Criminal Law

Public Notice re: Appointment of New Magistrate Judge for the District of Puerto Rico

Posted on January 21, 2011
The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full-time United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Puerto Rico. To said end, the Clerk of Court, Frances Ríos de Morán, Esq., has issued a Public Notice announcing the position...

PRACDL Workshop - Evidence II - Hearsay & Crawford

Posted on January 16, 2011
PRACDL will be holding a workshop: Evidence II -Hearsay and Crawford - on January 19, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. at the US District Court in San Juan. The lecturer will Maria Sandoval. Admission is free and limited to PRACDL members. You may attend if you join PRACDL and pay your dues at the entrance...

Sentencing Advocacy Workshop - November 17-18, 2010

Posted on September 15, 2010
The Office of Defender Services Training Branch of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts is offering a Sentencing Advocacy Workshop on November 17-18, 2010 at Colegio de Ingenieros in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Early registration is encouraged. Enrollment for this program is limited to PRACDL members, CJA panel attorneys and federal defenders in Puerto Rico...

PRACDL Lecture: "Experts - Use Them, Abuse Them, and Keep Them Off the Stand"

Posted on March 12, 2010
PRACDL invites all members as well as all CJA Panel attorneys to a lecture on "Experts - Use Them, Abuse Them, and Keep Them Off the Stand" to be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Clemente Ruiz Nazario U.S. District Court. Our guest speaker will be Mr...

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PRACDL Annual Assembly, Elections and Dinner

Posted on December 03, 2009
Please remember that tonight, starting at 6:00 p.m., PRACDL will host its annual assembly, elections and dinner. This will be at Castellanos Rest. on Domenech, near corner of Muñoz Rivera Ave. If you have not yet confirmed your attendance, please do so via email to pracdl@gmail...

PRACDL & Federal Public Defenders Office Seminars on October 23, 2009

Posted on October 18, 2009
This coming Friday, October 23, 2009, Puerto Rico Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Federal Public Defenders Office will be sponsoring seminars on the Fourth Amendment and Deconstructing the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Where: Casa Olímpica (Old YMCA), Old San Juan The Morning Session is sponsored by Puerto Rico Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (PRACDL), and the afternoon session is sponsored by the Federal Public Defender's Office...

Looking for a Few Good Men and Women

Posted on September 29, 2009
Yes, the PRACDL blog is in need of a few members who want to dedicate a little of their time to blogging. I'll give you the basic training, although it is all pretty intuitive. Send me an email. You've got my address. Tom Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

PRACDL Blog Redesign in Progress

Posted on September 29, 2009
I was tired of the look of the blog, and think it kept me from wanting to post more, so I'm giving this place a makeover. Also keeping me away from blogging more is the fact that I do most of my posting now via the PRACDL Group listserv (members only), where we get much more membership interaction, keeps me busy enough to be only too tempted to stay away from the blog...

PRACDL & Federal Public Defender Co-sponsoring Lecture on September 30th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Posted on September 29, 2009
PRACDL and the Federal Public Defender's Office are co-sponsoring a lecture on Wednesday, September 30th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the FPD's Fourth Floor Lecture Room. AFPD Victor González-Bothwell will discuss new and proposed legislation, including changes to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure...

Happy Birthday Julie!

Posted on December 22, 2008
Happy Birthday Julie!

Everybody Loves Somebody

Posted on December 21, 2008
This is a favorite one for me. By the way, I'm just testing this stuff.

PRACDL Annual Assembly, Dinner & Elections

Posted on November 30, 2008
This is a reminder that Puerto Rico Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers will hold its Annual Assembly, Dinner and Elections this coming Thursday, December 4, 2008, from 6:00 p.m. onwards at Castellanos Restaurant on Domenech Ave. All members are encouraged to attend...

Supplemental Bibliography for Attendees to "Dilemas Eticos de los Abogados Criminalistas"

Posted on November 24, 2008
For PRACDL members who attended the tertulia on Dilemas Eticos de los Abogados Criminalistas, PRACDL President Linda Backiel has prepared a Supplemental Bibliography which was not included among the materials handed out at the time.

In Memory of Jorge L. Arroyo Alejandro

Posted on October 13, 2008
All PRACDL members are mourning the recent death of our dear colleague Jorge L. Arroyo Alejandro. It is difficult to express ourselves in words that do any semblance of justice to our feelings of sorrow. One of our members, Manuel San Juan, upon learning of Jorge's death, posted the following poem on our listserv: Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone - W...

PRACDL Seminar: Jury Selection in Death Penalty Cases

Posted on September 24, 2008
This is to remind all PRACDL members that we will be holding the Jury Selection in Death Penalty Cases seminar on Thursday, September 25, 2008. This is only open to PRACDL members and it will be free of cost. The speakers are Robert Hirschhorn, nationally renowned jury selection expert, Steve Potolsky and Bill Matthewman.

Audio of Oral Arguments before First Circuit Now Available

Posted on September 05, 2008
The First Circuit has started to make available online audio of oral arguments, joining a few other federal appellate courts. The access to the First Circuit's oral argument feed is currently available only in RSS format, and the audio files themselves are in mp3 format...

First Circuit Request for Comments on Reappointment of Joseph Laws, Federal Public Defender for the District of Puerto Rico

Posted on June 28, 2008
The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has published a Request for Comments Relating to the Reappointment of Joseph C. Laws, Jr., Federal Public Defender for the District of Puerto Rico. Joe is a Charter Member of PRACDL and was our first President...

PRACDL Seminar - Ética y la Responsabilidad del Abogado: Implicaciones Prácticas

Posted on June 22, 2008
PRACDL will be sponsoring a seminar on August 28, 2008 on Ética y la Responsabilidad del Abogado: Implicaciones Prácticas. If you wish to attend, you must complete the registration form and mail it in to the address indcated theron with your payment to "Puerto Rico Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers," no later than August 1, 2008...

PRACDL "Tertulia Legal" - Sentenced in Two Jurisdictions

Posted on May 11, 2008
PRACDL will be hosting one of our regular tertulias on the topic Sentenced in Two Jurisdictions - when sentences run concurrently and consecutively. Date : Thursday, June 5, 2008 Time : 4:30-6:00 p.m. Place : Judge García Gregory?s Courtrooom (#6) Resources: José Cordero, of FPD-PR, formerly of BOP Jorge Rivera Ortíz, PRACDL Moderator: Linda Backiel If you are interested in attending, please confirm via email at pracdl@gmail...

Legal Chat to Discuss Crack Resentencings in the District of Puerto Rico

Posted on February 25, 2008
This coming Friday, February 29, 2008 at 4:00 p.m., PRACDL and the Federal Public Defender's Office will co-host a conference to discuss the crack guidelines amendment and the retroactivity of same, as well as the District Court's Administrative Directive dealing with these...

Congratulations to Luz Ríos-Rosario!

Posted on February 25, 2008
In a case where every other defendant had entered guilty pleas, PRACDL member Luz Ríos-Rosario had the unenviable task of going to trial with the lead defendant. There were surveillance photos, recordings, and snitches. Luz did a formidable job and got her client acquitted...

District of Puerto Rico Administrative Order re: Implementation of Crack Retroactivity Guideline

Posted on February 21, 2008
Chief Judge José A. Fusté, District of Puerto Rico, has entered an Administrative Order dealing with the implementation of the Crack Retroactivity Guideline in the District of Puerto Rico. See Misc. No. 08-31 (JAF) (Dkt. 1).

PRACDL Annual Assembly & Election Results

Posted on December 14, 2007
Last night's Annual Assembly, Dinner and Elections was a real success. Members unanimously elected Linda Backiel to be our new President. They also elected the following to the Board: outgoing President Mariángela Tirado-Vales, who everyone agreed had done an outstanding job, Rachel Brill, Jason González-Delgado, Joseph C...

PRACDL Annual Assembly, Dinner & Elections

Posted on December 10, 2007
This is a reminder that Puerto Rico Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers will hold its Annual Assembly, Dinner and Elections this coming Thursday, December 13, 2007, from 5:30 p.m. onwards at Castellanos Restaurant on Domenech Ave. All members are encouraged to attend...

PRACDL and Sociedad para Asistencia Legal de Puerto Rico Co-sponsor Seminars

Posted on November 07, 2007
PRACDL and Sociedad para Asistencia Legal de Puerto Rico (SAL) will be co-sponsoring two seminars on Friday, December 7, 2007. See the flyer and registration sheet. The topics are Immigration Law Consequences of Delinquent Conduct on the Non-Citizen by Honorable Irma López-Defilló, Immigration Judge, and Crossroads: Clients Accused in Two Jurisdictions, a round table discussion with Félix Cifredo Cancel, Esq...

Is the First Circuit Recognizing Greater Deference Due District Court's Sentencing Decisions?

Posted on October 31, 2007
In United States v. Milo, No. 06-2185 (1st Cir., Oct. 30, 2007), the First vacates and remands a sentence of time served (about 15 days) imposed by Judge Gertner on a defendant who cooperated and was contrite. But the First leaves open to the District Court to either explain more her sentence or to resentence Milo to a higher term...

ACLU PR Lecture on Post 9/11 decisions by the Supreme Court, fundamental rights and the writ of habeas corpus

Posted on October 22, 2007
The Puerto Rico Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has extended an Invitation for all PRACDL members to attend a lecture on Nov. 15, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. on Post 9/11 decisions by the Supreme Court, fundamental rights and the writ of habeas corpus ...

Federal Criminal Appellate Practice Writing Seminar

Posted on October 19, 2007
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the members of the court's CJA Education Committee will be holding a court-sponsored one-day writing seminar for both experienced brief writers and less seasoned criminal appellate practitioners on Friday, November 9, at the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, PR, from 8:45 a...

Gall and Kimbrough - Briefs, Trancripts and Links to Coverage

Posted on October 07, 2007
Just to keep as a reference, here are the briefs and oral argument transcripts in Gall v. US, No. 06-7949 and Kimbrough v. US, No. 06-6330: Gall v. US - Petitioner's Brief Gall v. US - Government's Brief Gall v. US - Petitioner's Reply Brief Gall v. US - Oral Argument Transcript Kimbrough v...

CJA Panel's Pilot Mentoring Program in Conjunction with PRACDL

Posted on October 02, 2007
We posted here on PRACDL's proposal to the US District Court for improvement of the Court's Mentoring Program for new CJA Panel Members. The Court had approved PRACDL's Mentoring Program proposal, with a few minor changes, as a pilot program, see Memorandum, but needed to amend the CJA Plan to implement it...

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