United States v. Perez-Frias, No. 10-1401-cr (2d Cir. March 31, 2011) (Jacobs, Calabresi, Lohier, CJJ) (per curiam) Pedro Ruben Perez-Frias appealed his 42-month, below-Guideline illegal reenty sentence, arguing that it was substantively unreasonable. The circuit affirmed. His case presented a particularly unsympathetic set of facts. In 1995, Perez-Frias was convicted of a drug-related manslaughter. He … Read more
United States v. Dorvee, No. 09-0648 (2d Cir. May 11, 2010) (Cabranes, Parker, CJJ, Underhill, DJ) In this first-of-a-kind opinion, the court (1) held that a within Guideline – albeit statutory maximum – sentence was substantively unreasonable and (2) found that an offense Guideline other than the crack Guideline was not the product of the … Read more
United States v. Rigas, No. 08-3485-cr (2d Cir. October 5, 2009) (Feinberg, Winter, Cabranes, CJJ) When we last heard about the Rigas père et fils – former senior officers at Adelphia Communications who were convicted of conspiracy, securities, wire and bank fraud – the circuit affirmed the majority of their convictions, but reversed a single … Read more
United States v. Cavera, No. 05-4591-cr (2d Cir. December 4, 2008) (en banc) Gerard Cavera pled guilty to participating in a scheme in which guns were purchased in the South then transported to New York City for sale. At sentencing, the district court imposed a sentence six months longer than the top of the Guideline … Read more
United States v. Gonzalez, No. 07-4824-cr (2d Cir. June 11, 2008) (Newman, Walker, Pooler, CJJ) In this case, the circuit sets out the procedure that a district court should follow when it realizes that it has sentenced a defendant without first giving him an opportunity to allocute. It also criticizes the imposition of the statutory … 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. Juwa, No. 06-2716-cr (2d Cir. November 28, 2007) (Walker, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ) United States v. Baker, No. 05-4693-cr (2d Cir. November 16, 2007) (Summary Order) The circuit has. Twice, but only once in a published opinion. In Juwa, the court found that a 90-month sentence was procedurally unreasonable because it might have … Read more
United States v. Whitley, Docket No. 05-3359-cr (2d Cir. September 17, 2007) (Straub, Pooler, Parker, CJJ) (per curiam) Once – or rather twice – again, in these consolidated appeals, the Circuit has bounced Anders briefs. Here the court was dissatisfied with the briefs’ treatment of the reasonableness of the sentence. One “merely recite[d] the legal … Read more