government breached its plea agreement in a child pornography case by twice suggesting that the defendant might not be entitled to a downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility. Facts: Defendant Michael … Read more