Aug
28
Seventh Circuit Rejects Retroactivity for Padilla
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | August 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment
In Padilla v. Kentucky, 130 S. Ct. 1473 (2010), the Supreme Court held that a lawyer provides ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to inform a client of the deportation risks that result from a guilty plea. However, the Court did not clearly indicate whether its holding must be applied retroactively to cases on collateral review, [...]
Aug
18
Two Circuits Approve Use of Uncounseled Convictions Against Native Americans
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | August 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment
In Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109 (1967), the Supreme Court held that a prior conviction cannot be used to enhance a defendant’s sentence under a recidivism statute if the prior conviction was obtained in violation of the defendant’s constitutional right to counsel. Native Americans, however, must deal with an apparent loophole in the Burgett [...]
Jan
27
Seventh Circuit Decides That Reckless Injury and Statutory Rape Are Not “Crimes of Violence”
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | January 27, 2010 | 1 Comment
In a series of posts (e.g., here and here), I have been tracking the fallout in the Seventh Circuit of the Supreme Court’s decision in Begay v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 1581 (2008). Begay adopted a new approach for deciding when former convictions count as “crimes of violence” that trigger the fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence of [...]
Jan
22
Seventh Circuit Clarifies Application of Fourth Amendment to Searches of Computer Hard Drives
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | January 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment
While working as a life guard instructor, Matthew Mann covertly installed a video camera in a locker room in order to take footage of women changing their clothes. After the camera was discovered and turned over to the authorities, police executed a search warrant at Mann’s home for “video tapes, CD’s or other digital media, [...]
Jan
17
Seventh Circuit: Earlier Sentence Served in Juvenile Detention Facility Can Make Defendant a Career Offender
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | January 17, 2010 | 1 Comment
After pleading guilty in federal court to various drug-trafficking offenses, Isaiah Gregory received an eye-popping sentence of 327 months in prison — more than 27 years behind bars. Driving this extraordinary sentence was the district court’s finding that Gregory was a “career offender” under the federal sentencing guidelines. It was the career offender guideline that raised [...]
Dec
7
Punishment Permitted for Both Attempt and Conspiracy in Seventh Circuit
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | December 7, 2009 | 3 Comments
Police found marijuana hidden in a car that Maurice Crowder and a colleague tried to ship from Arizona to Illinois. Crowder was then charged with, convicted of, and sentenced for two crimes: attempted possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy, both in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Sounds like double-dipping, right? After all, both crimes of [...]
Oct
19
Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Good Enough for Government Work
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | October 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), certain drug offenders face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment if they have two prior drug felony convictions. As befits such a draconian statute, special procedural protections have been adopted to ensure that the mandatory minimum does not take defendants by suprise at sentencing. Thus, 21 U.S.C. § 851(a)(1) requires [...]
Oct
11
Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Halfway Houses Back on the Menu
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | October 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment
If Congress makes an obvious error in drafting a statute, can a court correct that error by effectively adding something to the statute that is not there? Such was the interesting jurisprudential question the Seventh Circuit confronted last January in United States v. Head, 552 F.3d 640 (2009). Because of a mix-up with statutory cross-references, the [...]
Oct
4
Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Reversing a Liddell Progress on Crack Sentencing
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | October 4, 2009 | 2 Comments
The Seventh Circuit continues to struggle with the question of what it means for the federal sentencing guidelines to be “advisory.” In United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), the Supreme Court held that the then-mandatory guidelines system violated the Sixth Amendment. The Court corrected the constitutional problem by converting the guidelines from mandatory to advisory. Then, [...]
Sep
19
Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: What Can Be Inferred From a Lie?
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | September 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
When a person is caught in a lie, we normally assume that he is covering something up. But, if a defendant in a criminal case lies on the witness stand, is it fair to assume that he actually did what he was accused of doing? Such was the question in United States v. Edwards (No. 08-1124). Edwards was [...]
Apr
11
Seventh Circuit Week in Review: Corporate Criminal Liability, Reconsideration of Suppression Rulings, and More
Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | April 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The Seventh Circuit had four new opinions in criminal cases this week. The cases addressed the mens rea requirements for corporate criminal liability, procedural aspects of suppression hearings, child pornography sentencing, and conditional guilty pleas. Taking the cases in that order: In United States v. L.E. Myers Co. (No. 07-2464), the defendant corporation was convicted [...]
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- Scott C. Idleman
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- Michael M. O'Hear
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