Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

guideline

Second Circuit affirms wire fraud convictions post-Ciminelli

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In United States v. Tamaz Pasternak, No. 23-6316-cr, the Second Circuit (Parker, Robinson, Oliver (D. Conn.)) affirmed the defendant’s wire fraud convictions despite a concededly erroneous jury instruction. The charges arose from a purported scheme to conceal the “salvage” histories of used cars—histories of purchase by insurance companies after they’ve been damaged. Pasternak, a used-car … Read more

The Second Circuit Grants Panel Rehearing in Gibson to Reject the Government’s Request to Recast its Holding as Dicta

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In United States v. Gibson, 55 F.4th 153 (2d Cir. 2022), the Second Circuit held that the defendant’s 2002 New York state conviction for attempted third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance was not a “controlled substance” offense under the career offender Sentencing Guideline because the New York drug schedules in 2002 included naloxegel, which … Read more

Second Circuit: On a motion under the First Step Act, a court isn’t obligated to “recalculate” the Sentencing Guidelines range to account for new Guidelines provisions “or new judicial interpretations of existing Guidelines.” Only Guideline-changes “that flow from the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010” have to be considered. But there’s an acknowledged circuit split. United States v. Moore, __F.3d__, No. 19-1390-cr, 2020 WL 5523205 (2d Cir. Sept. 15, 2020).

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In United States v. Moore, No. 19-1390-cr (available here), the Circuit (Nardini, joined by Chin and Sullivan), holds that, on a motion for a sentence reduction under Section 404 of the First Step Act, a court isn’t required to “recalculate” the Guidelines range under the current law, unless (and only to the extent) the Fair … Read more

District court erred in relying on uncharged conduct to select the applicable Guideline provision, and the error is not harmless despite the court’s claim that it would have imposed the same sentence under the correct Guideline.

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In United States v. Huberfeld, 2d Cir. No. 19-436 (L), the Court (opinion by Judge Pooler, joined by Judges Lynch and Menashi) vacated both a 30-month sentence and a $19 million order of restitution for basically the same reason – the district court erred in relying on uncharged criminal conduct, beyond and broader than what … Read more

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 225-month Sentence in Child Pornography Case as Substantively Unreasonable

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Today, in United States v. Jenkins, the Second Circuit concluded that a 225-month sentence for the possession and transportation of child pornography was substantively unreasonable and vacated and remanded for resentencing, concluding that the district court’s sentence “went far overboard” and was “shockingly high”  Opinion at 11, 12. Jenkins was convicted after trial of one count … Read more

The Supreme Court Holds that the Advisory Guideline Are not Subject to Vagueness Challenges

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In Beckles v. United States, 580 U.S. ___, 2017 WL 855781 (March 6, 2017) the Supreme Court held that Johnson v. United States, 576 U.S. 2551, 135 S.Ct. ___ (2015), does not apply to the Guidelines’ residual clause because “the advisory Guidelines are not subject to vagueness challenges under the Due Process clause.” Slip op. … Read more

Supreme Court decides Beckles

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This morning, the Supreme Court decided Beckles v. United States.  You can read the opinion here. The Court held unanimously that the Sentencing Guidelines are not subject to void-for-vagueness challenges. We will update with a more detailed analysis soon.  

Proposed Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines

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The United States Sentencing Commission has proposed several amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines. Because the Guidelines’ worth stems from their basis in the Commission’s expertise, the reasoning for any changes proposed by the Commission can be useful in persuading a sentencing court to either follow the proposed amendment or decline to follow the current guideline. … Read more