Miranda Warnings Need Not Be Repeated as Result of Break in Interrogation
U.S. v. Anthony D. Edwards, 08-1124.
The Opinion of the court was delivered by: Posner, Circuit Judge
The defendant was convicted by a jury of distributing 5 grams or more of crack and was sentenced to 108 months in prison. His appeal raises several issues.
Police Need Probable Cause to Execute an Arrest Warrant in Third Parties Home
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, v. ERIC JACKSON, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. No. 08-2295.
Eric Jackson was sentenced to a 96 month term of imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a previously-convicted felon.
I. BACKGROUND
Eric Jackson was arrested by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department...
Crimes of Violence and USSG Career Offender Re-defined Post Begay v. United States
United States v. Evans, No. 08-2424 (7th Cir. 08/13/2009).
(Editor's Note. The 7th Circuit has recently remanded a number of cases similar to this one regarding whether specific crimes were crimes of violence for the purposes of the career offender enhancement. The analysis in those cases is similar to...
District Judge Must Recuse Self If a Reasonable Well-Informed Observer Could Question the Judge’s Impartiality
In re United States, No. 09-2264 (7th Cir. 07/10/2009).
The United States ("the Government") has filed this petition for a writ of mandamus seeking the recusal of the respondent district judge currently presiding over a criminal action pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of...
Drug Experts and Interpreting Words in Recorded Conversations: Boilerplate Rules and Analysis
United States v. York, No. 07-2032 (7th Cir. 07/15/2009)
As Darvell York spoke to Tracy Mitchell about selling him "nine probably hard," law enforcement was listening. Agents had set up a sting to buy nine ounces of crack cocaine from York, and Mitchell was their informant. At York's trial,...
Consent to Search Home: Boilerplate Rules to Determine Voluntariness
United States v. McGraw, No. 08-2705 (7th Cir. 07/02/2009).
While executing a search warrant for drugs inside a Fort Wayne, Indiana apartment building, police officers noticed that the building had several housing-code violations. Police called a neighborhood code-enforcement officer, who arrived and determined that the apartment building must be...
Rule 11(c)(1)(C) Plea Agreements. Be Careful That The Agreed Sentence Is Binding On District Court.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
PARRISH D. COLE, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. No. 06-2547.
Parrish Cole entered into a written plea agreement with the government in which he acknowledged distributing less than 400 grams of heroin and less than a kilogram of marijuana. The district court accepted the plea agreement but found, based...
3553(a)(6) and Unwarranted Sentencing Disparities Evaluated Using Rita, Gall, Kimbrough, Spears and Nelson
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
JON BARTLETT, ANDREW R. SPENGLER, AND DANIEL MASARIK, DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS. 08-1196, 1197 &1198.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Easterbrook, Chief Judge
The distance between civilization and barbarity, and the time needed to pass from one state to the other, is depressingly...
Sealed Documents in District Court Automatically Unsealed on Appeal
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MAURICE FOSTER, No. 09-1248.
EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge
Information that affects the disposition of litigation belongs in the public record unless a statute or privilege justifies nondisclosure.
This court explained in Baxter International, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, 297 F.3d 544, 545–46 (7th...
Improper to Grant Continuance for Purpose of Changing Substantive Law
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, v. ARTHIA LAMONT TANNER. 07-1801, 544 F.3d 793 (7th Cir. 2008).
Before POSNER, Circuit Judge.
Defendant challenges the district judge's failure to delay the sentencing hearing for five months, until the 2007 version of the federal sentencing guidelines went into effect. Had he been...