Matt Larsen Do you have a client who was deemed a career offender pursuant to the residual clause of the mandatory (pre-Booker) Career Offender Guideline? If so, keep fighting that sentence! There are at least a couple ways: 1) If the client has a petition pending under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, make sure to argue the sentence is … Read more
In “a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) [], the Government must prove both that the defendant knew he possessed a firearm and that he knew he belonged to the relevant category of persons barred from possessing a firearm.” Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191, 2200 (2019). The most common § 922(g) offense is … Read more
Monday’s post, titled Supreme Court Keeps the Faith, discussed the Court’s distaste for “faithless electors.” In two 7-2 rulings today, the Court took its distaste for the faithless to a new level, ruling labor and health laws largely do not apply to religious organizations. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, two teachers sued the Catholic … Read more
Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court in today’s Chiafalo v. Washington, Justice Kagan upheld a state’s power to not just replace — but also to punish — “faithless electors.” Such electors refuse to cast their Electoral College ballots for the presidential candidate the voters of their state selected. The Electoral College is, of course, an … Read more
The Second Circuit held this week that an offense is not a “crime of violence [if] it can be committed by complete inaction and therefore without the use of force.” United States v. Scott, ___ F.3d ___, 2020 WL 1522825, at *1 (2d Cir. Mar. 31, 2020). Mr. Scott had originally been subjected to the Armed … Read more
As the defense community continues to focus on clients at elevated risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent ruling from the Fourth Circuit offers new support for vacating the convictions of clients who pleaded guilty to gun possession in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). An element of that offense is that, at the time … Read more
As blogged about here, Judge Johnson of the E.D.N.Y. has ruled that attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). He’s just been joined by Judge Telesca of the W.D.N.Y. “[A]ttempted Hobbs Act robbery does not categorically entail the use, threatened use, or attempted use of force.” Lofton v. … Read more
To convict someone of unlawful gun possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), “the Government must prove both that the defendant knew he possessed a firearm and that he knew he belonged to the relevant category of persons barred from possessing a firearm.” Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191, 2200 (2019). For the most … Read more
To secure a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), “the Government must prove both that the defendant knew he possessed a firearm and that he knew he belonged to the relevant category of persons barred from possessing a firearm.” Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191, 2200 (2019). For the most commonly charged § … Read more
In today’s United States v. Watkins, No. 18-3076, a panel of the Second Circuit held the residual clause definition of “crime of violence” in the Bail Reform Act is not void for vagueness. This may surprise some observers, as the Bail Reform Act’s residual clause is identical to – and subject to the same categorical … Read more