New York Federal Criminal Practice

Observations on notable court decisions, news and developments affecting federal criminal practice in New York.

Author: JaneAnne Murray is a solo practitioner in New York City.

Blawg Related Categories: Criminal Justice • Sentencing/Post Conviction • 2nd Circuit Court • States • New York • Solo / Small Firm

Recent Posts from New York Federal Criminal Practice

Second Circuit Explains its Understanding of a "Substantively Unreasonable Sentence"
A review of 2008 sentencing statistics reveals some fascinating facts: courts in the Eastern and Southern districts of New York impose non-government-sponsored below-Guidelines sentences in about a third of the cases (30% in the Eastern;…
EDNY Judge Assails Guidelines' Denial of Safety Valve Relief to Individuals with Minor Records
“Minimal [statistical] impact,” as Judge Weinstein points out in United States v. Feaster, 2009 WL 2757157 (E.D.N.Y. August 26, 2009), is no consolation to the individual who is impacted. Just because an inequity is infrequent…
Second Circuit Reverses Two Cases Because of Improper Admission of Propensity Evidence
Evidence - even suggestions - of uncharged conduct at trial can be devastating, especially in a circumstantial case, as the Second Circuit acknowledged recently in two cases. In one, United States v. Farmer, 2009 WL…
Second Circuit Holds that Fraud Losses May Not Be Offset by Legitimate Business Expenditures
Loss calculations in white collar cases are the critical driver of the (often huge) sentences in those cases. In United States v. Byors, 2009 WL 3461584 (2d Cir. October 29, 2009), the Second Circuit interpreted…
Erroneous Jury Instruction on Scope of the Word "Knowingly" Leads to Reversal
Sometimes, the defense, or successful appellate argument, may lie in something as elementary as the proper reading of the charging statute. In United States v. Shim, 2009 WL 3127210 (2d Cir. October 1, 2009), for…
NYSACDL's Fall Federal Criminal Practice Seminar - SDNY Courthouse 9/24
The NYSACDL is holding its Fall Federal Criminal Practice Seminar tomorrow at the Southern District courthouse from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. With presentations on proffers, restitution and forfeiture, and innovative approaches to sentencing (not to…
Second Circuit Holds Defendant Has Right to Speedy Sentencing
In an important recognition that incarceration can undermine successful presentence rehabilitation, the Second Circuit vacated the custodial portion of a sentence on the grounds that a fifteen-year delay in sentencing violated the defendant’s right to…
Second Circuit Reverses Unsealing of Wiretap Applications in Investigation of Public Official
Does a newspaper have a right of access to wiretap applications that led to the downfall of New York’s governor? SDNY Judge Rakoff had said yes (see here), but the Second Circuit disagreed in In…
Second Circuit Remands for Supplementation of Reasons for Leadership Role Sentencing Enhancement
In United States v. Ware, 2009 WL 2512321 (2d Cir. August 18, 2009), proving that you don’t always get what you pay for, a defendant convicted after trial of securities fraud, filed a pro se…
EDNY Judge Stands By Previous Suppression Ruling
In United States v. Matos, 2009 WL 2883054 (E.D.N.Y. September 03, 2009), the government got a do-over, but not the result it sought. After EDNY Judge Garaufis had suppressed drugs seized in a “dropsy” case,…