In U.S. v. Martinez-Gonzalez, the defendant appealed the 24 month sentence he received for illegal reentry into the U.S. after having been deported. What led to his deportation was his felony conviction in Alabama for possession of forged instruments – a forged permanent resident card and a forged Social Security…
In U.S. v. White, former Commissioner White of Jefferson County, Alabama, was convicted of the federal crime of conspiracy to take a bribe in connection with federal funds. White was also convicted of the substantive federal crime of bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666. In writing the opinion,…
The court of appeals held that the 5-level enhancement for distributing child pornography to a minor requires proof it was intended for an actual child or a fictitious child created by law enforcement. In U.S. v. Fulford, the Defendant was convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography and given a…
In U.S. v. Perez, the defendants were charged with a Hobbs Act conspiracy for planning to rob a fictitious cocaine stash house in Miami. The Hobbs Act makes it a federal crime to conspire to commit a robbery that has some affect on interstate commerce. They were also charged with…
On October 4, 2011, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated U.S. v. Rojas decision. A majority of the judges on the Court have voted to rehear the case en banc. This means that the issue of whether the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA) applies to defendants sentenced after…
In U.S. v Mckay, the defendant pled guilty to a federal drug crime, charging him with possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack cocaine.) His pre-sentence report classified him as a career offender under the sentencing guidelines §4B1.1. McKay qualified as a career offender if he had two prior…
In U.S. v. Jose Padilla, the court of appeals upheld the conviction of Padilla, commonly known as the “dirty bomber” who was held in solitary confinement for 3 years as an enemy combatant before he was indicted in Miami. Padilla along with Adham Hassoun and Kifah Jayyousi were charged with…
In U.S. v. Smith the defendant Smith pled guilty in Miami to the crime of distributing 50 grams or more of cocaine base. His plea agreement in federal court contained an agreement to waive an appeal of his sentence, except in three very limited circumstances: if the sentence exceeds the…
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a district court can limit the issues that will be heard at a defendant’s resentencing. In U.S. v. Willis, the defendant was convicted in federal court of a felony drug trafficking offense and sentenced as a career offender because of his prior…
U.S. v. Singletary is a classic example of mortgage fraud seen in Miami and other parts of Florida. Singletary was charged with conspiracy to defraud a federally insured bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1344 and other federal criminal charges stemming from a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders and the…