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First Circuit: Dangerousness of Machine Guns Not Justification for Above-Guidelines Sentence
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held on August 3, 2020, that the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico’s focus on the dangerousness of machine guns and their link to brutal crimes in general are not permissible reasons to impose a ...
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More from this issue:
- Police Unions: Obstacles to Criminal Justice Reform and Police Accountability, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Announces Discretionary Conditions of Supervision Must Be Orally Pronounced at Sentencing, by Anthony Accurso
- Deal Presented by Kentucky Prosecutor Evidence of Effort to Smear Breonna Taylor, by Casey Bastian
- Attacking the Guilty Plea: Waivers, Breaches, and Getting More Time After a Successful Challenge, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Reckless Prosecutorial Misconduct Constitutes Overreaching Sufficient to Trigger Double Jeopardy Protections, by Douglas Ankney
- The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment Showing Authoritarian Abuse Still Relevant Today, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Powerful New Tool Reveals Federal Sentencing Problems, by Dale Chappell
- Campaign Zero Advocates for Police Accountability, by Jayson Hawkins
- Sixth Circuit Finds IAC for Failure to Raise ‘Clearly Foreshadowed’ Change in Law on Appeal, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: Use of Unconvicted Conduct Too Dissimilar to Charged Offense Violates Due Process, by Dale Chappell
- Fifth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief Because Detective’s Testimony of Witness Identification of Defendant Violates Confrontation Clause, by Dale Chappell
- Indiana Supreme Court Announces New Analytical Framework for Review of Substantive Double Jeopardy, Overruling Richardson, by Douglas Ankney
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces False Rape Allegations May Be Admitted Regardless of When Made, by Anthony Accurso
- Federal Judge Criticizes Qualified Immunity and Challenges SCOTUS to Abolish It, by Anthony Accurso
- Fifth Circuit Reverses Conviction Based on Prejudicial Prosecutorial Misconduct, by Douglas Ankney
- Arizona Supreme Court Declares Gang-Association Statute Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Capital Murder Conviction Obtained With Bite Mark Comparison Evidence, by Matthew Clarke
- Eighth Circuit: Counsel Ineffective for Not Recognizing § 851 Enhancement Should Not Have Applied, by Anthony Accurso
- First Circuit: Dangerousness of Machine Guns Not Justification for Above-Guidelines Sentence, by Dale Chappell
- Eleventh Circuit: Time Served Adjustment Is Mandatory Under Sentencing Guidelines Even After Booker, by Matthew Clarke
- Kansas Supreme Court Announces Residual Clause of Law Prohibiting Knife Possession by Felons Unconstitutionally Vague, by Anthony Accurso
- Maryland Court of Appeals: Odor of Marijuana Alone Doesn’t Provide Probable Cause to Arrest and Search Person, by Anthony Accurso
- Ninth Circuit: Mere Passage of Time Doesn’t Attenuate Evidence From Initial Constitutional Violation, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: ‘Violent Victim Rule’ Doesn’t Require Defendant to Have Had Knowledge of Victim’s Propensity for Violence, by Douglas Ankney
- N.J. Supreme Court Announces Defendant Has Right to Question Cooperating Witness About Plea Deal and Possible Sentence Exposure Even When Witness Faced Same Exposure as Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
- Missouri Supreme Court: Circuit Court Erred in Excluding Expert Witness Testimony Regarding Accuracy of Eyewitness Identification, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit: Solo Masturbation Near Fully Clothed and Sleeping Child Does Not Constitute Production of Child Pornography, by Anthony Accurso
- California Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction and Death Sentence Because Police Failed To Honor Defendant’s Request for Counsel, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Expands First Step Act’s ‘Covered Offense’ to All of Section 841, by Dale Chappell
- Wisconsin Supreme Court: Officers Wrongly Inventoried Vehicle for Towing, Requiring Suppression of Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit: Michigan Courts’ Procedure Allowing Appellate Counsel’s Withdrawal Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit Clarifies ‘Different Location’ in Robbery Guidelines Enhancement Commentary Requires More Than Herding Victims To Different Room, by Anthony Accurso
- Fed Position on Pot Pushing Vets to Black Market, by Jayson Hawkins
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Coercion Statute Unconstitutionally Overbroad, by Anthony Accurso
- Less Lethal Munitions Still Deadly, by Edward Lyon
- Is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Ready to Investigate Arbery Cover-Up?, by Jayson Hawkins
- Blue Lives Matter More: Georgia Introduces Hate Crime Bill Designed to Protect the Cops, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Promises to Defund the Police Lead to Increase in Private Security Forces on City Streets, by Casey Bastian
- The Danger of Police Dishonesty, by Jayson Hawkins
- Interrogation Via Zoom: Policing in the Age of COVID, by Jayson Hawkins
- DOJ Report: Massachusetts Narcotics Bureau Relied on Excessive Use of Force, by Kevin Bliss
- Door Bells and Funeral Bells, by Douglas Ankney
- Did Two Judges Violate Ethics in Florida Voting Rights Restoration Case?, by Casey Bastian
- Kettles Are Used for Teas, Kettling is Used for People, by Edward Lyon
- Government Treats Protesting Cities as Enemies of the State, by Kevin Bliss
- 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:
- Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff, Feb. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Offense of Conviction.
- California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements, Feb. 15, 2025. Prison Gangs, Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Insufficiency of the Evidence, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Gang Membership.
- California Court of Appeal Strikes Prison Prior Enhancement for Invalid Predicate Offense Under § 1172.75 Despite Concurrently Served Valid Predicate, Feb. 1, 2025. Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Predicate Acts/Offenses, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
- Ninth Circuit Announces California Assault With Deadly Weapon Conviction Not ‘Crime of Violence’ for Career Offender Enhancement Under Sentencing Guidelines, Feb. 1, 2025. Career Offenders, Gun Laws/Crimes, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.
- Ninth Circuit Announces ‘Hate Crime’ Sentence Enhancement Under Guidelines § 3A1.1(a) Requires Finding Defendant Motivated by Hate or Animus, Feb. 1, 2025. Hate Crimes, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Evidence - Admissibility.
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Parole Liability, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires, Jan. 15, 2025. Parole/Probation Searches, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Revocation Proceedings, Overreaching.
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attempts/Incomplete Acts, Credits, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures.
- Seventh Circuit Announces Maximum Revocation Sentence for Violation of Supervised Release Based on Classification of Underlying Offense at Time of Conviction, Not at Time of Revocation, Dec. 15, 2024. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation Proceedings.
- California Supreme Court Announces Retroactivity of 2022 Version of Penal Code § 1170 to Upper-Term Sentences Imposed Before Its Enactment, Dec. 15, 2024. Retroactivity, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.