Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

Big Second Circuit split opinion on sentencing ex post facto issues in white-collar case

By Douglas A. Berman

The Second Circuit has a long and split sentencing opinion today in US v. Kumar, No. 06-5482 (2d Cir. Aug. 12, 2010) (available here), which gets started this way: Appeal by Defendants from separate judgments entered in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (I. Leo Glasser, Judge), following guilty pleas by Defendants to several counts of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and perjury. We hold that Richards?s guilty plea was not constitutionally infirm and that he was properly charged with, and convicted on his guilty plea to, obstruction of justice. We therefore AFFIRM Richards?s judgment of conviction in all respects. We further conclude that the use of the Sentencing Guidelines in effect at the time of sentencing to calculate Defendants? Guidelines ranges for their fraud offenses, rather than the Guidelines in effect at the time of the commission of those offenses, did not violate the Ex Post Facto clause...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).