On October 19, 2017, in a per curiam decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed a restitution award where the purported victim had received the services contracted for. In so holding, the Fifth Circuit noted that restitution was not punitive in nature. This is in conflict with some circuits that hold restitution is punitive in nature. The
On October 20, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of a defendant’s claim that his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to inform the defendant of a plea offer for 15 years in a sex trafficking case. The defendant went to trial, lost, and
On October 20, 2017, in a published opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a 51-month sentence for a defendant who was convicted by a jury of using a scheme involving the purchase of hundreds of money orders to evade taxes on income from her business. From 2006-2016, there were 4,983 individuals sentenced under the tax
This article discusses the growing population and expense of housing elderly inmates. Currently, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons houses over 10,000 inmates aged 60 or older. Recent audits by the Inspector General indicate that the BOP has woefully inadequate resources to deal with the elderly inmate population. http://reason.com/archives/2017/10/22/when-prisons-become-nursing-ho
Prisoners Face Uncertainty As Number Of Halfway Houses Are Cut by Carrie Johnson NPR – October 20, 2017 [Copyright 2017 NPR]… http://www.npr.org/2017/10/20/559134568/prisoners-face-uncertainty-as-number-of-halfway-houses-are-cut?sc=17&f=1003&utm_source=iosnewsapp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=app
On October 11, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed an 18-month sentence imposed on a 71-year-old defendant who was addicted to drugs and had violated the terms of his supervised release. The district court erroneously relied on an uncorroborated statement by the government that drug addicts required 18 months of
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals held last August that FOIA waivers in plea agreements are unenforceable as a matter of public policy. As the Court recognized, sometimes FOIA is the last best option for criminal defendants to obtain proof that their convictions or sentences are unconstitutional due to ineffective assistance of counsel. FOIA provides
November 1, 2017 marks the 30th anniversary that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines went into effect. Since then, the federal prison population has grown over 400% while the U.S. population has grown only 37%. It’s budget, now topping $7 billion annually–has grown over 500% adjusting for inflation, while spending per inmate has increased a mere 18%.
In a large-scale cocaine trafficking appeal of a life sentence, the First Circuit reversed and remanded where the district court failed to address the defendant’s argument for a downward variance from his life sentence based on the sentences of his co-conspirators, which were considerably less, ranging from 46 to 210 months. The First Circuit emphasized
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jeremy Schreiner, 33, Durand, Wis., was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Madison for violating the Lacey Act during guided duck hunts on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. According to an indictment filed on April 19, 2017,