BLOG BULLETS: A recent Ninth Circuit opinion recognizes that the Washington aiding and abetting statute is broader than generic aiding and abetting because it requires mere knowledge, not specific intent. The same opinion then recognizes the modified categorical approach can’t be used to distinguish conviction as a principal from conviction as an aider and abettor […]

BLOG BULLETS: The Supreme Court has granted a petition for writ of certiorari in the Ninth Circuit Sanchez-Gomez case holding judges can’t shackle defendants in even non-jury proceedings without a showing of a real need for shackling. The Court granted the petition only on the question of mootness, however; it denied the petition to review […]

BLOG BULLETS: Remember that many state controlled substance schedules, including California’s, are broader than the federal controlled substance schedules, so convictions under those statutes don’t categorically qualify as drug offenses for federal enhancement purposes. The general rules requiring a categorical approach apply to use of prior drug convictions to enhance statutory mandatory minimums for drug offenses just […]

BLOG BULLETS: A recent investigation in the District of Kansas discussed in a lengthy district court order reveals a Corrections Corporation of America facility has been recording attorney-client calls and video recording attorney-client meetings it’s not supposed to be recording. On the one hand, the order shows there are potential procedures which could be instituted […]

BLOG BULLETS: A recent article by Alan Ellis suggests pleading open may be a better way to go in some cases. A study described in the article showed sentences were actually lower with open pleas in some types of cases, like fraud, though they were higher in other types of cases, like tax cases. So […]

BLOG BULLETS: A recent Supreme Court opinion holds the “generic” version of “sexual abuse of a minor” for purposes of the categorical approach requires that the victim be less than 16 years old, at least in the absence of a relationship of trust. The opinion’s analysis illustrates the use and potential importance of “50 state […]

BLOG BULLETS: A New York district court has joined the flood holding ICE detainers can’t be used to defeat an order setting bond in a criminal case. The court’s memorandum order cites both the Ninth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Santos-Flores, 794 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir. 2015), and the in-depth district court opinion in United States […]

  This post is just a short update on enforcement of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion strictly limiting shackling in United States v. Sanchez-Gomez, 859 F.3d 649 (9th Cir. 2017) (en banc).  You may recall a post a couple of months ago on a petition for writ of mandamus our Federal Public Defender friends in Arizona […]

BLOG BULLETS: The Ninth Circuit has held the California drug statutes are divisible in both the controlled substance element and the sale/transportation conduct element. The question remains open in other states with overbroad drug statutes, however, because resolution of the question depends on whether state law requires jury unanimity on the element and that will […]

BLOG BULLETS: An Arizona district court attempt to avoid complying with the Ninth Circuit holding that defendants can’t be shackled even in non-jury court proceedings has been rebuffed, at least for the time being, in an emergency appeal by the Arizona Federal Public Defender. Watch for ways courts may try to weasel out of the […]