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Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element
by David M. Reutter
On July 7, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in a precedential ruling, ordered a defendant to be resentenced after it found there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine ...
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More from this issue:
- Police Misconduct Reform: Forcing Police Officers to Have ‘Skin in the Game’ by Creating Financial Incentives with Insurance Premiums, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors, by Douglas Ankney
- Closed Circuit Cameras: Not the Objective Lenses We’re Told, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Database Containing 450,000 Records of NYPD Misconduct Now Available, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Have Discretion to Consider Non-Retroactive Changes in Post-Sentencing Decisional Law in Assessing ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons’ for Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
- New Tool Used by Police to Improve Interviewing Skills, by Jordan Arizmendi
- New York Court of Appeals Suppresses Evidence Because Police Lacked Reasonable Suspicion Necessary for Level 3 Stop and Frisk Under De Bour Framework, by Richard Resch
- Kansas Supreme Court: Defendants May File a Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence in Appellate Court While on Direct Review, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022, by Casey Bastian
- SCOTUS Announces Pending Investigation or Proceeding Is Not Required for an Offense to be ‘Related to Obstruction of Justice’ and Qualify as ‘Aggravated Felony’ in Removal of Noncitizen, by Douglas Ankney
- We’re All Suspects in a DNA Lineup, Waiting to be Matched with a Crime, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
- California Supreme Court Vacates Second Degree Murder Conviction Where Jury Instructed on Now Invalid Felony-Murder Theory, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Supreme Court Announces § 2255(e)’s ‘Saving Clause’ Does Not Enable Prisoners to File § 2241 Petition Based on AEDPA’s Rule Against Second or Successive § 2255 Motions, by Douglas Ankney
- ‘Data for Defenders’: Valuable New Resource for Defense Counsel and Pro Se Litigants, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Maryland Supreme Court: Firearms Identification Methodology Does Not Provide Reliable Basis for Expert’s Unqualified Opinion That Bullets Recovered at Crime Scene Were Fired From Defendant’s Gun, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Abused Discretion in Failing to Recall Terminally Ill Prisoner’s Sentence Following CDCR’s Recommendation for Compassionate Release, by Douglas Ankney
- American Bar Association’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, by Carlo Difundo
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas Petition Where District Court Failed to Review Magistrate’s Report De Novo After Characterizing Petitioner’s Objections as ‘Attempt to Reargue Case’, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself, by Richard Resch
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Granting Motion for New Trial Because ‘Verdict Is Contrary to Law and Evidence,’ Without Further Explanation, Bars Retrial, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element, by David Reutter
- How the Backdoor Loophole Enables the FBI to Search Your Communications Without a Warrant, by Michael Thompson
- Ninth Circuit Announces No Deference to Application Note 1 to Guideline § 4B1.2(b) Because It Impermissibly Expands Definition of ‘Controlled Substance Offense’, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review, by Douglas Ankney
- Digital Voiceprinting Is Not Ready for Court, by Anthony Accurso
- Oregon Supreme Court Clarifies Mansor Ruling for Search Warrants for Digital Data and Announces Framework for Suppression When Warrant Contains Both Constitutional and Unconstitutional Search Categories, by Anthony Accurso
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Order of Deferred Disposition Not a ‘Sentence’ Under Article 44.01(b)—Which Authorizes State to Appeal Illegal Sentence—Resolving Split Among State Courts of Appeals, April 15, 2025
- Fifth Circuit: Sentence Enhancement for Maintaining Drug Premises Not Satisfied Solely by Defendant’s Single, Conclusory Statement That He ‘Maintained’ Premises When Record Shows Mere ‘Use’ of Premises, April 15, 2025
- Illinois Pretrial Incarceration Becomes Less Random A Year After Elimination of Cash Bail, April 1, 2025
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
- ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, Feb. 15, 2025
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, Jan. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements, Feb. 15, 2025. Prison Gangs, Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Insufficiency of the Evidence, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Gang Membership.
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Dismissal of Charge Based on Express Statement of ‘Insufficient Evidence’ Is Equivalent to Acquittal for § 1170.95 Resentencing, May 15, 2022. New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Insufficiency of the Evidence.
- Second Circuit: Nondescript Photo of Unidentified Black Male Insufficient Grounds to Conduct Investigatory Stop, Nov. 15, 2020. Insufficiency of the Evidence, Pat Down Searches.
- 10th Circuit: Evidence Insufficient to Support Conviction for Attempting to Kill Witness, May 15, 2020. Insufficiency of the Evidence.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence, April 15, 2020. Murder/Felony Murder, Insufficiency of the Evidence.
