Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

lay opinion

Bonnano Republic

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United States v. Massino, No. 07-1618-cr (2d Cir. October 10, 2008) (Hall, Livingston, CJJ, McMahon, DJ) (per curiam) Patrick DeFilippo was convicted of racketeering and other offenses in connection with his involvement with the Bonnano crime family, and the district court sentenced him to forty years’ imprisonment. He challenged two evidentiary rulings, albeit without success. … Read more

We Value Your Opinion

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United States v. Tsekhanovich, No. 05-4809-cr (2d Cir. October 24, 2007) (Miner, Cabranes, Straub, CJJ) (per curiam) Treading no new ground, the court reminds us that a lay person can give opinion testimony if it is both based on his first-hand perceptions and rationally derived from them. Here, a cooperating witness in a fraud case … Read more