BLOG BULLETS:   The empirical evidence the Sentencing Commission claims to have relied on in formulating the guidelines is “past practice,” i.e., the sentences typically given on average prior to the guidelines. But there’s a dirty little secret – namely, that the Commission completely excluded probationary sentences, which were 38% of all sentences, from its […]

BLOG BULLETS:   Supreme Court case law has recognized that the Sentencing Commission is supposed to be an entity that can conduct empirical studies of sentencing and the guidelines are supposed to reflect that empirical study. Multiple Supreme Court cases recognize the possibility – and the actual fact – that some guidelines don’t fit this […]

November 12, 2013 | By James Barragan A federal jury awarded $210,000 in punitive damages Tuesday to five inmates who claimed in a lawsuit they were beaten by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. Five deputies who were supervising other officers during the incident at Men’s Central Jail were ordered to pay the damages. The beatings […]

BLOG BULLETS:   The government can’t cure a breach – even if it’s an honest mistake – by correcting its recommendation at some later point in the proceedings. Harmless error analysis doesn’t apply to breaches of plea agreements, so it doesn’t matter if the court says the breach didn’t affect it and it wasn’t going […]

By Christina Villacorte, Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles County taxpayers are on the hook for at least $740,000 in damages after a federal jury Thursday found dozens of Sheriff’s Department supervisors and deputies “engaged in malicious and sadistic conduct” against inmates at Men’s Central Jail in 2008. During the five-week trial, jurors watched videos […]

BLOG BULLETS: The government can’t unilaterally decide you or your client has breached a plea agreement; it has to seek a ruling from the court. The defense is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the question if there are disputed facts. The defense breach has to be “substantial,” or “material”; a mere technical, de minimus […]