A federal district court judge enjoys broad discretion in determining the criminal sentence to be imposed following conviction. This judicial discretion, however, is limited by the requirement that a judge consider the sentencing factors spelled out in 18 U.S.C. §…
Month: May 2017
2017
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Sexual Abuse | Tax Evasion | White Collar Crime
What is abuse of power?
That question has become increasingly important to Americans. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that 54 percent of the people in this country believe that President Donald Trump is abusing the power of the presidency.…
2017
Category: Indecency With A Child | Prosecutorial Misconduct | Sexual Assault
THE POLICE AND FABRICATION OF EVIDENCE
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the police from fabricating evidence; that the courts still have to remind law enforcement of this basic premise speaks volumes about how intrinsic corruption is…
2017
Category: Drug Crime | Federal Criminal Law
The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a fair and impartial trial to anyone charged with either a federal or state criminal offense, regardless of the nature of that offense.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy observed several years…
2017
Category: Indecency With A Child | Sex Crimes
Historically, statutory rape laws prohibit sexual conduct between an adult and a person under the age of consent. These laws are premised on the notion that persons under the age of consent, female or male, are incapable to consenting to…
2017
Category: Account Takeover Fraud | Bank Fraud
Any online banking accounts or credit cards are subject to fraudulent takeover. There was a time not so long ago when fraudsters targeted credit card numbers. With the advent of EMV chip-card technology, credit card fraudsters are now going after…
2017
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law | Federal Criminal Law | Prosecutorial Misconduct
The landmark decision Brady v. Maryland was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963. The decision held that, under the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments, a prosecutor has a duty to disclose favorable evidence to defendants upon request, if…
2017
Category: Criminal Law | Federal Criminal Law | SCOTUS
President Trump’s abrupt firing of former FBI Director James Comey, and its related political fallout, has dominated the news cycle over the last week or so. This intense political coverage has overshadowed other significant executive actions taken by the president.…
2017
Category: Healthcare Fraud
Both were prominent members of their communities—the Florida doctor and the New Jersey U.S. Senator.
The doctor most assuredly and the senator more than likely will soon be inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Earlier this month,…
2017
Category: Criminal Law | Prosecutorial Misconduct
The wheels of justice turn inexorably slow, but they do turn.
The day of justice reckoning has arrived for John Jackson, a former district attorney and district judge in Navarro County that encompasses the small Texas town, Corsicana.…