United States v. Ray, No. 08-2795-cr (2d Cir. August 27, 2009)(Leval, Cabranes, Livingstone, CJJ) In this decision, the court holds that an unexplained and prejudicial fifteen-year delay in imposing sentence amounted to a Fifth-Amendment due process violation, but did not violate the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. Background In 1991, Ray pled guilty … Read more
United States v. Magassouba, No. 06-2628-cr (2d Cir. September 19, 2008) (Parker, Raggi, Wesley, CJJ) Defendant Magassouba has been in custody since at least August of 2003, when he was ordered detained on heroin trafficking charge that carried a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. Between approximately January of 2004 and May of 2005 he was subject … Read more
United States v. Ellett, No. 07-3682-cr (2d Cir. May 23, 2008) (per curiam) James Ellett was a tax protester, who stopped paying his federal income tax after reading a book called “Vultures in Eagle’s Clothing,” which purported to describe a lawful way of avoiding taxes. He claimed to have read the book more than 100 … Read more
United States v. Eberhard, No. 05-3431-cr (2d Cir. May 5, 2008) (Jacobs, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ) Todd Eberhard, a former stock broker, pled guilty to various fraud charges. Under his plea agreement, the stipulated guideline range was 97 to 121 months’ imprisonment. The presentence report added a 4-level aggravating role enhancement, but then recommended a below-guidelines … Read more