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Appeals Posts
Spurned Juror Loses in Court, But His Efforts Lead to New D.C. Court Rule
Oct 26, 2011
Spurned Juror Loses in Court, But His Efforts Lead to New D.C. Court Rule
A former juror in Washington, D.C., recently lost a District Court ruling stemming from his dismissal from a grand jury panel in 2001, but his case appears to have brought about needed change in the jury system there. Peter Atherton, a nuclear engineer, was scheduled to serve on the grand jury for 25 days, beginning…
Ninth Circuit Upholds Dramatic Upward Departure in Fraud Case
Oct 24, 2011
Ninth Circuit Upholds Dramatic Upward Departure in Fraud Case
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a very large upward departure by a U.S. District Judge in Nevada of more than 17 years above the recommended range under the Sentencing Guidelines, based on conduct that the defendant was never convicted of or even charged with. In this highly unusual…
Appeals Court Limits Scope of ‘Intended Loss’ in Sentencing Guidelines
Sep 27, 2011
Appeals Court Limits Scope of ‘Intended Loss’ in Sentencing Guidelines
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit recently considered what type of proof is required for a sentence enhancement based on “intended loss” under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The court held that a loss enhancement applies only to losses the defendant purposely sought to inflict, not losses the defendant merely knew would occur…
Illinois Court Ruling Upholds State’s New Video Gaming Act
Aug 2, 2011
Illinois Court Ruling Upholds State’s New Video Gaming Act
In a 7-0 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court recently upheld legislation that will allow video gaming in the state for the first time. Earlier this month, the court ruled in favor of the Illinois legislature’s 2009 omnibus bill for funding capital projects that included the Video Gaming Act. The legislation had been challenged by Chicago…
Court of Appeals 9th Circuit to D.C. Circuit: We’ll See You in [The Supreme] Court
Jun 24, 2011
Court of Appeals 9th Circuit to D.C. Circuit: We’ll See You in [The Supreme] Court
Yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit cleared the way for the extortion case against Former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) to proceed to trial. In the process, they flatly disagreed with a 2007 ruling by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on a US representative’s right to advance notice for…
Disqualification of AUSA in Scruggs Case Is Message to Prosecutors
Jun 13, 2011
Disqualification of AUSA in Scruggs Case Is Message to Prosecutors
The botched prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens was a wake-up call of sorts for the U.S. Department of Justice that there would be severe consequences for prosecutors who did not comply with obligations under Brady and related cases. The Department took another hit recently when a federal judge removed an Assistant United States Attorney from…
Brady Violation Leads to Reversal of Conviction in D.C.
Mar 14, 2011
Brady Violation Leads to Reversal of Conviction in D.C.
Editor’s note: This is a guest blog post by David Deitch, a Washington, D.C.-based litigator and the author of the White Collar Criminal Defense Blog. He can be reached at dbdeitch@nulldeitchlawdc.com. According to the D.C. Court of Appeals, when it comes to Brady disclosures, late is not necessarily better than never. In Miller v. United States,…
Judges Push Back Against Prosecutorial Abuses
Dec 23, 2010
Judges Push Back Against Prosecutorial Abuses
Prosecutorial overreaching is still occurring in courts across the nation, but judges are beginning to push back. In the Ted Stevens case, the former senator was prosecuted on charges that he failed to properly report gifts from a lobbyist—only for the government to later drop all charges against him, saying that his jury conviction should…
The Struggle to Revive ‘Honest Services’
Nov 16, 2010
The Struggle to Revive ‘Honest Services’
On November 16, 2010, the Los Angeles-based Daily Journal published an article by Jeffrey Hamlin, an associate at Ifrah PLLC, on a recent U.S. District Court ruling. The following is the full text of the article. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the much-watched case of former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling, limited the…
Too Little, Too Late for Defense Argument?
Sep 28, 2010
Too Little, Too Late for Defense Argument?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit is considering whether the government’s belated disclosure of potentially exculpatory evidence deprived criminal defendant Amit Mathur of a fair trial. The fact that Mathur’s counsel received some of the evidence after the government’s case in chief and declined to use it in Mathur’s defense makes it…
