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Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Filed under: AEDPA, Procedural Reasonableness, Reasonableness of Sentence
Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking to understand how to challenge your state court conviction in federal court. Federal habeas corpus petitions give you that chance, but since 1996, the path has gotten …
Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Policy Considerations, Reduction of Sentence
Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the denial of a motion seeking a sentence reduction under § 404(b) of …
Sixth Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Required Defendant at Resentencing to Admit Guilt in Order to Fully Consider Defendant’s Evidence of Rehabilitation
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Filed under: Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Rehabilitation Factors, Admissiion of Guilt
Sixth Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Required Defendant at Resentencing to Admit Guilt in Order to Fully Consider Defendant’s Evidence of Rehabilitation by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found plain error where the U.S. District Court for the Middle District …
Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentenci...
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: Failure to Explain Consequences, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences, Impermissible Factors
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 by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Andrew Damarr Morris’ sentence was procedurally unreasonable because …
Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses 11 Counts of Possession of Child Pornography Because CGI Images Do Not Depict Image of a Child
Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023
Filed under: Possession of Pornography, Child Pornography
Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses 11 Counts of Possession of Child Pornography Because CGI Images Do Not Depict Image of a Child by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Arkansas reversed the convictions against Jeremey Lewis on 11 counts of “distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit …
$100 Million Awarded in Federal Grant Money for Recidivism Reduction
Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023
Filed under: DOJ CRIPA Actions, Juveniles, Bill of Costs, Recidivism
$100 Million Awarded in Federal Grant Money for Recidivism Reduction by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss The Bureau of Justice Assistance (“BJA”), created by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced on October 5, 2022, that it was awarding over $100 million in grant money to programs geared toward recidivism …
Tenth Circuit: Prisoner Convicted of Covered Drug Offense but Sentenced to Mandatory Life Sentence Via Cross Reference for Murder Under Pre-Booker Guidelines Has Standing to Request First Step Act Sen...
Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Reasonableness of Sentence, Drug Laws/Offenses
Tenth Circuit: Prisoner Convicted of Covered Drug Offense but Sentenced to Mandatory Life Sentence Via Cross Reference for Murder Under Pre-Booker Guidelines Has Standing to Request First Step Act Sentence Reduction by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a prisoner …
Fourth Circuit Announces Substantive Reasonableness Review Applies to All Proceedings Under § 404 of First Step Act, Regardless of Whether Motion Is Granted or Denied
Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Reasonableness of Sentence
Fourth Circuit Announces Substantive Reasonableness Review Applies to All Proceedings Under § 404 of First Step Act, Regardless of Whether Motion Is Granted or Denied by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that substantive reasonableness review applies to all proceedings under …
Philadelphia DA Krasner Calls Cop’s Arrest for Sexual Exploitation of Children ‘An Extremely Disturbing Case’
Article • October 27, 2022
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Battered Child/Spouse Evidence, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation, Child Pornography
Philadelphia DA Krasner Calls Cop’s Arrest for Sexual Exploitation of Children ‘An Extremely Disturbing Case’ by Kaden Gicker On Sep. 30, 2022, WCAU in Philadelphia reported that a former police officer was charged with the sexual exploitation of minors and the tampering of witnesses to it. Patrick Heron, 52, retired …
USSC Report Highlights Problems with Sentencing in Child Porn Cases
Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022
Filed under: Child Pornography
USSC Report Highlights Problems with Sentencing in Child Porn Cases by Dale Chappell Why don’t federal judges follow the recommended sentences for child porn offenders? Here’s a government report answering that question. by Dale Chappell If Congress wants to complain that federal judges are “too lenient” on child pornography offenders, …
FBI Forces Suspect to Unlock Messaging App Using FaceID
Article • August 15, 2022 • from CLN September, 2022
Filed under: Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Electronically Stored Information, Child Pornography
FBI Forces Suspect to Unlock Messaging App Using FaceID by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso In the first known public instance of such a warrant, a US District Court approved a warrant allowing the FBI to use a suspect’s face to unlock his secure messaging app in order to …
Sixth Circuit: Michigan’s Ordinarily ‘Adequate’ Contemporaneous-Objection Rule, in Unique Circumstances, May Not Procedurally Bar Federal Habeas Review
Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022
Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Objections
Sixth Circuit: Michigan’s Ordinarily ‘Adequate’ Contemporaneous-Objection Rule, in Unique Circumstances, May Not Procedurally Bar Federal Habeas Review by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Michigan’s contemporaneous-objection rule, requiring an objection to an error in the trial court even if the …
Tenth Circuit Joins Other Circuits, Holds § 1B1.13 Does Not Apply to Compassionate Release Motions Filed by Prisoners
Article • June 15, 2021 • from CLN July, 2021
Filed under: Policy Considerations, Compassionate Release
Tenth Circuit Joins Other Circuits, Holds § 1B1.13 Does Not Apply to Compassionate Release Motions Filed by Prisoners by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Joining several other circuits, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a district court has the discretion to determine whether “extraordinary and …
Fifth Circuit: U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 Policy Statement Not Applicable to Prisoner’s Motion for Compassionate Release
Article • June 15, 2021 • from CLN July, 2021
Filed under: Policy Considerations, Compassionate Release
Fifth Circuit: U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 Policy Statement Not Applicable to Prisoner’s Motion for Compassionate Release by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement in U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 1B1.13 is inapplicable to a prisoner’s own motion …
Custodial Sancations and Reoffending - a Meta-Analytic Review, 2021
Publication • 2021
Filed under: Recidivism
Custodial Sancations and Reoffending - a Meta-Analytic Review, 2021 Damon M. Petrich, Travis C. Pratt, Cheryl Lero Jonson, and Francis T. Cullen Custodial Sanctions and Reoffending: A Meta-Analytic Review ABSTRACT Beginning in the 1970s, the United States began an experiment in mass imprisonment. Supporters argued that harsh punishments such as …
Predator or Patsy? Long Sentences for Those Caught in Victimless Child Sex Stings
Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021
Filed under: Electronic Surveillance, Child Pornography
Predator or Patsy? Long Sentences for Those Caught in Victimless Child Sex Stings by The internet age has brought a whole range of problems to go along with the marvels of convenience and efficiency. One of these problems stems from the “connectivity” so often touted as a benefit of social …
Colorado Supreme Court: Dividing Multiple Images of Child Pornography Into Multiple Batches to Charge Multiple Counts Violates Double Jeopardy
Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021
Filed under: Double jeopardy, Child Pornography
Colorado Supreme Court: Dividing Multiple Images of Child Pornography Into Multiple Batches to Charge Multiple Counts Violates Double Jeopardy by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of Colorado held on December 14, 2020, that dividing up multiple images of child pornography in order to charge a defendant with …
Seventh Circuit: Solo Masturbation Near Fully Clothed and Sleeping Child Does Not Constitute Production of Child Pornography
Article • October 15, 2020 • from CLN November, 2020
Filed under: Child Pornography
Seventh Circuit: Solo Masturbation Near Fully Clothed and Sleeping Child Does Not Constitute Production of Child Pornography by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) for production of child pornography cannot be sustained …
Fourth Circuit Expands First Step Act’s ‘Covered Offense’ to All of Section 841
Article • October 15, 2020 • from CLN November, 2020
Filed under: First Step Act, Crack Cocaine
Fourth Circuit Expands First Step Act’s ‘Covered Offense’ to All of Section 841 by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit expanded the First Step Act’s “covered offense” for crack cocaine sentence reductions to include all of the federal statute penalizing crack cocaine …