The U.S. Congress has used mandatory minimum sentences since it first enacted federal penal crimes. The 1790 Crimes Act created 23 federal crimes, seven of which carried a mandatory death sentence. Three of those crimes—treason, murder and piracy—still carry the…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
2015
Category: Drug Crime | Drug Trafficking | Federal Criminal Law
There are significant misconceptions about federal crimes. Many people assume that federal crimes are only “white collar” or “national security” type offenses. Nothing could be further from the truth. Approximately 55% of all federal prisoners, more than 30,000 of them,…
2015
Category: Federal Criminal Law
In 2010, LauroPuentes-Hurtado was indicted for a litany of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy charges in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia. He ultimately entered into a plea agreement with the Government.
He faced an advisory U.S.…
2015
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft should never be considered just an innocent prank. It is a serious federal crime punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison.
According to the FBI, between 2004 and 2013, there…
2015
Category: Drug Crime | Federal Criminal Law
The Supreme Court has given us another reminder of why individuals should never consent to anything when approached by law enforcement conducting investigations.
Police all too often look for reasons to extend a legitimate traffic stop to allow…
2015
Category: Federal Criminal Law
As we have said before, criminal defense lawyers representing defendants at federal sentencing hearings must be prepared to object to unreasonable conditions of supervised release, or face an uphill battle getting them overturned.
Two lessons can be learned from…
2015
Category: Federal Criminal Law
It seems that U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer are not particularly fond of the way the nation’s justice system is functioning. Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on March 24, both justices in forceful responses to…
2015
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Criminal defense attorneys faced with a guilty verdict, or a conviction after a plea bargain, often begin to prepare their case for sentencing. This often means preparing client histories and factors that argue for lightest sentence possible. However, far too…
2015
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Significant Property Rights Case Awaits Supreme Court Decision
When defendants are arrested for felonies, it has become a standard condition of bond in many courts that they cannot possess firearms while on bail. But what happens to those firearms…
2015
Just a gentle reminder that it is time to call your CPA and Tax Lawyer.
It seems that federal prosecutors, and IRS criminal investigators, are in an eerie collusion to have IRS tax violations prosecuted during the month of…