September 2018 - Federal Criminal Law Center

What is Attorney Conflict of Interest?

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 27, 2018
0 Comments
Appeals, conflict of interest, Right To Effective Assistance Of Counsel

Three years after being sentenced to federal prison for the receipt of bribes from a San Antonio lawyer, a former district judge lost an appeal. Part of the appeal alleges that the man’s former attorneys convinced him not to cooperate with an FBI investigation because these attorneys were among those being investigated. Due to this […]

Sentencing Errors & Appeals For Resentencing

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 20, 2018
0 Comments
Appeals, Resentencing, sentence appeal

A former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State physician was charged in December, 2017 of sexually abusing hundreds of women and girls under the guise of providing medical treatment and sentenced to 60 years in prison. The former physician was also later convicted in Michigan state court after a large collection of child pornography was found […]

The Armed Career Criminal Act and Appeals

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 15, 2018
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Appeals, Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)

After a 2015 United States Supreme Court ruling that declared the law was too vague regarding what constitutes a “violent career criminal,” a convicted murderer’s 15-year sentence must now be examined over again. As a result, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a defendant was potentially wrongly sentenced to […]

Appeals Related to Federal Obstruction of Justice

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 11, 2018
0 Comments
Federal Appeals, obstruction of justice

A pair of decisions issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently upheld the convictions of former New York Senator John Sampson for obstruction of justice as well as lying to federal agents. In 2015, Sampson was convicted of obstruction of justice as well as two counts of making false […]

When Can You Appeal for Double Jeopardy?

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 7, 2018
0 Comments
Appeals, Double Jeopardy

A federal appeals court recently upheld the conviction of a man who shot and killed a Millard County sheriff’s deputy. The man was sentenced in 2017 to life in prison plus 80 years for the death of a law enforcement officer during a job. This decision occurred after a jury previously acquitted the man of […]

Appeals Based on an 8th Amendment Violation

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 1, 2018
0 Comments
Appeals, cruel and unusual punishment, Eighth Amendment/Cruel And Unusual Punishment

8th Amendment Rights A federal appeals court recently upheld the death sentence of a man who killed a South Dakota doughnut shop worker in 1992. The South Dakota Attorney General later commented that the 8th Circuit’s decision, in this case, was “appropriate and constitutional.” The decision comes after the man was convicted in 1993 and […]