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Criminal Law

Third Circuit Blog

Commentary and summaries of cases before the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

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Last Entry: June 28, 2019 at 11:33:00

Cert granted in Third Circuit case striking down criminal prohibition on depictions of animal cruelty

Posted on April 20, 2009
The Supreme Court this morning agreed to decide whether 18 U.S.C. 48, which makes it a crime to create, sell, or possess depictions of animal cruelty, is invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The en banc Third Circuit had struck down the statute last summer by a vote of 10-3, in U...

Two Big Sentencing Wins - Summaries - More Later

Posted on April 17, 2009
This just in: The Third Circuit issued two favorable sentencing decisions yesterday. Both require more detailed blogging (which will happen over the weekend), but, to get started . . .Peter Goldberger provides this summary of United States v. Olhovsky, __ F...

Third Circuit precludes § 3582(c) sentence reduction where sentence is stipulated in Rule 11 binding plea agreement.

Posted on April 07, 2009
In United States v. Sanchez, No. 08-1847 (3d Cir. April 3, 2009), a panel majority affirmed the District Court?s denial of Sanchez?s motion to reduce his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). Although the District Court's denial was based on determining that the offense of conviction carried a mandatory minimum sentence, the Court of Appeals affirmed the denial on an alternative ground that the District Court did not address: that Sanchez's sentence was the result of a Rule 11 binding plea agreement...

SCOTUS reverses Third Circuit, reinstating mandatory McNabb-Mallory rule

Posted on April 06, 2009
In a 5-4 decision released today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the McNabb-Mallory rule by holding that confessions taken more than six hours after a federal arrest, but before the defendant is presented to a magistrate judge, must generally be suppressed -- even if they are voluntarily given...

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In a "close call," the Third Circuit finds reasonable suspicion to justify stop. Denial of Motion to Suppress affirmed.

Posted on March 31, 2009
In United States v. Mathurin, No. 07-4576 (D.VI 03/27/09), the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court?s denial of the Mathurin?s motion to suppress evidence.ICE Agents received information from Border Agents that a "suspicious vessel" had departed Puerto Rico and was heading their way to St...

Superior Court's rejection of IAC claim involved unreasonable application of Strickland & petitioner?s proffer entitled him to evidentiary hearing

Posted on March 27, 2009
In Siehl v. Grace, No. 07-1568, March 25, 2009, the Court of Appeals reversed the district court?s denial of Siehl?s § 2254 habeas petition and remanded for an evidentiary hearing.Siehl was charged with homicide in state court. The prosecution?s case was based entirely on a fingerprint and bloodstain evidence recovered from the crime scene (the victim?s bathroom)...

Where originally sentenced under career offender guideline, not entitled to two level reduction under Crack Amendment

Posted on March 27, 2009
In United States v. Mateo, No. 08-3249, March 24, 2009, the Court of Appeals joined four other Circuits in denying a motion to reduce sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c) where at the original sentencing, the defendant was sentenced under the career offender guideline...

Former Secret Service Agent Unsuccessfully Contests Five Sentencing Adjustments Involving Intended Loss, Vulnerable Victim, Abuse of Trust, Obstructio

Posted on March 26, 2009
In United States v. Dullum, No. 07-4502, March 13, 2009, the Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court?s ruling on five sentencing adjustments including; intended loss, vulnerable victim, abuse of trust, obstruction of justice, and acceptance of responsibility in this mail and bank fraud case...

Supreme Court holds that failure to preserve breach of plea agreement is subject to plain error review.

Posted on March 25, 2009
Overruling longstanding Third Circuit doctrine, ( See United States v. Moscahlaidis, 868 F. 2d 1357, 1360 (3d cir. 1989), the Supreme Court held today in Puckett v. United States, 2009 WL 763354 (No. 07-9712), that a breach of a plea bargain at trial or sentencing is subject to "plain error" not "de novo" review unless a timely objection is lodged in the district court...

Scope of conspiracy indictment dictates running of the statute of limitations

Posted on March 06, 2009
The Third Circuit today reaffirmed that, in applying statutes of limitations in the conspiracy context, the critical issue is the scope of the conspiracy charged in the indicment--not, necessarily, the dates of the overt acts recited. In U.S. v. Bornman, No...

Alien bears burden of proving invalidity of written waiver of rights in deportation proceeding

Posted on March 05, 2009

Consent search upheld, with thorny questions of revocation and authority avoided by resort to independent-source doctrine

Posted on March 03, 2009

Money Laundering and Relevant Conduct

Posted on February 24, 2009
In US v. Blackmon, No. 07-4237 (2/23/09), the 3rd Circuit addressed the interplay between the money laundering guideline, USSG 2S1.1(a), and relevant conduct, USSG 1B1.3. The Circuit accurately warned that the discussion of these issues is "abstruse...

Conviction Reversed for Erroneous Hearsay Admission; Court Holds Miranda Issue for Another Day

Posted on February 23, 2009
Held: Out-of-court statement by confidential informant that defendant was the person who sold him the drugs in question, made 50 minutes after event, was not admissible as a present sense impression under Rule 803(1) because it was not sufficiently contemporaneous and was made only after questioning by DEA agents...

Sentencing on Possession of Classified Documents

Posted on February 13, 2009
In United States v. Aquino, 2009 WL 279274 (Feb. 6, 2009), the defendant received and retained documents containing classified information government information pertaining to the current regime in the Phillipines, United States military strategy and training methods, and ongoing criminal investigations...

Habeas Corpus - Claims Relating Back/Ineffective Assistance

Posted on February 13, 2009
In Hodge v. United States, 2009 WL 235674 (Feb. 3, 2009), the Circuit held that defendant's ineffective assistance claim in his untimely supplemental memorandum and his right-to-appeal claim in his original habeas motion were tied to a common core of operative facts...

Court Distinguishes Chapter Two and Chapter Three ?Victims? under the Guidelines

Posted on February 11, 2009
In United States v. Kennedy, 2009 WL 250105 (Feb. 4, 2009), defendant worked for a non-profit corporation that received government benefit payments, held them in trust, and made disbursements for expenses for elderly persons unable to manage their own financial affairs...

Puerto Rican Felony Conviction Qualifies as Predicate Offense under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1)

Posted on February 06, 2009
In United States v. Laboy-Torres, No. 08-1220, the defendant challenged his conviction for making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. §922(a)(6), arguing that his previous conviction in Puerto Rico was not a domestic conviction under 18 U...

Fourth Amendment Requires Initial Determination of "Seizure"

Posted on February 05, 2009
In United States v. Crandell, No. 07-4004 (Jan. 29, 2009), police responded to an anonymous tip regarding a Black male with blond-tipped dreadlocks in the area carrying a handgun in his waistband. The officers apparently recognized the tip as a description of the defendant...

Impeachment by contradiction with prior crimes evidence subject to FRE 402, 403 & 607, not 404(b) and 609.

Posted on January 26, 2009
On January 20, 2009, the Third Circuit decided United States v. Gilmore, Case No. 07-3139. It held that a party may permissibly introduce prior crimes evidence, subject to Rules 402, 403 and 607 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, and with a proper limiting instruction, to impeach by contradiction a witness?s testimony regarding a specific fact...

Bare fact of prior arrests cannot be used to increase a defendant's sentence.

Posted on January 12, 2009
In United States v. Berry, No. 07-1251 (Jan. 6, 2009), Defendants pleaded guilty to robbery and using a firearm in furtherance of crime of violence. At sentencing, the district court speculated that the only reason that defendants' prior arrests had not resulted in prior convictions was because the criminal justice system must have broken down, and the arrests were therefore evidence of prior criminal activity which could support an increase in sentence...

Prosecutorial Misconduct for AUSA to Introduce "extensive evidence" of Uncharged Drug Use and Transactions -- Even Under Plain Error Standard

Posted on November 25, 2008
United States v. Morena, No. 07-1297 (Nov. 19, 2008). Morena appealed his conviction for felon-in-possession and possession of an unregistered, sawed-off shotgun. He appealed on several grounds, but prevailed on his claim that the government?s injection into the trial of extensive evidence of uncharged drug use and transactions, as well as evidence of his prior non-felony convictions amounted to prosecutorial misconduct and plain error...

No Bruton Violations in Bench Trials

Posted on November 25, 2008
Johnson v. Tennis, No. 07-1968 (3d Cir. Nov. 19, 2008). The first paragraph of this opinion (almost) says it all:"This appeal by Gary Johnson from the denial of his petition for habeas corpus by the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania requires us to decide an issue of first impression in this Circuit: Do the teachings of Bruton v...

Defendants not required to re-raise sentencing issues at end of sentencing hearing to avert plain error review

Posted on November 10, 2008
In United States v. Sevilla, 07-1105 (3d Cir. Sept. 4, 2008), the Third Circuit clarified what defendants must do to avert plain error review of sentencing issues. The Court held that where a defendant squarely raises a sentencing issue both in his sentencing memorandum and again at the sentencing proceeding, the defendant is not required to re-raise those issues or otherwise object to the district court's explanation of its sentence in order to avert plain error review...

Reasonable suspicion is required to justify border search of cruise ship passenger's cabin

Posted on November 10, 2008
In a matter of first impression, the Third Circuit ruled in United States v. Whitted, 06-3271 (3d Cir. Sept. 4, 2008) that reasonable suspicion was required to justify a border search of a passenger cabin on a cruise ship arriving in the United States from a foreign port...

Third Circuit discusses procedures for declaring a mistrial based on a deadlocked jury

Posted on November 07, 2008
In United States v. Wecht, 08-2258 (3d Cir. Sept. 5, 2008), the Third Circuit identified the ideal procedures a district court should follow before declaring a mistrial based on a deadlocked jury by referring to the Court's recently adopted Model Jury Instructions, specifically Instruction 9...

Admissibility of Redacted Proffer Statement Violates Confrontation Clause But Constitutes Harmless Error

Posted on October 22, 2008
In United States v. Hardwick et al, (3d Cir. October 3, 2008), the Court of Appeals held that the admission into evidence of a redacted proffer statement, after the close of the Government?s case-in-chief, violated defendants? constitutional rights under the Confrontation Clause; however, use of the proffer statement was harmless error...

Third Circuit finds evidence insufficient to support conviction for harboring; upholds seizure based on anonymous tip

Posted on October 21, 2008
On September 9, 2008, the Third Circuit issued its decision in United States v. Silveus, Case No. 07-3544. It focused on two issues raised by the appellant, Rozaline Silveus: Whether the evidence was sufficient to support her conviction for harboring an illegal alien (her boyfriend, Dorsainvil Jean), and whether ICE agents' seizure of her -- and the search that followed -- was constitutional...

Failure to Advise Defendant of Mandatory Minimum Sentence Prior to Pleading Guilty Renders Plea Involuntary

Posted on October 15, 2008
In Jamison v. Klem, No. 07-1045 (3d Cir. September 30, 2008), the Court of Appeals held that failure to advise a defendant of an applicable mandatory minimum sentence prior to pleading guilty renders the plea not knowing, voluntary and intelligent. The Court of Appeals reversed the district court?s denial of Jamison?s habeas petition challenging the validity of his guilty plea on those grounds and directed the district to grant a conditional writ...

Cannot Exclude Personal Use in Determining Weight Involved in Conspiracy & Prior Testimony of Witness Admissible Since Trial Testimony Evasive

Posted on October 15, 2008
[This case summarized by Leo Latella.]In United States v. Iglesias, 535 F.3d 150 (3d Cir. 2008) , the Court of Appeals held, in addressing two issues of first impression, that a defendant convicted of conspiring to distribute drugs is not entitled to exclude an amount for personal use in determining the total quantity of drugs involved in the conspiracy...

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