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First Circuit: Failure to Prove a Prior Conviction Was a ‘Controlled Substance Offense’ Under the Guidelines Requires Resentencing
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that when the Government fails to prove a prior conviction was for a controlled substance as defined by U.S. Sentencing Guideline (“U.S.S.G.”) 4B1.2(b), the defendant is entitled to resentencing.
Jose Martinez-Benitez pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm ...
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Florida Deputy Falsifies Drug Field-Test Results, Freeing 11 From Jail, by Edward Lyon
- Police Not Required to Protect; Are They Required to Serve?, by Matthew Clarke
- Delaware Supreme Court: ‘The Sixth Amendment Demands More Than the Presence the Morning of Trial of a Warm Body With a Law Degree’, by Douglas Ankney
- Deadly Force Mindset as Justifiable Defense Questioned, by Kevin Bliss
- L.A. County Wipes Out Almost $90 Million in Debt for Juvenile Detention Fees, by Dale Chappell
- Federal Judge Rules Massachusetts Law Banning Secretly Recording Police in Public Is Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit Holds 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- In Washington State, a Man’s Home Is No Longer His Castle, by Edward Lyon
- New Jersey Board Finds Suspending Drivers’ Licenses Because of Failure to Pay Court Fines Doesn’t Work, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Must Provide Rationale When Denying Motion for § 3582(c)(2) Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit Holds Attempted Drug Offenses Do Not Count Toward Career Criminal Designation, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules as a Matter of 1st Impression That Mother’s Use of Opioids During Pregnancy Not Child Abuse, by Chad Marks
- Fourth Circuit: Unreasonable Post-Seizure Delay in Obtaining Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
- California Supreme Court Rules That Defense Counsel Can’t Agree to Stipulation That’s Tantamount to Guilty Plea Without Voluntary and Intelligent Waiver by Defendant, by Derek Gilna
- Creation of Prosecutorial Watchdog in New York Spotlights Distinction Between Misconduct and Unfair Conduct, by Michael Berk
- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Statute Mandating Lifetime GPS Monitoring of ‘Sexually Dangerous Predator’ Even After Completion of Sentence Is Facially Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Rules Miscalculation of Guidelines Sentencing Range Plain Error That Merits Correction Even Though Not Raised by Defendant, by Chad Marks
- Prosecutors Have the Power to Stop Bad Roadside Drug Tests From Ruining People’s Lives, by Sagiv Galai
- Former New Jersey Police Chief Faces Rare Federal Hate Crime Charges
- Cops Seize Almost $150,000 from Black Musician for Not Using His Turn Signal, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit Vacates a Sentence Imposed for Violation of Supervised Release Because the District Court Failed to Disclose to the Defendant the Probation Officer’s Confidential Sentencing Recommendations
- Fourth Circuit: South Carolina Conviction for Assaulting, Wounding, or Beating Officer While Resisting Arrest Is Not Predicate Violent Felony Conviction Under ACCA, by Douglas Ankney
- Legal Aid Society Counters NYC Police Misconduct With New Database
- Florida Cop Found Guilty of Killing Stranded Driver, a First in 30 Years in State
- Second Circuit: Government’s Misleading Disclosure Warrants New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- Facial Recognition Gives Police Easier Access to Cellphones, by Dale Chappell
- Why Brady Lists Still Don’t Work, by Douglas Ankney
- Abolishing the Death Penalty Leads to Decline in Murders, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas and Remands for Hearing on Actual Innocence Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Federal Judge Denies Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Detained Motorist for Giving Them the Finger, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: Failure to Disclose that Star Witness Was Hypnotized is 'Brady' Violation, by Douglas Ankney
- Georgia Supreme Court: Statutes Permitting a Defendant’s Refusal to Submit to Breath Tests to Be Admitted into Evidence Are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retroactively Applies Birchfield, Holding that Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Refusing Warrantless Blood Tests are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit: Failure to Prove a Prior Conviction Was a ‘Controlled Substance Offense’ Under the Guidelines Requires Resentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Announces Reasonably Foreseeable Acts of Co-Conspirators Not Sufficient for Fleeing Sentence Enhancement Under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, by David Reutter
- California Supreme Court: Competence Hearing Required When Formerly Incompetent Defendant Quits Taking Psychotropic Medication and Exhibits Signs of Incompetence, by David Reutter
- SCOTUS: Presumption of Prejudice Recognized in Flores-Ortega Applies Regardless of Defendant’s Appeal Waiver, by Douglas Ankney
- California Governor Announces Moratorium on Capital Punishment, by Bill Barton
- Arrests Do Not Necessarily Represent Solved Crimes, by Edward Lyon
- Expert Report Urges Changes to Forensic Analysis in Courtrooms, by Dale Chappell
- Misconduct in the Forensic Science Community Reveals Urgent Need for Greater Oversight, by Kevin Bliss
- Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?, by Dale Chappell, Brandon Sample
- Texas Misuses Privacy Law to Withhold In-Custody Death Information, by Edward Lyon
- Plea Bargaining: Prosecutors Leave Trail of Injustice When Playing Hardball with Defendants, by David Reutter
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Seventh Circuit Announces Safety Valve Relief Under § 3553(f) Is Narrower Than Guidelines Firearms Enhancement Under § 2D1.1(b)(1), District Court Erred by Conflating Them, May 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit: Maryland’s First-Degree Assault Statute Is Indivisible so Conviction Is Not an ACCA Predicate for Sentencing Enhancement Purposes, May 15, 2024
- Tenth Circuit: Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Where Plea Counsel Materially Misrepresented Defendant’s Right to Impartial Jury Selected Through Racially Nondiscriminatory Means, May 15, 2024
- California Supreme Court: Jury’s Finding of Intent to Kill for Gang Enhancement, Standing Alone, Insufficient to Find Prisoner Failed to State a Prima Facie Case in § 1172.6 Petition for Resentencing on First-Degree Murder Conviction, May 15, 2024
- Non-Toxic Fluorescent Spray Reveals Fingerprints in Seconds, May 15, 2024
- New York Court of Appeals: SORA Designation Violates Defendant’s Due Process Rights Where Crime Involved No Sexual Contact or Motivation and Defendant Was Not a Sex Offender and Posed No Risk of Sexual Threat, May 15, 2024
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Defendants Under Age 21 Ineligible for LWOP Sentences, May 15, 2024
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Extension of Eyewitness Identification Safeguards of Henderson to Pretrial Preparation Sessions and Provides Framework for Showing Photos During Pretrial Phase, May 15, 2024
- Sixth Circuit Announces Untimely Notice of Appeal That Provides Reason for Tardiness May Be Construed as Motion to Reopen, May 15, 2024
- $175,000 Awarded to Former California Detainee Whose Suit Prompted DOJ Investigation and Settlement Requiring Structural Changes at Jail, April 26, 2024
More from these topics:
- Wisconsin Supreme Court: Jail Time Must Be Credited When Charge Causing Jailing Read in At Sentencing, Jan. 1, 2024. Sentencing, Good Time, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Credits.
- Wife of “El Chapo” Released from U.S. Prison, Son Extradited, Dec. 1, 2023. War on Drugs.
- Prison Walls No Barrier to America’s Deadly Opioid Crisis, Nov. 15, 2023. War on Drugs, Drug Treatment/Rehab.
- Five Years After Limiting Personal Visits and Banning Mail, Drug Use Worse in Pennsylvania Prisons, Sept. 15, 2023. War on Drugs, Mail Regulations, Visiting.
- Roadside Drug Tests: Failed Technology From the Failed War on Drugs, Aug. 1, 2023. Drug Testing, War on Drugs.
- Ninth Circuit: Government’s Inflammatory Arguments in Sentencing Memorandum and at Sentencing Hearing Implicitly Breached Plea Agreement Promise Not to Recommend Sentence in Excess of Low-End Guidelines Range, June 15, 2023. War on Drugs, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Remands/Rehearings/Resentencings, Validity of.
- Maryland Cops Stop People Based on Smell of Pot Despite Being Legal in State, Lawmakers Pass Bill to End Abusive Practice, May 25, 2023. War on Drugs, Marijuana Laws/Issues, Profiling Evidence.
- Four Charged with Using Drones to Smuggle Drugs into California Prisons, May 9, 2023. Cell Searches, War on Drugs.
- Despite Official Claims, Stopping Mail to Missouri Prisoners Has No Effect on Drug Overdoses, April 1, 2023. Drug Overdose, War on Drugs, Mail Regulations, Sting Operations.
- Another Chapter in Cops’ False Narrative That Mere Contact With Fentanyl Is Deadly – Cleveland Police K-9 Given NARCAN After Fentanyl Exposure, March 30, 2023. War on Drugs, Safety Threat to Police.
