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Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor Sentence Reduction

Loaded on Dec. 15, 2023 by Douglas Ankney published in Criminal Legal News December, 2023, page 28
Filed under: COVID-19, First Step Act, Compassionate Release. Location: Virginia.

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that Kelvin Brown’s disparate sentence of 30 years on two convictions for violating 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) created an “extraordinary and compelling reason” for his early release, and the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors overwhelmingly favored a sentence ...

 

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  1. Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, by Casey Bastian
  2. Natural Language Processing Software Can Identify Biased Jury Selection, Has Potential to Be Used in Real Time During Voir Dire, by Jo Ellen Nott
  3. Louisiana Sheriffs Repeatedly and Conveniently Destroy Public Records, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  4. Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant May Not Be Sentenced to Home Confinement for Violating Terms of Supervised Release When Sentenced to Statutory Maximum Period of Imprisonment for the Violation, by Douglas Ankney
  5. CBP Promises Not to Buy Location Data – But Is It a Hollow Promise?, by Michael Thompson
  6. Use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy Searches to Identify Suspects Needs Regulation and Can Be Challenged, by Matthew Clarke
  7. Chicago Cop Lied So Many Times Under Oath That Prosecutors Are Dismissing Cases That Relied on His Testimony, by Jordan Arizmendi
  8. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Application of ‘Estoppel’ in Plea Bargain Context and Holds Trial Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Revoke Community Supervision After Statutory Term Expired, by Richard Resch
  9. Report Finds Effective Text Message Reminders Can Reduce Community Supervision Violations, by Jordan Arizmendi
  10. Third Circuit: Pennsylvania Conviction for First-Degree Aggravated Assault Does Not Require Physical Force so Is Not Qualifying Predicate for ACCA Purposes, by Douglas Ankney
  11. First Circuit: Justification for Upward Sentencing Departure Following Supervised Release Revocation Must Be Ade-quately Explained, by Matthew Clarke
  12. Sixth Circuit: District Court Committed Procedural Error by Impermissibly Ceding Its Discretion to Congress to Determine Guidelines’ Crack-to-Powder Ratio at Sentencing, by David Reutter
  13. Indiana Supreme Court Reverses Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction Where Trial Court Denied Defense Counsel Opportunity to Directly Voir Dire Prospective Jurors, by Douglas Ankney
  14. We the Targeted: How the Government Weaponizes Surveillance to Silence its Critics 2372, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
  15. Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
  16. Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice, by Anthony Accurso
  17. New Mexico Ends Juvenile Life Without Parole, Retroactively Applies Rule to Previously Convicted Minors, by Anthony Accurso
  18. Fourth Circuit Reverses § 924(c) Conviction Because Kidnapping No Longer Qualifies as Predicate Offense and ‘Critical Record Documents’ Do Not Show Firearm Charge Was ‘Expressly Predicated Upon’ Any Other Offense, by Douglas Ankney
  19. Texas Using Highly Sophisticated Israeli Phone Tracking Software, by Jo Ellen Nott
  20. New York Court Rules Police Allowed to Use Familial DNA Searches, by Jordan Arizmendi
  21. ‘Criminal Courteaucracy’: Understanding the Unique Role of Criminal Court Administrators in Implementing Social Con-troll, by David Reutter
  22. Fifth Circuit: Fourth Amendment Seizure Occurred When Officer Pulled Behind Parked Vehicle, Activated Emergency Lights, and Simultaneously Ordered Suspect to Remain in Vehicle, by Douglas Ankney
  23. The EFF Is Tackling Border Towers, Facilitating Research into Impact of Mass Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
  24. Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury, by Matthew Clarke
  25. After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process, by Jo Ellen Nott
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  27. California Supreme Court Reinstates Petition for Resentencing Under SB 1437 Because Trial Court Misapprehended Le-gal Requirements for Proving Aiding and Abetting Implied Malice Murder, by Matthew Clarke
  28. Maine Supreme Judicial Court Announces Clarification of Test for Violation of Right to Speedy Trial Under Maine Constitu-tion, by David Reutter
  29. Sixth Circuit: Because Ohio’s Aggravated Robbery Statute Does Not Contain Mens Rea Requirement, Conviction Is Violent Felony Under ACCA Only if Underlying Theft in Robbery Contains Required Mens Rea, by Douglas Ankney
  30. News in Brief

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