We have discussed the case of U.S. v. Jones, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held in February that the attaching of a global positioning satellite (GPS) device constituted a search. Well, the government is attempting to re-try the defendant, Antoine Jones. And this time it is seeking to introduce location data from Jones’ cellphone… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Supreme
The Commerce Clause and Federal Criminal Law: No “Generalized Federal Police Power” Yet
Posted in UncategorizedThe United States Supreme Court’s determination of the constitutionality of the individual mandate provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, 26 U.S.C. § 5000A, in June in the decision of Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012) generated much discussion of the Commerce Clause, although the… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Holds Stolen Valor Act Violates First Amendment
Posted in FraudIn the midst of handing down decisions on matters of wider import, such as healthcare and immigration, the U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 Federal statute which made it a Federal crime to make false statements regarding receiving military honors, as reported in Army Times. The 6-3 majority… Continue Reading
Julian Heicklen, 80 Year-Old Jury Nullification Advocate, Charged With Jury Tampering
Posted in Noteworthy Cases"No free man shall be captured, and or imprisoned, or disseised of his freehold, and or of his liberties, or of his free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we proceed against him by force or proceed against him by arms, but by the lawful judgment of his… Continue Reading
Southern Union Co. v. United States — Must a Jury, and not the Judge, Find the Facts Necessary to Impose a Criminal Fine?
Posted in Corporate CrimesThe U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), held that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution require that any fact which increases punishment beyond the maximum prescribed by statute must be determined by a jury, rather than a judge. The Court’s holding in Apprendi led to its… Continue Reading
SUPREME COURT HOLDS VEHICLE GPS TRACKING CONSTITUTES A SEARCH
Posted in Searches & SeizuresWe have mentioned the case of U.S. v. Jones which was pending before the United States Supreme Court, and the issue of whether placement of a gobal positioning satellite (GPS) device on a vehicle by law enforcement constitutes a search. Late last month, the Court issued an opinion holding that the government’s installation of a GPS device on a… Continue Reading
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Warrantless GPS Surveillance and Tracking Case on November 8
Posted in Searches & SeizuresThe U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011-2012 term begins on Monday. Among several issues prominent in the public eye at the moment–i.e. healthcare, immigration–the Court will hear argument on warrantless surveillance. According to a press release yesterday by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), on November 8, 2011, the Court will hear arguments in United States… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Conrad Black’s Appeal of His Two Remaining Convictions
Posted in FraudThe U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied the petition for certiorari by former international media mogul, Canadian citizen and British Lord, Conrad Moffat Black, as reported in the Washington Post. Mr. Black was the CEO of Hollinger International, Inc., which owned newspapers worldwide. He was indicted (in an indictment made available by FindLaw which may be viewed… Continue Reading
Kentucky v. King, or The Police Know Exigent Circumstances When They Hear Them
Posted in Searches & SeizuresPolice officers set up a controlled buy of crack cocaine at an apartment complex in Kentucky and observed the deal take place. The officers then moved to intercept the suspect before he re-entered his apartment. The officers heard a door shut and detected an alleged strong odor of marijuana outside of two apartment doors,… Continue Reading
Conrad Black on the Problems of the U.S. Justice and Prison System: Prisoners are “An Ostracized, Voiceless Legion of the Walking Dead”
Posted in Fraud, SentencingCanadian citizen Conrad Black, former head of Hollinger International, Inc., and once the third biggest newspaper magnate in the world, was charged in the Northern District of Illinois with diverting corporate funds for his own use and was convicted in July of 2007for "honest services" mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. s 1846,… Continue Reading
Elena Kagan on Criminal Law
Posted in Courts and JudiciaryPresident Obama is expected to announce today his nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens. Solicitor General Kagan has been one of the presumptive leading choices to replace Justice Stevens ever since the Justice announced that he was stepping down. Ms. Kagan has drawn criticism from both the right and… Continue Reading
Justice John Paul Stevens on Criminal Law
Posted in Courts and Judiciary, SentencingSupreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who notified President Barack Obama last week that he will be stepping down from the Court when its current term is over in June or July, has written nearly 400 opinions over his nearly 35 year tenure on the Court. Justice Stevens has weighed in on many occasions on… Continue Reading
Oral Arguments in Skilling Case Focus on Jury Selection Issues, Less Emphasis on Honest Services Fraud
Posted in FraudAccording to Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog, Ashby Jones at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, and Professor Ellen S. Podgor of Stetson University College of Law and the White Collar Crime Prof Blog, the U.S. Supreme Court seemed more interested in the jury selection/fair trial issues in yesterday’s oral arguments in the case of former… Continue Reading
Chief Justice John Roberts Issues Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary; Judiciary “Operating Soundly”; New Criminal Cases at Highest Levels Since 1932
Posted in Fraud, MiscellaneousAs the final hours of 2009 were running out on New Years’ Eve, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued the Chief Justice’s Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, available here, a tradition begun by Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1970 to address the most critical needs of the federal judiciary. The Chief Justice… Continue Reading
Professor Podgor on Judge Sotomayor on White Collar Criminal Law
Posted in MiscellaneousProfessor Ellen S. Podgor of Stetson University College of Law made an excellent post yesterday on the White Collar Crime Prof Blog surveying Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s white collar criminal opinions. Professor Podgor perused some 100 cases involving Judge Sotomayor and the term "fraud." She came to the conclusion… Continue Reading
Justice Souter on Criminal Law
Posted in Noteworthy CasesSupreme Court Justice David Hackett Souter has announced his intention to retire at the end of the Court’s term in June. In his 19 years on the Court, Justice Souter has been a key vote in many cases and has written over 150 majority, plurality, concurring and dissenting opinions, including in many criminal… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Curtails Money Laundering
Posted in Noteworthy CasesSupreme Court holds that section 1956 money laundering applies to net profits, not gross receipts.
Medellin v. Texas: The Effect on International Law on Domestic Criminal Law and Procedure
Posted in International LawDefense counsel with foreign clients will not be pleased with the latest offering from the United States Supreme Court and its take on international law. José Ernesto Medellín, a Mexican national, was convicted and sentenced in a Texas state court for the capital murder of two girls. Fortunately, Mexico brought an action in the… Continue Reading