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Criminal Law

Puerto Rico Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

By Tom Lincoln

Post Frequency: 1.2/day

Last Entry: January 21, 2011 at 18:55:44

Judge Gertner Orders Government to Pay $101.7 Million

Posted on July 26, 2007
By remaining silent as to their knowledge that a witness was lying, the FBI caused the conviction on murder charges against several defendants, and ensured they spent decades in prison. As the NY Times (AP) reports here: A federal judge Thursday ordered the government to pay more than $101 million in the case of four men who spent decades in prison for a 1965 murder they didn't commit after the FBI withheld evidence of their innocence...

Chat with Judge Gertner on Sentencing Issues

Posted on June 18, 2007
PRACDL invites all defense attorneys to attend a chat with U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner on sentencing issues, on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at 4:00 p.m., at the Chief Judge's Courtroom. This is a special treat you should not miss out on. There is no cost for attending...

CJA Rate Increases Effective May 20, 2007

Posted on May 19, 2007
Effective May 20, 2007 the CJA hourly rate will increase from the current $92 per hour to $94 per hour. For cases overlapping both rates, counsel will invoice all work done before May 20th at the $92 hourly rate and all work done on or after May 20th at the $94 hourly rate...

PRACDL Honors Jorge L. Arroyo Alejandro

Posted on April 02, 2007
This past Wednesday PRACDL held a very special activity to honor colleague Jorge L. Arroyo Alejandro for his "dedication, professionalism and continued contribution to the defense bar," as well as his enormous dedication to PRACDL, having been our longest serving President...

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PRACDL to Propose Changes and Offer Assistance to Court's Mentoring Program for New CJA Panel Members

Posted on March 19, 2007
With a view towards improving the Mentoring Program provided by the District of Puerto Rico to some of the new CJA Panel members, PRACDL's Board has been meeting and working out a proposal to present to the Court's CJA Committee, presided by Honorable Aida M...

PRACDL's New Board

Posted on January 11, 2007
The Officers and other Board Members for this year are as follows: Mari�ngela Tirado-Vales - President Linda Backiel - Vice President Jorge E. Rivera-Ort�z - Treasurer Tom Lincoln - Secretary Rachel Brill Jason Gonz�lez-Delgado Joseph Laws - Federal Public Defender - Permanent Board Member Jos� L...

PRACDL 4th Workshop and Annual Dinner Meeting - December 7th, 2006

Posted on November 10, 2006
PRACDL invites all criminal defense lawyers to it's Fourth 2006 Workshop on Thursday, December 7, 2006. This will be followed by our Annual Dinner Meeting. See the announcement here. The workshop topic is Grand Jury Practice. Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Place: U...

Jury Refuses to Impose Death Penalty

Posted on October 27, 2006
Again a federal jury refuses to impose the death penalty in the District of Puerto Rico, this time in the case of Carlos Ayala-L�pez, found guilty of murdering a federal security guard. The defense was made up by Bill Matthewman (of Florida) and PRACDL member Juan A...

Rachel Brill Appointed to Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Posted on October 27, 2006
PRACDL Charter Member Rachel Brill has been appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to serve on the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. This is a great distinction and honor. Rachel has served as PRACDL Treasurer, 1992-2004; and as a Board Member, 2004-2005...

Two New Magistrate Judges Appointed

Posted on October 12, 2006
PRACDL member Bruce J. McGiverin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcos L�pez have been appointed to serve as U.S. Magistrate Judges in the District of Puerto Rico. They will occupy the vacancies left when Hon. Aida M. Delgado-Col�n and Hon. Gustavo A. Gelp� were appointed as U...

Francisco A. Besosa - Our Newest Federal Judge

Posted on September 26, 2006
The Senate, acting pursuant to a unanimous consent agreement, voted on September 25, 2006 to confirm Francisco A. Besosa as U.S. District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico. The nomination met no opposition and the vote was 87-0. Judge Besosa will occupy the vacancy left by now Senior U...

First Circuit Notice to Court-Appointed Counsel Regarding Requiremnents for Briefs

Posted on August 27, 2006
The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has issued a Notice to Court-Appointed Counsel Regarding Requiremnents for Briefs, which states as follows: Effective September 1, 2006, counsel appointed under the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. � 3006A, must file briefs in accordance with the copy requirements set forth in Fed...

PRACDL Workshop on Practical Applications of Daubert

Posted on August 26, 2006
PRACDL inbviutes all criminal defense lawyers to it's third 2006 workshop to be held on Wednesday, September 6, 2006. The topic is: Practical Applications of Daubert. Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Place: U.S. District Court in Hato Rey Cost: Free to PRACDL members, and $25...

PRACDL Workshop - June 1st

Posted on May 31, 2006
This is a reminder of PRACDL's second 2006 workshop this coming Thursday, June 1, 2006, on Using Government Witnesses to the Defense Advantage. Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Place: U.S. District Court in Hato Rey, Courtroom of Senior Judge P�rez-Gim�nez Cost: Free to PRACDL members, and $25...

Need to Avoid Unwarranted Sentencing Disparity

Posted on April 06, 2006
Before you start making your arguments on the need for a particular sentence for your client so as to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparity, you should read United States v. Saez, No. 05-2001 (1st Cir. April 6, 2006). See more on Saez at Appellate Law & Practice here.

The Exonerated

Posted on March 31, 2006
Last night I went to the movies to see The Exonerated, the story of six persons sent to death row and later on exonerated. The movie was shown by the Coalici�n Puertorrique�a Contra la Pena de Muerte, as part of a fund and consciousness raising effort...

First Circuit Orders Recusal of District Judge at Government's Request

Posted on March 24, 2006
In a rather unique set of circumstances, the First Circuit has today granted a petition for mandamus by the United States in a public corruption case, reversing a district court's denial of a motion by the United States for the trial judge to recuse himself on grounds of actual prejudice, albeit not on grounds of actual prejudice but of a "reasonable basis for questioning the impartiality of the district court judge...

First Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya to take Senior Status

Posted on March 15, 2006
First Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya has announced that he will be taking Senior status, but he still plans to maintain three-fourths of the caseload of an active Circuit Judge. He intends to dedicate more time to his family and to do some teaching. For reports on this see Boston Globe here, Fox Providence Eyewitness News here, and The Providence Journal here...

USSC: "Report on the Impact of United States v. Booker on Federal Sentencing"

Posted on March 14, 2006
The United States Sentencing Commission has released a Report on the Impact of United States v. Booker on Federal Sentencing (caveat, the PDF is 277 pages). Professor Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy has an initial post on this here in which he states: Also based on a quick scan, here is a notable sound-bite: "The severity of sentences imposed has not changed substantially across time...

Booker Reasonableness in the First

Posted on March 09, 2006
I'm back from a hiatus (only to be interrupted again by an upcoming trial). The First Circuit issued the much awaited en banc opinion(s) in US v. Jim�nez-Beltre, No. 05-1268 (1st Cir. March 9, 2006) to decide the following issues: whether there is, post-Booker, appellate jurisdiction to review a within guideline sentence, with the Government arguing that there was no jurisdiction; whether a within guideline sentence is presumptively reasonable; and whether the within guideline sentence in the instant case was reasonable...

Registration & Program for March 10th Advanced Federal Criminal Appellate Practice Seminar

Posted on January 23, 2006
Here are the Registration and Program for the First Circuit's Advanced Federal Criminal Appellate Practice Seminar (see our post here) to be held at the Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino on March 10, 2006. You must register no later than Friday, February 24, 2006...

PRACDL Workshops

Posted on January 10, 2006
PRACDL will be holding a series of four workshops. The first - Getting Your Evidence Admitted & Dealing with Possible Objections to the Same -is scheduled for January 26th from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., and will be held at one of the Courtrooms at the U.S. District Court in San Juan...

Advanced Federal Criminal Appellate Practice Seminar

Posted on January 10, 2006
Advanced Federal Criminal Appellate Practice Seminar The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is sponsoring a one-day seminar, Advanced Federal Criminal Appellate Practice, at the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Friday, March 10, 2006...

. . . and then take that great discretionary leap

Posted on December 11, 2005
It appears that the First Circuit is about to take a serious look at the meaning of "advisory" as applied to the sentencing guidelines post-Booker. This has arisen in the context of the appeals from the Rhode Island federal cases in which District Judge Ernest Torres rejected the 100:1 crack to powder cocaine disparity...

Rules Amendments Effective December 1, 2005

Posted on November 30, 2005
Effective December 1, 2005, there are a number of amendments that go into effect regarding the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure. In particular, the following amendments to the rules will take effect on December 1, 2005: Appellate Rules 4, 26, 27, 28, 32, 34, 35, 45, and new Rule 28...

PRACDL Seminar, Assembly & Elections

Posted on November 04, 2005
Today PRACDL held a half day seminar, followed by its annual assembly and elections. The seminar was on The Trial of a Complex Conspiracy Case: Openings, Closings and Important Trial Strategies, presented by New York Criminal Defense Lawyer Benjamin Brafman, Esq...

Hon. Aida M. Delgado-Col�n - Our Next U.S. District Judge

Posted on October 27, 2005
President George W. Bush has nominated Honorable Aida M. Delgado-Col�n, U.S. Magistrate Judge, to serve as U.S. District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico. Prior to being appointed as a U.S. Magistrate. she served for more than a decade as an Assistant Federal Public Defender...

What happened to Criminal Law at Roberts Confirmation Hearing?

Posted on September 16, 2005
As Professor Berman details here at Sentencing Law and Policy, there was hardly any mention of criminal justice issues during the Roberts confirmation hearings. That is a huge disappointment, for the reasons stated by Professor Berman. One of his readers believes a Chief Justice Roberts might be in the Scalia camp on Booker, but I seriously doubt this.

Wilkerson from the First: the Complete Story

Posted on August 24, 2005
In my previous post on United States v. Wilkerson, No. 02-1729 (1st Cir. June 9, 2005) -- yes, the case where it appeared that the First Circuit might be endorsing a district court's consideration of disparities in sentences for the same conduct as between federal and state cases -- I mentioned that the docket revealed that the petition for panel rehearing filed by the government to have the Court express itself on this issue had been denied...

From the First: Panel Rehearing Denied in Wilkerson

Posted on August 20, 2005
Upon checking the docket for United States v. Wilkerson, No. 02-1729 (1st Cir. June 9, 2005) it appears that the First Circuit has denied the petitions for panel rehearing. As we indicated in our previous post here, Wilkerson "appeared to endorse the idea that a district court may take into account the disparity between federal and state sentences for the same conduct in arriving at a correct sentence in the post-Booker world...

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