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Federal Judge Issues Order Reducing 40-Year Stacked § 924(c) Sentence Based on First Step Act Changes to Compassionate Release
by Chad Marks
On a cold February 2003 night, my life was shattered. That is when I was arrested and charged with a crack cocaine conspiracy along with two § 924(c) counts. My mandatory minimum sentence could be no lower than 40 years. And after a three-week trial, that is ...
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More from this issue:
- Racism and Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief After Michigan Court Violates Confrontation Clause, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: Mental Impairment that Prevented ‘Monitoring’ of Habeas Counsel’s Actions May Require Equitable Tolling, by Dale Chappell
- Tenth Circuit Vacates District Court’s Order Sealing Plea Supplement, Explaining Local Court Rule Doesn’t Abrogate Common Law Right of Access to Judicial Records, by Douglas Ankney
- Federal Judge Issues Order Reducing 40-Year Stacked § 924(c) Sentence Based on First Step Act Changes to Compassionate Release, by Chad Marks
- Latest Forensic Technology, Pattern Analysis, May Be ‘Pseudoscience’, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- SCOTUS: Jury Verdicts Must Be Unanimous to Convict on Criminal Charges, Overruling Apodaca, by Douglas Ankney
- ATF: What Is a Gun?, by Jayson Hawkins
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces that Duress May be Asserted as an Affirmative Defense to Felony Murder, Overruling Gimotty and Etheridge, by Douglas Ankney
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Failure to Include ‘Or Others’ in Jury Instruction for Self-Defense Against Multiple Assailants Deprived Defendant of Defense, by Dale Chappell
- Virus Vigilantes v. Virus Violators: Shunning, Shaming, or Policing COVID-19 May not Be the Cure, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- SCOTUS: Due Process Doesn’t Require States to Adopt a Specific Test for Determining Insanity, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit: Defendant Lacked Culpability in Attempting to Export Ammunition by Merely Purchasing It, by Anthony Accurso
- Second Circuit: Habeas Petition Not Moot Where It Attacked Inactive Original Order That Gave Rise to Current Active Order Restraining Petitioner’s Liberty, by Douglas Ankney
- Iowa Supreme Court Vacates Guilty Plea for Lack of Evidence and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by David Reutter
- Federal District Court Finds ‘Confusion’ Over Law in State Court Excused Late Filing of § 2255 Motion, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit Reiterates IAC Requires Only ‘Reasonable Probability,’ Not ‘More Likely Than Not,’ of Different Outcome, by Dale Chappell
- Divide and Conquer: New Algorithm Examines Crime-Scene Bullets Segment by Segment
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Files Statement on Court’s Refusal to Hear Habeas Case, Despite Deep Circuit Split, by Dale Chappell
- SCOTUS: Knowledge that Driver’s License of Vehicle’s Registered Owner Was Revoked Provides Reasonable Suspicion to Initiate Traffic Stop, by Douglas Ankney
- Don’t Allow Government to Abuse Emergency Powers After COVID-19 Threat Subsides, by Douglas Ankney
- Illinois Supreme Court: Failing to Stipulate Felon Status Allowing Jury to Hear About Murder Conviction Constitutes IAC, by Anthony Accurso
- Notorious Louisiana Prosecutor Fired for Misconduct Technicality, by Edward Lyon
- 10th Circuit: Evidence Insufficient to Support Conviction for Attempting to Kill Witness, by Douglas Ankney
- $369,000 Settlement in Police Raid of Journalist’s Home and Office
- Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of ‘Mixture’ as Used in State’s Controlled Substances Act, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court: Defendant Has No Duty to Bring Himself to Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Finds IAC for Failure to Object to Court’s Jury Instructions that Constructively Amended Indictment by Lowering Government’s Burden of Proof, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Cronic’s Presumption of Prejudice Triggered by Counsel Failing to Secure Interpreter for First Day of Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces New Standard for ‘Actual Racial Bias’ for Jurors and Holds Counsel Was Ineffective for Failing to Strike Racially Biased Juror, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Fifth Circuit’s Rule Barring Plain-Error Review of Unpreserved Factual Arguments, by Dale Chappell
- FBI’s Long History of Squelching Political Dissent Under the Guise of National Security, by Jayson Hawkins
- Utah Supreme Court: Dismissal of Second Post-Conviction Petition Improper Where First Petition Voluntarily Withdrawn, by Douglas Ankney
- No Consequences for Prosecutors’ Bad Behavior, by Jayson Hawkins
- Nevada Supreme Court Rules Bail Determination Requires Due Process and Severs Unconstitutional Language from Bail Statute, by Douglas Ankney
- Federal Court Overturns Conviction for Person Linked to Former Subway Spokesperson’s Child Porn Case, by Dale Chappell
- Study Sheds Light on ‘Recidivism’ and Probation and Parole Violations, by Dale Chappell
- Utah Residents Can Wind Up in Jail When They Miss Loan Payments, by Kevin Bliss
- California Court of Appeal: Unoccupied Running Vehicle Doesn’t Justify Warrantless Search of Residence, by Douglas Ankney
- Interpreting Emojis as Court Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
- LAPD Officers Accused of Entering Names of Innocent People Into Gang Database, by Douglas Ankney
- ‘No-Knock Raids’ an Increasing Danger to Public Safety, by Jayson Hawkins
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Standards for Exit Order and Patfrisk, by Anthony Accurso
- A Mass Purge of Misconduct Records by Phoenix, Arizona Police, by Bill Barton
- Cops in Missouri Exploit Loophole to Seize $2.6 Million from Innocent Citizens, by Douglas Ankney
- How Old Is That Fingerprint?, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from Chad Marks:
- Use of Solitary Confinement During Pandemic Detrimental To Prisoners and Not Slowing Spread of COVID-19, May 1, 2021
- COVID-19 Inspired Ban on Prison Visits in Texas Ends, April 1, 2021
- Sequel: Three Additional Federal Executions Before Trump Left Office, March 1, 2021
- Connecticut: Summary Judgment Denied in Deliberate Indifference Case Where Facial Lesion Turned Out To Be Skin Cancer, Nov. 1, 2020
- Ford Foundation President’s Support to Replace Rikers With Other Jails Criticized, Oct. 1, 2020
- Wisconsin: Court Dismisses Prisoners’ Suit Over Asbestos, Mold on Procedural Grounds, Sept. 1, 2020
- New Jersey: Commission Recommends State Take 100 Steps to Improve Re-Entry for Ex-Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2020
- New York: Prisoner Kills Himself After Brutal Beating by Guards, Aug. 1, 2020
- Jury Award $700,000 to Maryland Prisoner Assaulted by Guards, Aug. 1, 2020
- Is the Death Penalty Slowly Dying Across the Nation?, June 15, 2020
More from these topics:
- Michigan Allows More Releases for Medically Frail Prisoners, Feb. 15, 2025. Compassionate Release.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Data Report on Compassionate Release in FY 2023, Oct. 1, 2024. COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Compassionate Release, Official Report.
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024. Retroactivity, Guideline Amendment/Variances and Retroactivity, Compassionate Release.
- California Court of Appeal Holds Defendant Suffering From ALS and Near Death Entitled to Compassionate Release, Sept. 1, 2024. Nervous System, Failure to Treat, Compassionate Release.
- Alabama Denies Parole to Dead Prisoner, Aug. 15, 2024. Wrongful Death, Conditions of, Sentences - Length/Severity of, Compassionate Release.
- SCOTUS Announces Federal Sentence Under ACCA Based on Federal Classification of Drug at Time of State Court Proceeding, July 15, 2024. Career Offenders, Drug Laws/Offenses, Sentencing Findings.
- Massachusetts High Court Calls Denial of Prisoner’s Medical Parole without Risk Assessment Arbitrary and Capricious, April 1, 2024. Parole Board Misconduct, Special Parole, Compassionate Release.
- ‘How The Government Created a Terrorist’: FBI-Manufactured Crimes Reveal Urgent Need for Reforms, March 15, 2024. Entrapment, Predisposition/Inducement, Government Deception and Trickery, Compassionate Release.
- Illinois Failing to Grant Dying Prisoners Medical Releases, March 1, 2024. Failure to Treat, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Class Actions, Compassionate Release.
- California Slowed, But Not Barred from “Dumping” Sick, Indigent Parolees on Public Hospitals, March 1, 2024. Medical, Injunctions, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Medical Care/Treatment, Compassionate Release.
