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Fifth Circuit: Safety Valve Isn’t Up to the Government
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held on August 21, 2020, that it’s not up to the Government to determine whether a defendant qualifies for a reduced sentence under the safety valve provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). Instead, the Court reminded, it ...
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More from this issue:
- North Carolina Supreme Court Announces Harbison Applies When Defense Counsel Implies Defendant’s Guilt Without Prior Consent, by Douglas Ankney
- Revocation Nation: Reincarceration for Technical Parole Violations in the Age of COVID-19, by Jean Trounstine
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Time Limits for Filing, by Dale Chappell
- First Circuit Announces Residual Clause of U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2) When Applied Pre-Booker Is Unconstitutional Under Johnson, by Douglas Ankney
- Why Coroners Often Blame Police Killings on a Made-Up Medical Condition, by Samantha Michaels
- Cincinnati Police Department Agrees to Audit of Its DNA Database, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth and Fifth Circuits Reopen Decades-Old Cases for Habeas Relief Due to Brady Violations, by Dale Chappell
- Time to Curb Police Unions, by Bill Barton
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Brady Requires Disclosure of Exculpatory Material Revealed During Immunized Testimony Before Grand Jury, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit Vacates Sentence After District Judge Interfered With Plea Negotiations and Made Disparaging Remarks About Federal Judiciary, by Douglas Ankney
- Mississippi Supreme Court: Cannot Declare Mistrial on All Counts After Jury’s Acquittal on Some Counts, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal Reverses Murder Conviction Because Superior Court Erred by Allowing Deceased’s Out-of-Court Statements Into Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
- From the Editors
- New Report Shows More Than Half of Wrongful Convictions Involved Misconduct by Police and Prosecutors, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: Prior Conviction Under Overbroad State Drug Statute May Be Used in Career Criminal Enhancement But Not For Prior Drug Crimes Enhancement, by Matthew Clarke
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Admissibility of Third-Party Culpability Evidence Is Same Relevancy Test That’s Applied for Other Evidence, Superseding Rabellizsa, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit: Consecutive Sentence for FTA Must Be Part of ‘Total Punishment,’ Not Merely a Stacked Sentence
- Colorado Supreme Court: Felony DUI Conviction Requires ‘Mandatory Sentencing’ Triggering Right to Preliminary Hearing, by Anthony Accurso
- Second Circuit: Nondescript Photo of Unidentified Black Male Insufficient Grounds to Conduct Investigatory Stop, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit Vacates First Step Act Resentencing Denial Where Court Failed to Consider Post-Sentencing Conduct, by Anthony Accurso
- Federal Judges Beginning to Reject Geofence Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
- Montana Supreme Court: Renter’s Privacy Not Diminished By Landlord’s Probationary Status, by Anthony Accurso
- Fifth Circuit: Safety Valve Isn’t Up to the Government, by Dale Chappell
- Maine Supreme Court: SORNA Ruled Ex Post Facto Punishment for Defendant, by Anthony Accurso
- Seventh Circuit: Incompetent Advice to Reject Plea Offer Requires Evidentiary Hearing, by David M. Reutter
- New Hampshire Supreme Court Announces Adoption of Lafler When Reviewing IAC Claims in Plea Bargain Cases, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court: Convictions for Murder and Attempted Murder Violate Double Jeopardy, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Announces Resentencing Under First Step Act Requires Use of § 3553(a) Factors, by Dale Chappell
- Kansas Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Where Trial Court Refused to Give Self-Defense Instruction, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit: California Conviction Under § 261.5(c) Not Predicate Offense For § 2252(b)(1) Enhancement, by Anthony Accurso
- COVID-19 Has Profound Effect on Breadth and Scope of Law Enforcement Agencies, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence Where Upward Variance Based on Criminal History Had Little Bearing on Instant Offense, by Douglas Ankney
- Washington Supreme Court Announces Prohibition Against Blanket Shackling Policies at Pretrial Proceedings, by Anthony Accurso
- Second Circuit Announces Compassionate Release Motion by Prisoner Not Constrained by Outdated Guideline § 1B1.13, Application Note 1(D), by Dale Chappell
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Successfully Completed Deferred Judgment Does Not Count as Conviction Barring Relief From Sex Offender Registration, by Matthew Clarke
- $12 Million Settlement Against Louisville, Kentucky, by Edward Lyon
- Review Board Has No Power Over NYPD, by Kevin Bliss
- Shielding Police Identities: A Law That Cuts Both Ways, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Exodus of a Baker’s Dozen, by Edward Lyon
- PBA Cards and the Problem with Police Discretion, by Jayson Hawkins
- Proliferation of Police Drones Feeds Big Brother’s Need for Big Data, by Anthony Accurso
- For-Profit Lexipol Takes Over Writing Departmental Policy for Public Safety, by Kevin Bliss
- Thirty-Fourth Conviction Based on Bite Mark Forensics Overturned, by Kevin Bliss
- Guilt by Google, by Jayson Hawkins
- Technology and Police Reform, by Anthony Accurso
- Would the Real Officer Friendly Please Stand Up?, by Casey Bastian
- Government Enforcers Are Still Cops, by Jayson Hawkins
- News in Brief
More from Dale Chappell:
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim, Feb. 15, 2023
- Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Kill the Right to Abortion Under BOP Policy?, Jan. 1, 2023
More from these topics:
- Seventh Circuit Announces Safety Valve Relief Under § 3553(f) Is Narrower Than Guidelines Firearms Enhancement Under § 2D1.1(b)(1), District Court Erred by Conflating Them, May 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Possession or Use of Firearms, Vicarious Liability, Safety Valve.
- Federal Sentencing Guidelines Undergo Substantial Amendments, Jan. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Violence Against Women Act, Criminal History, Qualifying Offenses, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation, Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Federally Protected Rights, Sexual Conduct with Minors, Sentences - Authorized, Safety Valve, Acceptance of Responsibility, Preservation of Judicial Resources, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of.
- Some Cities Taking Holistic Approach to Public Safety, Jan. 15, 2022. Safety Valve.
- Ninth Circuit Announces All 3 Subsections Must Be Satisfied to Deny Safety-Valve Relief Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1), Oct. 15, 2021. First Step Act, Safety Valve.
- U.S. v. Espinosa, No. 96-5208 (11th Cir.) (172 F.3d 795) (April 15, 1999) (Per Curiam), May 1, 1999. Punch And Jurists, Safety Valve.
- U.S. v. Contreras, No. 97-10163 (9th Cir.) (136 F.3d 1245) (February 25, 1998) (Judge John T. Jr. Noonan), April 1, 1998. Punch And Jurists, Safety Valve.
- U.S. v. Ortiz, No. 96-1827 (2nd Cir.) (136 F.3d 882) (October 31, 1997) (Per Curiam), April 1, 1998. Punch And Jurists, Safety Valve.
- U.S. v. Mihm, No. 97-1535 (8th Cir.) (134 F.3d 1353) (January 27, 1998) (Judge James B. Loken), March 1, 1998. Punch And Jurists, Safety Valve.
- U.S. v. Osei, No. 96-1796 (2nd Cir.) (107 F.3d 101) (February 21, 1997) (Per Curiam), April 1, 1997. Punch And Jurists, Safety Valve.
- U.S. v. Miranda-Santiago, No. 95-1301 (1st Cir.) (96 F.3d 517) (September 19, 1996) (Judge Nancy Gertner), Oct. 1, 1996. Punch And Jurists, Safety Valve.