Yesterday in the SDNY, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan found that the career offender guidelines overstated the seriousness of the offense in a case involving a conviction under 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(C), and that a sentence within the career offender guideline range of 151-188 months would have resulted in a sentence greater than necessary to achieve the … Read more
Three short summary orders today: First up, United States v. Fiume: In this case, the sentencing court imposed “GPS tracking” as a condition of Mr. Fiume’s supervised release, but never stated that it was also imposing home detention, a “separate and additionally burdensome condition.” Nonetheless, a condition of home detention appeared in Mr. Fiume’s written … Read more
United States v. Wagner-Dano, No. 10-4593-cr (2d Cir. May 14, 2012) (Winter, Livingston, CJJ, Rakoff, DJ) Melissa Wagner-Dano was a bookkeeper in upstate New York, where she worked for a small town and two large dairy farm cooperatives. She stole more than $1 million from her employers through unauthorized withdrawals from their bank accounts, using … Read more
United States v. Keller, No. 07-3330-cr (2d Cir. August 14, 2008) (Miner, Cabranes, CJJ, Berman, DJ) This case provides an important clarification of the procedure that the court set out earlier this year in United States v. Regalado, 518 F.3d 143 (2d Cir. 2008). In that case, the court held that a remand was warranted … Read more
United States v. Jones, No. 05-5879-cr (2d Cir. June 24, 2008) (Leval, Cabranes, Raggi, CJJ) In 2004, Jones was present in a “gatehouse” – an apartment used solely for the purpose of selling drugs – when Rochester police executed a search warrant. The officers found, inter alia, twenty-two grams of crack residue and $883 in … Read more
United States v. Martinez, No. 06-5502-cr (2d Cir. May 9, 2008) (per curiam). In this brief per curiam, the court reaffirms that there is only one quantum of proof necessary for sentencing enhancements post-Booker – the preponderance standard. Specifically, the court rejected Martinez’ argument that where the enhancement requires the sentencing judge to determine that … Read more
United States v. Negron, 06-3614-cr (2d Cir. April 24, 2008) (Jacobs, Kearse, Pooler, CJJ) (per curiam) Defendant Silverio, who was sentenced to 272 months (22 years, 8 months) in prison, had been offered, and rejected, a plea agreement with a binding sentencing recommendation of 17 years. On appeal, he argued that district court erred in … Read more
United States v. Donoso, No. 07-0635-cr (2d Cir. April 3, 2008) (McLaughlin, Hall, CJJ, Sand, DJ) (per curiam) Resolving an open question in this circuit, the court here holds that, under 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a), a district judge cannot order the federal sentence to run consecutively to another sentence that has not yet been imposed. … Read more
United States v. Cutler, No. 05-2516(L) (2d Cir. March 17, 2008) (Jacobs, Kearse, Pooler, CJJ) In this case, the government successfully appealed the exceptionally lenient sentences that Judge Preska imposed on two defendants convicted of a multi-million dollar fraud. The circuit found that the sentences were both procedurally and substantively unreasonable, and remanded the case … Read more
United States v. Regalado, No. 05-5379-cr (2d Cir. March 4, 2008) (Jacobs, Pooler, Sack, CJJ) (per curiam) At last, the circuit has told us what to do in light of Kimbrough. And the answer is, in essence, a Crosby remand. Regalado received a 262-month crack sentence, the bottom of the Guideline range (he was not … Read more