Category: Drug Crime

18 U.S.C. § 924(c) is a federal criminal statute which prohibits either the use or carrying of a firearm “during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime.”
 
Firearms are often seen as a necessary…

Federal drugs laws are stiff. That’s the way Congress wanted it. One of the stiffest drug penalties is found in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) which requires a 20-year minimum sentence if the drug distribution results in death.
Last year the…

On January 27, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a significant decision in a drug death case. A little statutory background is in order.
The original Controlled Substance Act (CSA) was passed in 1970 as part of the Comprehensive…

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals deals with a wide range of exceptionally difficult cases: terrorism, organized crime, white-collar crime, and a host of run-of-the mill criminal cases.

 In a January 17, 2014 decision, United States v. Clark, Judge Jon…

Have you ever heard of a criminal defendant talking his way into prison? It happens more often than you may think. An October 29, 2013 decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Eric Johnson perfectly…

Last year the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Jones held that attaching a magnetic GPA tracking device to the exterior of a vehicle constituted a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Saying that attaching such a…

The FBI, DEA, and ATF, whose primary law enforcement responsibilities are to investigate drug, guns, and violence, use informants to carry out these responsibilities. These informants, known as “CIs,” are typically $100 a day, plus expenses, and with a “wink-wink”…

North Carolina resident Rodney Anton Williamson was indicted under seal in December 2006 and charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilos of cocaine.
 
Williamson and several co-conspirators eluded arrest. One of the co-conspirators, Edison Alberty, decided to surrender and…

When we hear that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a 4th Amendment case, our ears perk up and conflicted feelings of hope and fear begin to swell.  Criminal defense lawyers wield the sword of the 4th amendment daily and…