USA v. LEMUREL E. WILLIAMS, No. 15-1194 Lemurel Williams was convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun. We agree with Williams’s that a new trial is needed because the totality of the circumstances regarding the jury’s verdict was impermissibly coercive. After three hours of deliberating, the jury returned a guilty verdict, […]
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) revised the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program (RDAP) regulations to allow greater inmate participation in the program and positively impact recidivism rates. DATES: This rule is effective on May 26, 2016. 550.55(b) Inmates not Eligible for Early Release. As an exercise of the Director’s discretion, the following categories of […]
U.S. v PFEIFFER, Case No. 04 CR 793, U.S. District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division. (Editor’s note: This is a District Court decision NOT 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.) April 7, 2016 In 2007, Brian Pfeiffer pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, Ecstasy. Pfeiffer now moves to expunge the records […]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. PANIAGUA-GARCIA, No. 15-2540 An Indiana statute forbids drivers to use a telecommunications device (a cellphone) to type, transmit, or read a text message or an electronic-mail message, Ind. Code § 9-21-8-59(a). All other uses of cellphones by drivers are allowed. An Indiana police officer, in the course of passing a car driven by Paniagua-Garcia on […]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. LESHAWN STANBRIDGE, No. 15-2686. LeShawn Stanbridge appeals his conviction for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The drugs had been found in Stanbridge’s car after police in Quincy, Illinois, detained him on the ground that he committed a traffic offense by not signaling continuously for 100 feet before pulling alongside the curb […]
United States v. Terry Joe Smith, Nos. 14-3744 & 14-3721. Terry Joe Smith, a police officer in Putnam County, Indiana (roughly midway between Indianapolis and Terre Haute), was convicted by a jury in federal court of violating 18 U.S.C. § 242 by depriving two persons, under color of state law (which is to say in […]
United States v. Harper, No. 14-2701. The defendant pleaded guilty to fraud consisting of her having abused her position as a member of a Chicago public-school board by accepting kickbacks of more than $500,000 from bus companies to which she steered transportation contracts worth $21 million. The parties stipulated that the value of the benefit received from […]
United States v. Harper, No. 14-2701. The defendant pleaded guilty to fraud consisting of her having abused her position as a member of a Chicago public-school board by accepting kickbacks of more than $500,000 from bus companies to which she steered transportation contracts worth $21 million. The parties stipulated that the value of the benefit received from […]
People of the State of Illinois v. Eduardo Lerma, No. 118496. Editor’s Note – This is an Illinois Supreme Court Opinion. The issue is whether, in light of the specific facts and circumstances of this case, the circuit court of Cook County abused its discretion when it denied defendant’s motion to allow expert testimony concerning […]
(Editors Note: Chicago Federal Criminal Defense Attorney Michael J. Petro represented Mr. Sanchez in the District Court and in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.) Acasio Sanchez pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and cocaine, 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and was sentenced below the guidelines range to […]