USSG 2X1.1 Incomplete Conspiracy Reduction – Boilerplate Rules
The defendant pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce, in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and to carrying firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence (the conspiracy to rob), in violation of...
USSG 2B1.1 Number of Victims – Bank and Account Holders Are Both Victims
Robert Loffredi appeals his sentence of 78 months’ imprisonment for mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341. He challenges only the district court’s imposition of a two-level upward adjustment for an offense involving ten or more victims. See U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(2) (A)(i).
Speedy Trial Act: “Ends of Justice” Continuances Require Court to Balance Interests of Public and Defendant
Azureeiah O’Connor was convicted by a jury of wire fraud and appeals her conviction on multiple grounds. She focuses first on the 1,229-day delay between the date the last of her codefendants was arraigned and the start of her trial, a...
Missing Witness Instruction: Only Allowed Where Defendant Deprived of Favorable Testimony
Michael Wright was convicted of cocaine distribution and sentenced to 150 months’ imprisonment. At trial, the informant did not testify, but the government presented evidence of conversations in which Wright, in response to the informant’s inquiries, admitted to stocking up drugs...
Search and Seizure: Subsequent Frisk After Terry Pat Down Violates 4th Amendment
On the night of March 21, 2012, City of Fitchburg police officers responded to an anonymous 911 call reporting a group of twenty-five individuals acting loudly and displaying hand guns in a parking lot. Upon arriving at the scene, the officers...
BOP Enacts New Compassionate Release Reduction in Sentence Guidelines
A motion for a modification of a sentence will be made to the sentencing court only in particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances that could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at...
USSG 3C1.1 OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE ENHANCEMENT: Requires False Testimony, Materiality and Willful Intent By Defendant
Ruby Parker, a former teller at LaSalle Bank, N.A., in Chicago, Illinois, was charged with and convicted of three counts of bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1344, and one count of embezzlement by a bank employee, 18 U.S.C. § 656. She was sentenced...
FRE 901: Boilerplate Foundational Requirements for Tape Recordings
Ron “Ron Ron” Collins participated in a drug-distribution conspiracy stretching from Mexico to Milwaukee that involved mass amounts of cocaine. For his role, Collins was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms...
FRE 404(b): Hamilton Dissent Explains Proper District Court FRE 404(b) Analysis
Editor’s Note. Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney represented Mr. Gomez at trial and on appeal. Mr. Gomez’s case is currently pending a Petition for Rehearing En Banc in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A jury found Nicolas Gomez...
FRCP 32: U. S. Probation Officer’s Confidential Recommendation to the District Court Passes Constitutional Scrutiny
Defendant Ollie Peterson pled guilty to one count of bank robbery in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) after robbing a bank to pay off a debt with a drug dealer. During Peterson’s sentencing hearing, the district court read from a portion...