Seventh Circuit Holds Sentencing Guidelines Commentary Still Entitled to Deference by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that Application Notes to provisions of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual are still entitled to deference, even after a Supreme Court case questioned the …

Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces ‘Habitual Offender’ Statute Allows for Sentence of Probation Only by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Because the law ambiguously provides that a court must impose the “maximum term” for a prison sentence for someone convicted as a “habitual criminal,” the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, applying the …

Maryland Court of Appeals Announces Reasonableness Standard in Providing Advice of Rights to Non-English Speaking Drivers by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that in giving advice of rights police officers must use methods that reasonably convey the warnings and rights contained in Maryland’s …