trial court erred in applying an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminals Act (ACCA)

US v. Collier, No. 06-1395
A sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm is vacated and remanded where the trial court erred in applying an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminals Act (ACCA) as defendant's conviction for prison escape under Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. section 750.193 did not qualify as a "violent felony" under the ACCA.

possession of stolen mail is vacated and remanded

US v. Ikechukwu, No. 06-11239
A sentence for possession of stolen mail is vacated and remanded where, although defendant was a courier who regularly transported pieces of United States mail, he was not an employee of the United States Postal Service for purposes of a sentence enhancement under the guidelines

US v. Spear, No. 06-1296
In a criminal matter involving a defendant who worked as a federal immigration employee responsible for the intake of certain immigration applications, and who kept the accompanying fees but threw the applications in the trash, a sentence for embezzlement of government funds in excess of $1,000 is reversed and remanded where defendant's position lacked the authority and discretion required for the abuse of public trust sentence enhancement

California burglary not "crime of violence"

US v. Ortega-Gonzaga, No. 06-40493
A sentence for reentering the U.S. following deportation is vacated and remanded pursuant to a claim that the district court erred in concluding that defendant's previous California conviction for burglary, Cal. Penal Code section 459, was a "crime of violence" under the sentencing guidelines.

Procedural Bar?

Kuenzel v. Allen, No. 06-11986
Denial of habeas petition is vacated and remanded where the district court has not addressed the issue of whether petitioner has satisfied the exceptions to the procedural bar announced in Siebert v. Allen, 455 F.3d 1269 (11th Cir. 2006), and where the district court erred in holding that the intervening authority of Pace v. DiGuigliemo, 125 S. Ct. 1807 (2005), effectively overruled the decision in Siebert

unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon are reversed

US v. Sumlin, No. 05-51720
A conviction and sentence imposed on defendant for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon are reversed and remanded where the district court erred in admitting the testimony of the arresting officer regarding the unproven extrinsic bad act by defendant of transporting drugs, and the error was not harmless.

Distribution of cocaine is vacated

US v. Garner, No. 05-4215, 05-4337
A sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine is vacated and remanded where the district court erred in sentencing defendant to a term of 96 months of imprisonment as the jury's findings, together with a sentencing enhancement for a prior felony drug conviction filed by the government prior to defendant's trial, required imposition of at least a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months of imprisonment

Speedy trial Violation Pro-se Disbarred Attorney

US v. Stephens, No. 04-30185, 05-30668
Defendant's convictions and sentence for various charges arising out of a string of armed bank robberies in Louisiana are reversed and vacated, respectively, where neither a codefendant's guilty plea nor defendant's own severance motion rendered a particular 7 week-period excludable from the speedy trial clock, and thus, the Speedy Trial Act was violated

Pro-se habeas winner

Ogle v. Johnson, No. 06-11074
Dismissal of federal habeas petition is reversed where a pro se petitioner fairly presents his claim to a state habeas court when he makes a bare allegation of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in his state habeas petition and then describes in briefs and testimony in later proceedings several instances of alleged ineffective assistance

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, HABEAS CORPUS

Fry v. Pliler, No. 06-5247
In 28 U.S.C. section 2254 proceedings, a federal court must assess the prejudicial impact of constitutional error in a state-court criminal trial under Brecht's "substantial and injurious effect" standard, whether or not the state appellate court recognized the error and reviewed it for harmlessness under the "harmless beyond a reasonable doubt" standard set forth in Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24

Special conditions, which a district court imposed on defendant's lifetime term of supervised release after he pled guilty to possessing child pornogr

US v. Voelker, No. 05-2858
Special conditions, which a district court imposed on defendant's lifetime term of supervised release after he pled guilty to possessing child pornography, are vacated and remanded where: 1) an absolute lifetime ban on using computers and computer equipment as well as accessing the internet, with no exception for employment or education, involved a greater deprivation of liberty than was reasonably necessary, and was not reasonably related to the applicable statutory factors; 2) a lifetime ban on possessing "sexually explicit materials" was overly broad and unsupported by the district court's analysis; and 3) although a restriction on defendant's associating with children, including his own, may have been supported, the district court improperly delegated absolute authority to a probation office over such restrictions.

court impermissibly and prejudicially participated in plea negotiations with defendant

US v. Baker, No. 06-3115
Sentence based on guilty plea to fraud and related offenses is vacated where the court impermissibly and prejudicially participated in plea negotiations with defendant.

conspiring to deal in and transport firearms is vacated

US v. Cavera, No. 05-4591
Sentence based on guilty plea to conspiring to deal in and transport firearms is vacated where the district court's reliance on community-specific characteristics, such as population density, to impose a non-Guidelines sentence constituted legal error and rendered defendant's sentence unreasonable

indictment did not allege a scheme to defraud anyone of money or property

US v. Ratcliff, No. 05-30666
In a prosecution for mail fraud based on alleged activities involving election fraud in Louisiana, dismissal of mail fraud counts based on a conclusion that the indictment did not allege a scheme to defraud anyone of money or property, thereby failing to state the offense of mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. section 1341, is affirmed over the government's claim that a scheme to obtain the salary and employment benefits of elected office through election fraud satisfies the requirements of the mail fraud statute.

one count of bank fraud is reversed

U.S. V. RIGAS
(U.S. 2nd Circuit, May 24, 2007) - In the high-profile case charging former owners of Adelphia Communications, Timothy and John Rigas, with securities fraud conspiracy, one count of bank fraud is reversed. Their convictions and sentences, however, are affirmed. These include convictions for: 1) conspiracies to commit securities fraud, to make and cause to be made false statements in filings with the SEC, and to commit bank fraud; 2) securities fraud; and 3) bank fraud.

judge created an appearance of partiality and recusal was required

US v. Amico, No. 03-1737
Convictions and sentences on charges arising from a mortgage fraud scheme are vacated as the district judge's handling of, and reaction to, his prior dealings with the government's main cooperating witness concerning a mortgage application for the judge created an appearance of partiality and recusal was required.

district court failed to give an adequate explanation of its reasons

US v. Sindima, No. 06-2245
Conviction and sentence to probation based on guilty plea to federal mail fraud charges, with probation later being violated by new crimes resulting in a prison sentence 26 months above the high end of the advisory Guidelines range, are remanded where the district court failed to give an adequate explanation of its reasons for the length of the sentence.