As reported by The Recorder, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has done much to narrow the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. In their article about the appellate decision in United states v. Nosal, the Recorder reports that you cannot be criminally prosecuted for checking out Facebook or football scores at work. …
9th Circuit Restricts Computer Fraud Prosecutions Read More »
An interesting case out of the Fourth Circuit was brought to my attention by this post by the Federal Criminal Appeals Blog entitled “Just Because It’s A Supervised Release Hearing Doesn’t Mean There Are No Rules.” As the title suggests, federal probation revocation hearings are far less formal than a criminal trial. In fact, the …
The last few weeks has held a substantial amount of news concerning federal crime, sentencing, and defense news. Although there is not going to be an in-depth discussion on each topic here today, links are provided to source materials or detailed discussions and analyses. U.S. Supreme Court After a long break, the Supreme Court is …
Notable Federal Sentencing, Crime and Defense News Read More »
February U.S.S.C. Public Hearings February is set to be a significant month in the world of the United States federal sentencing. The US Sentencing Commission has announced two public hearings regarding big sentencing issues involving federal criminal justice. The first hearing, announced Wednesday, is all about federal Child Pornography sentencing. A huge public reaction has …
US Sentencing Commission Holds Important Public Hearings Read More »
Weed, Guns, and the Second Amendment This issue has roots in a criminal code which says that it is a crime for any person “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess a firearm. 18 U.S.C. ยง922(g)(3). Translation? A citizen with no criminal record can still have their gun …
Status Update: Crack Sentence Reductions In this new article from The Commercial Appeal, the story of one of the many federal inmates getting their crack cocaine sentences reductions is laid out. According to a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), over 3,700 inmates have already had their sentences reduced. An excerpt from the …
Nearly 4,000 Federal Inmates Have Received Crack Cocaine Sentence Reductions Read More »
Common Sense and Federal Prison Reform In a piece from Truth-Out entitled “Push to Reform Prison System Brings Unlikely Allies Together”, the unusual and unlikely are no joining forces to push for federal prison reform that has been needed for over two decades. (See Sentencing Reform Act of 1984). Excerpts from the Truth-Out article are …
Conrad Black This famous American prisoner is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords. His noble title is Baron Black of Crossharbour. He is a historian, columnist and publisher, and has much to say about the American criminal justice system. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc. Through affiliates, the company published major newspapers …
Conrad Black’s Indictment of the American Criminal Justice System Read More »
Hill v. United States (11-5721) Fair Sentencing Act and Crack Cocaine cases before and after its implementation are going to get their day in the Supreme Court! Great news today from the United States Supreme Court. With a split in Circuit Court decisions regarding application of Crack Cocaine Sentencing Guideline reductions from the Fair Sentencing …
Supreme Court Grants Cert. to FSA Pipeline Issue Read More »
From Crack Cocaine Sentence Reductions to Early Termination of Supervised Release November has been a big month in the world of federal corrections. Due to all the recent events, this will be a lengthy post on all matters federal-criminal. New Retroactive Crack Law The United States Sentencing Commission’s 2011 Amendments to their Guidelines Manual were …
