District Judge Must Recuse Self If a Reasonable Well-Informed Observer Could Question the Judge’s Impartiality
In re United States, No. 09-2264 (7th Cir. 07/10/2009).
The United States ("the Government") has filed this petition for a writ of mandamus seeking the recusal of the respondent district judge currently presiding over a criminal action pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of...
Drug Experts and Interpreting Words in Recorded Conversations: Boilerplate Rules and Analysis
United States v. York, No. 07-2032 (7th Cir. 07/15/2009)
As Darvell York spoke to Tracy Mitchell about selling him "nine probably hard," law enforcement was listening. Agents had set up a sting to buy nine ounces of crack cocaine from York, and Mitchell was their informant. At York's trial,...
Consent to Search Home: Boilerplate Rules to Determine Voluntariness
United States v. McGraw, No. 08-2705 (7th Cir. 07/02/2009).
While executing a search warrant for drugs inside a Fort Wayne, Indiana apartment building, police officers noticed that the building had several housing-code violations. Police called a neighborhood code-enforcement officer, who arrived and determined that the apartment building must be...
Rule 11(c)(1)(C) Plea Agreements. Be Careful That The Agreed Sentence Is Binding On District Court.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
PARRISH D. COLE, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. No. 06-2547.
Parrish Cole entered into a written plea agreement with the government in which he acknowledged distributing less than 400 grams of heroin and less than a kilogram of marijuana. The district court accepted the plea agreement but found, based...
3553(a)(6) and Unwarranted Sentencing Disparities Evaluated Using Rita, Gall, Kimbrough, Spears and Nelson
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
JON BARTLETT, ANDREW R. SPENGLER, AND DANIEL MASARIK, DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS. 08-1196, 1197 &1198.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Easterbrook, Chief Judge
The distance between civilization and barbarity, and the time needed to pass from one state to the other, is depressingly...
Sealed Documents in District Court Automatically Unsealed on Appeal
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MAURICE FOSTER, No. 09-1248.
EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge
Information that affects the disposition of litigation belongs in the public record unless a statute or privilege justifies nondisclosure.
This court explained in Baxter International, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, 297 F.3d 544, 545–46 (7th...
Improper to Grant Continuance for Purpose of Changing Substantive Law
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, v. ARTHIA LAMONT TANNER. 07-1801, 544 F.3d 793 (7th Cir. 2008).
Before POSNER, Circuit Judge.
Defendant challenges the district judge's failure to delay the sentencing hearing for five months, until the 2007 version of the federal sentencing guidelines went into effect. Had he been...
District Court’s Use of Wrong USSG Section. Harmless Error Analysis Applies
United States v. Abbas, No. 07-3866 (7th Cir. 03/26/2009)
Omar Abbas challenges the application of U.S.S.G. § 2C1.1 (extortion under color of official right) to his sentence for impersonating an FBI agent and argues that he should be re-sentenced. While we agree that impersonation of a public official is...
Illegal Alien’s Are Not Prohibited From Bond Under 18 USC 3142
This is not a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision.
USA v. Jose Chavez-Rivas, 08 CR 31 (USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge Lynn Adelman).
The government charged defendant Jose Chavez-Rivas with unlawful re-entry after
deportation, 8 U.S.C. § 1326, and a magistrate judge initially ordered him...
Mitigating Role Analysis Under USSG 3B1.2 Leads to Reversal
USA v. Joseph J. Hill. 07-2714.
Joseph J. Hill and Larry E. Lumsden both pleaded guilty to a charge that they had unlawfully possessed firearms as convicted felons, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Hill con-tends that the district court improperly denied him an offense-level reduction based on his...