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	<title>CRIMINAL JURISDICTION &#187; Supreme Court</title>
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	<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog</link>
	<description>CRIMINAL JURISDICTION: Criminal Law Blog by Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair</description>
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		<title>THE SUPREME COURT MAKES A DIFFICULT CHOICE</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/04/24/the-supreme-court-makes-a-difficult-choice/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/04/24/the-supreme-court-makes-a-difficult-choice/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:48:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Federal Crimes Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animal cruelty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Constitution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First Amendment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free speech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pit bull fights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=396</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Free Speech:  Federal Law Criminalizing Depictions of Animal Cruelty Declared Unconstitutional

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

There are times when the U.S. Constitution protects human activity that is repugnant and seemingly socially irredeemable. The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed down a ruling in the case of Robert J. Stevens who was convicted under a federal statute titled 18 U.S.C. Sec. 48 which prohibits the “depiction of animal cruelty.” This statute was enacted by Congress to, as the Supreme Court said, “criminalize the commercial creation, sale, or possession of certain depiction of animal cruelty.”]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>THE POLITICS OF SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/04/21/the-politics-of-supreme-court-nominations/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/04/21/the-politics-of-supreme-court-nominations/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:51:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Federal Defense Attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freedom of speech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gun control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[judicial activist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liberal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[progressive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=394</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Obama Must Expose Judicial Activism of Right Wing and Nominate Justice with Abundance of Empathy for the Rights of the Individual and Protection of the Social Good

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The recent retirement of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens has created the second opportunity for President Barak Obama to appoint a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. The appointment of Supreme Court justices have always been roiled in political posturing by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. In point of fact, Republicans have already laid out the gauntlet, warning the president that they are prepared fight the nomination of a “judicial activist.”]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<title>INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN CAPITAL CASES</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2008/12/05/ineffective-assistance-of-counsel-in-capital-cases/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2008/12/05/ineffective-assistance-of-counsel-in-capital-cases/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:02:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Death Penalty Crimes Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[capital murder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death penalty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federal Habeas Relief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=90</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN CAPITAL CASES

Failure to Properly Prepare for Trial, Basis for Federal Habeas Relief

By:  Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

In 2001 the two female justices on the U.S. Supreme Court spoke out about the quality of legal representation afforded to criminal defendants facing the death penalty in this nation.

“After 20 years on (the) high court,” Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said, “I have to acknowledge that serious questions are being raised about whether the death penalty is being fairly administered in this country. Perhaps it’s time to look at minimum standards for appointed counsel in death cases and adequate compensation for appointed counsel when they are used.”]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<title>THE JUDICIAL WARS INVOKED BY CRACK SENTENCING</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2008/10/25/the-judicial-wars-invoked-by-crack-sentencing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2008/10/25/the-judicial-wars-invoked-by-crack-sentencing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:24:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drug Defense Attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[federal Appeals Attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[appeals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Booker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crack Sentencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug laws]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=72</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Supreme Court: Federal Judges Have Discretion at Sentencing

By Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, a federal district court judge must consider each of the factors prescribed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) when imposing an appropriate criminal sentence. The § 3553 factors are:

“Nature and circumstances of the offense” and defendant’s “history and characteristics.” Id., at (a)(1). Under U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence the sentencing judge is limited to those facts (1) “reflected in the jury verdict,” (2) admitted by the defendant, (3) contained in defendant’s guilty plea, or (4) reflect prior convictions. See: Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 303 (2004) [facts affecting sentence must be found by a jury]. 
The general purpose of the Sentencing Reform Act. Id., at (a)(2). The purposes of this Act are to have a sentence “(A) reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense; (B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct; (C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant; and (d) to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner …” 
The types of sentences available. Id., at (a)(3). 
The policy statements of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Id., at (a)(5). 
The need to avoid sentencing disparities between defendants convicted of similar conduct. Id., at (a)(6). 
The need to provide restitution to victims. Id., at (a)(7). 
The applicable sentence range recommended by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Id., at (a)(4). ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
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		<title>JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIAS DISSENT FROM THE DARK SIDE</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2008/07/08/justice-antonin-scalias-dissent-from-the-dark-side/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2008/07/08/justice-antonin-scalias-dissent-from-the-dark-side/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:55:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Anti-Terrorism Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guantanamo Bay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scalia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Supreme Court]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Terrorist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[war on terror]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=11</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Scalias Blistering Dissent Accusing Justices of Aiding Terrorist
The Supreme Court on June 12, 2008 issued a decision that marked the first time in the nation’s history that the constitutional right to the writ of habeas corpus was conferred on enemy aliens detained abroad by American military forces engaged in [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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