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Federal Judiciary

Second Circuit Sentencing Blog

Summaries and analysis of ALL sentencing decisions in the Second Circuit and the disrict courts of the Second Circuit.

Post Frequency: 0.6/day

Last Entry: November 23, 2010 at 15:17:29

Harsh Criticism of Mandatory Minumum Sentencing and Governmental Charging Decision

Posted on July 21, 2010
United States v. Hernandez, No. 09-CR-703 (JBW), 2010 WL 2522417 (E.D.N.Y. May 28, 2010) Hernandez pled guilty to one count of having received images captured in a computer screenshot of child pornography, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range...

Offense Level 7 (0 to 6 Months) Results In 6 Month Sentence

Posted on July 21, 2010
United States v. Diaz, No. 10-CR-170 (JBW), 2010 WL 2540552 (E.D.N.Y. June 2, 2010) Diaz pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 0 and 6 months. Surprisingly,...

Aberrational Conduct

Posted on July 20, 2010
United States v. Ortega, No. 09-CR-742-01 (JBW), 2010 WL 2541364 (E.D.N.Y. June 17, 2010) Ortega pled guilty to having imported cocaine into the United States, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 30 and 37...

"Youth And Immaturity" (Even Though "Highly Culpable") As A Basis For A Non-Guidelines Sentence

Posted on July 20, 2010
United States v. Ginzburg, No. 09-CR-455 (S-2)-01 (JBW), 2010 WL 2540599 (E.D.N.Y. June 17, 2010) Ginzburg (in companion cases to those described below) pled guilty to having conspired to possess with intent to distribute MDMA, for which he faced an....

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Once Again, The Power Of Pre-Sentencing Rehabilitation

Posted on July 20, 2010
United States v. Gurshumov, No. 09-CR-455 (JBW), 2010 WL 2540694 (E.D.N.Y. June 17, 2010) Gurshumov pled guilty to having conspired to possess with intent to distribute MDMA, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 18...

The Remarkable Impact Of A Full Sentencing Presentation

Posted on July 20, 2010
United States v. Gayle, No. 09-CR-35S (JBW), 2010 WL 2540488 (E.D.N.Y. June 17, 2010) Gayle pled guilty to having conspired to commit wire fraud, for which she faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 37 and 46 months....

Multiple Historical Offenses and Non-Guidelines Sentence

Posted on July 20, 2010
United States v. Perez, No. 09-CR-629 (JBW), 2010 WL 2540952 (E.D.N.Y. June 17, 2010) Perez pled guilty to an illegal re-entry offense, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 21 and 27 months. He was...

Minor Role Results in Significant Non-Guidelines Sentence

Posted on July 20, 2010
United States v. Rodriguez, No. 08-CR-332 (JBW), 2010 WL 2629823 (E.D.N.Y. May 28, 2010) Rodriguez pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 33...

An Ideal Sentencing Package

Posted on June 15, 2010
United States v. Rojas, No. 09 Cr. 479 (RWS), 2010 WL 2303030 (S.D.N.Y. June 8, 2010) Rojas pled guilty to one count each of conspiracy to access device fraud, conspiracy to possess access device-making equipment, and conspiracy to effect transactions...

Harsh Words for Insider Trading Defendant At Sentencing

Posted on June 12, 2010
United States v. Kurland, No. 10 Cr. 69 (VM), 2010 WL 2267509 (S.D.N.Y. May 26, 2010) Kurland pled guilty to insider trading in what is known as the Galleon hedge-fund insider trading case. At sentencing, he moved for a finding...

The Power Of Cooperation (And Being A Good Inmate)

Posted on June 09, 2010
United States v. Wislon, No. 07-CR-423 (JBW), 2010 WL 2246417 (E.D.N.Y. May 24, 2010) Wislon pled guilty to having participated in crack cocaine distribution conspiracy, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 87 and 108...

Adjourning Surrender Date For A Loooooong Time (36 Months) So That Minor Children Could Be Properly Cared For

Posted on June 09, 2010
United States v. Bueno, No. 09 CR 625 (HB), 2010 WL 2228570 (S.D.N.Y. June 3, 2010) Bueno pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit...

Important Second Circuit Decision Concerning Guidelines Calculations

Posted on June 01, 2010
United States v. Cotto-Lopez, No. 08-5337-cr (2d Cir. June 1, 2010) (found here) In this little summary opinion, the Second Circuit provides potentially enormous grist for sentencing appeals. Cotto-Lopez pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to...

Teasing Out The Second Circuit's View On Substantive Reasonableness Review

Posted on May 27, 2010
United States v. Melvin, No. 09-2839-cr (2d Cir. May 27, 2010) (found here) If you really want to know what the Second Circuit thinks of reasonableness review, please consider the following two quotations. I'm not saying that the Second Circuit...

Good Boy Gets Non-Guidelines Sentence

Posted on May 19, 2010
United States v. Alzate, No. 09-CR-669 (JBW), 2010 WL 1930186 (E.D.N.Y. May 10, 2010) Alzate pled guilty to a heroin importation offense, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 24 and 30 months. He was...

Second Circuit Finds Sentence Substantively Unreasonable

Posted on May 13, 2010
United States v. Dorvee, Docket No. 09-0648-cr (2d Cir. May 11, 2010) (found here) In what amounts to a rare circumstance, the Second Circuit found that a 240 month sentence imposed on a defendant who pled guilty to one count...

Failure To Consider 15 Years Of Rehabilitation Is Procedural Error On Resentencing

Posted on May 06, 2010
United States v. Hernandez, Docket No. 09-1421-cr, 2010 WL 1780364 (2d Cir. May 5, 2010) Remember United States v. Ray? That was the case in which the Second Circuit declared that a fifteen year delay in re-sentencing violated a defendant's...

Notwithstanding Brushes With The Law Both Before And After Arrest, Non-Guidelines Sentence For "Earnest Attempts" To Improve Relationships And Professional Skills

Posted on May 05, 2010
United States v. Atabayev, No. 09-CR-455 (JBW), 2010 WL 17279089 (E.D.N.Y. April 9, 2010) A co-defendant of the case described below, Atabayev also pled guilty to having conspired to possess with intent to distribute MDMA, for which he faced an...

Once Again, The Power Of Rehabilitation (And A Bad Childhood)

Posted on May 03, 2010
United States v. Petit, No. 09-CR-455, 2010 WL 17278222 (E.D.N.Y. April 9, 2010) Petit pled guilty to having conspired to possess with intent to distribute MDMA, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 27 and...

Guest Blogger: Paula Notari On Sentencing And The Crack/Powder Ratio

Posted on April 27, 2010
I've received the following report from Paula Notari (paulanotari@aol.com) on a recent sentencing she handled before the Honorable Dora L. Irizarry in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in United States v. Dunbar, No...

Call For Interesting/Challenging/Provocative Sentencing Appellate Issues

Posted on April 22, 2010
Do you currently have an appeal pending before the Second Circuit that involves unique, interesting, challenging or provocative issues? If so, I want to hear about it. Tell me your facts, your story, your issues. (Attorneys included, of course.) I'm....

More On The Overlap Between Substantive and Procedural Reasonableness Review

Posted on April 22, 2010
United States v. Dugan, No. 09-1111-cr (2d Cir. April 22, 2010) (found here) As noted in this blog's discussion of United States v. Gonzalez, No. 09-1285-cr (2d Cir. April 6, 2010) (which can be found here) and United States v....

Des Moines Register Op-Ed Concerning Sholom Rubashkan And The Guidelines' Fraud Table

Posted on April 20, 2010
Today I published an op-ed in the Des Moines Register -- Life in Prison for Rubashkan Is Too Harsh -- concerning the Sholom Rubashkan case. As you may have read elsewhere, Rubashkan is the former owner of an Iowa kosher...

"I was forced by a law that should not have been invoked to impose a five-year prison term"

Posted on April 07, 2010
United States v. Vasquez, No. 09-CR-259 (JG), 2010 WL 1257359 (E.D.N.Y. March 30, 2010) When people think about miscarriages of justice, they generally think big, especially in this era of DNA exonerations, in which wholly innocent people have been released...

Guest Blogger Marshall Mintz: District Court Authority To Amend Restitution Orders

Posted on April 06, 2010
Guest Blogger Marshall Mintz provides his take below of United States v. Kyles, No. 06-4196 (2d Cir. April 2, 2010) (found here), in which the Second Circuit held (in an appeal that Mr. Mintz handled) that a district court has...

The Interplay Between Procedural Reasonableness And Substantive Reasonableness

Posted on April 06, 2010
United States v. Gonzalez, No. 09-1285-cr (2d Cir. April 6, 2010) (found here) Is there a relationship between procedural reasonableness and substantive reasonableness? And, if so, what are the contours of that relationship? Gonzalez confirmed for me what I believed...

Probation Because Defendant To Be Re-Deployed To Iraq

Posted on April 05, 2010
United States v. Rhodes, No. 08-CR-806-02 (JBW), 2010 WL 1254106 (E.D.N.Y. March 29, 2010) Rhodes pled guilty to making a false entry in a record and document with the intent to impede, obstruct or influence the investigation by the DOJ,...

Hard Work And The Threat Of Deportation As A Basis For A Non-Guidelines Sentence

Posted on April 03, 2010
United States v. Wang, No. 09-CR-184 (JBW), 2010 WL 1221768 (E.D.N.Y. March 29, 2010) United States v. Xu, No. 09-CR-184 (JBW), 2010 WL 1221772 (E.D.N.Y. March 29, 2010) Wang and Xu were convicted of fraudulently importing and trafficking in knowingly...

A Pair Of Non-Guidelines Sentences For A Pair Of Corrections Officer

Posted on April 03, 2010
United States v. Gray, No. 08-CR-806-03 (JBW), 2010 WL 1221762 (E.D.N.Y. March 29, 2010) Gray pled guilty to making a false entry in a record and document with the intent to impede, obstruct or influence the investigation by the DOJ...

Diabetes And Family Relations Results In Non-Guidelines Sentence

Posted on April 03, 2010
United States v. Burks, No. 08-CR-332 (JBW), 2010 WL 1221752 (E.D.N.Y. March 29, 2010) Burks pled guilty to wire fraud, for which he faced an advisory Guidelines range of imprisonment of between 57 and 71 months. He was sentenced to...

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