Federal Defenders of New York Second Circuit Blog

Second Circuit: Application of an Extradition Treaty’s “Lapse of Time” Provision is a Discretionary Decision for the Secretary of State, and Not for the Court.

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In Yoo v. United States, 21-2755(2d Cir. Aug. 1, 2022), the Circuit (Lynch, joined by Calabresi and Lohier) affirmed the denial of a petition for habeas corpus alleging that petitioner’s extradition to South Korea was time-barred, holding that the extradition treaty’s “Lapse of Time” provision was a discretionary provision for the executive authority and not … Read more

Second Circuit Holds That a Fourth Amendment Challenge to Evidence Seized Under a State Warrant Is Not Precluded by a Prior Guilty Plea in State Court.

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In United States v. Jones, No. 20-3009 (2d Cir. Aug.1, 2022), the Circuit (Livingston, joined by Chin and Nardini) held that the defendant’s state guilty plea did not preclude him from challenging the evidence seized pursuant the state warrant in his federal case because the Fourth Amendment claim was not raised in state court. On … Read more

Second Circuit: State Court’s Erroneous Denial Of Defendant’s Peremptory Strike Is Not Grounds For Federal Habeas Corpus Relief

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In Murray v. Noeth, No. 20-3136 (2d Cir. Apr. 26, 2022), the Circuit (Nardini, joined by Sack and Park), held that a state trial court’s erroneous denial of a defendant’s peremptory strike does not violate the federal Constitution under Rivera v. Illinois, 556 U.S. 148 (2009), and therefore cannot support federal habeas corpus relief. Murray … Read more

Circuit affirms denial of Rule 33 motion on Brady grounds, finding lack of prejudice, but expresses “skepticism” that DOJ’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section was not “part of the prosecution team” in “unusual case”

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When multiple law enforcement agencies or subdivisions are involved in a case, who is “part of the prosecution team” for Brady purposes? In United States v. Hunter, Nos. 18-3074, 18-3489, & 19-790 (2d Cir. Apr. 20, 2022) (C.J.J. Cabranes, Raggi, and Korman (sitting by designation)), the Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Rule 33 motions … Read more

“Hybrid” Restitution Order Makes Less Culpable Defendant Liable to Personally Pay the Full Amount Jointly Imposed Until All Restitution Has Been Paid, Including Additional Restitution Assessed Against More Culpable Defendant

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After Ayfer and Hakan Yalincik, mother and son, pled guilty to a fraud scheme led by Hakan, the district court imposed $500,000 in restitution for one victim, for which the defendants were jointly and severally liable, and an additional $250,000 for the same victim, for which only Hakan was individually liable. After the victim had … Read more

District court can’t delegate inpatient treatment decision, but Hobbs Act restitution order stands.

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In a March 14, 2022 summary order, the Second Circuit reiterated the limits of a district court’s authority to delegate decisions about supervised release to the Probation Department. In United States v. Ely, No. 17-3081-cr, the court imposed a special condition of release requiring the defendant to complete “outpatient and/or inpatient drug treatment.” This wording … Read more

Evidentiary Errors Prompt Second Circuit to Vacate Forced-Labor Convictions.

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Our friend Alexandra Shapiro of Shapiro Arato Bach, LLP, earned an important victory this week in United States v. Dan Zhong, No. 19-4110 (2d Cir. Feb. 23, 2022), persuading the Court to vacate her client’s conviction on three forced-labor charges. (While the Court affirmed the defendant’s convictions on two other counts, those convictions carry far … Read more

Circuit Vacates LIBOR-Rigging Convictions For Insufficient Evidence

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In United States v. Connolly, No. 19-3806 (2d Cir. Jan. 27, 2022), the Circuit (Kearse, joined by Cabranes and Pooler) reversed convictions for substantive wire fraud and for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud for insufficient evidence. This is a LIBOR-rigging prosecution. LIBOR (the “London Interbank Offered Rate”) was an interest-rate benchmark, published … Read more

Second Circuit Affirms El Chapo’s Conviction

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In United States v. Beltran Leyva (Guzman Loera), No. 19–2239 (2d Cir. Jan. 25, 2022), the Circuit (Newman, joined by Lynch and Park) affirmed the conviction of Guzman Loera (“El Chapo”), the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, for conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, and for drug trafficking, firearms, and money laundering offenses. The Circuit rejected … Read more