Criminal Law

Thoughtful and nuanced discussion of procedural reasonableness from Tenth Circuit
The Tenth Circuit issued a lengthy opinion yesterday in US v. Mendoza, No. 07-3181 (10th Cir. Oct. 1, 2008) (available here), that addresses a number of notable procedural issues in the course of rejecting a government appeal of a below-guideline...

New York Appellate Court Addresses Differing Statutes of Limitations for Procedural and Substantive Challenges to Adoption of Zoning
Parties challenging the adoption of zoning ordinances must be mindful of differing applicable statutes of limitations depending upon the underlying causes of action set forth in the complaint...

Death Penalty in a Nutshell
By Victor StreibCovering both the substantive and the procedural law of the death penalty, this title begins with an explanation of its basic constitutional challenges and limitations...

Tenth Edition of "An Introduction to Federal Sentencing" Now Available
Interested in a broad overview of how federal sentencing works? Then you'll want to dig right into "An Introduction to Federal Sentencing," now in its tenth edition. Most of what's in the paper will be familiar to anyone handles federal cases on a regular basis, but if you're just getting started in the federal world (or if you just like to take in the big picture every now and then) you'll find: a summary of the relevant statutes and the Guidelines Manual, tips for applying the Guidelines, commentary on plea bargaining, and traps for the unwary...

Tenth Circuit rejects various challenges to SORNA failure to register crime
Another circuit court has directly addressed various constitutional challenges to the federal crime of failing to register as a sex offender: yesterday the Tenth Circuit in US v. Lawrance, No...

En banc Tenth Circuit reinstates insider trading conviction of former Qwest CEO Nacchio
Though not technically a sentencing ruling, the white-collar sentencing world should surely take note of the Tenth Circuit's decision today, via a 5-4 en banc ruling, to reinstate Joe Nacchio's federal criminal insider trading conviction...

Eleventh Circuit Holds That Procedural Sentencing Requirements Must Be Strictly Followed
In an unpublished per curiam decision today (available here), the Eleventh Circuit made clear that judges must strictly adhere to the statutorily imposed procedural requirements of sentencing...

Third time's (almost) the charm in Tenth Circuit sentencing case
In an interesting decision in a case that may seem to the Tenth Circuit to be never-ending, a panel today affirms an above-guideline sentence in US v. Wittig, No. 07-3051 (10th Cir...

Profs. Rosen-Zvi and Fisher Publish Article on Overcoming Divide between Civil and Criminal Procedure
Professors Issacar Rosen-Zvi and Talia Fisher have recently published an article entitled Overcoming Procedural Boundaries in the Virginia Law Review, 94 Va. L. Rev. 79 (2008). Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:The Article will not challenge (at least not directly) the distinction between substantive criminal law and civil law but rather will focus solely on procedure...