Criminal Defense & Sentencing
What is Seditious Conspiracy?
Federal Prosecutors charged almost a dozen members of the Oath Keepers group with “seditious conspiracy” yesterday (Jan. 13, 2022), in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Let`s take a look at what they face, if convicted. What is Seditious Conspiracy Seditious conspiracy is a rarely charged but serious offense…
SENTENCING DECISION CONTINUES MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT LONG SENTENCES DETER CRIME
Experts agree it’s the fear of being caught that deters crime, and not the severity and length of the punishment. Yet, judges continue to defy logic by imposing sentences on the faulty premise that this is what works to deter crime. Take the case of United States v. Kimble, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 237529 (S.D….
Supervised Release Special Conditions Must be Pronounced Orally in Court
A sex offender is handed numerous “special conditions” as part of supervised release, in addition to the “standard” conditions that apply to every offense. This includes residency restrictions, mandatory sex offender counseling, and lots of other burdens that could land that person back in prison. For this reason, this case is an important one for…
Empty Promises at the Guilty Plea Hearing
So, I was sitting in a courtroom waiting for a case to be called and I noticed something disturbing. A guy standing at the podium, which happened to be next to my chair, was pleading guilty to a felony when the judge asked him, “Do you understand the terms of your plea agreement?” The guy…
Long Child Pornography Sentences Just Don’t Work
Did you know that long prison sentences don’t really deter crime? Researchers found that threatening people with long prison sentences does very little to deter them from committing a crime. And a National Institute of Justice report found this to be true. “Research shows that the chance of being caught is vastly more effective than…
Why Child Pornography Sentences are Harsh
Sentences for child pornography offenses in the federal courts have skyrocketed over the last decade. While child pornography offenses are not “victimless” crimes, the punishment hardly fits the crime anymore. Even the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) says the sentences are too much! Yet, judges keep sentencing child pornography defendants to decades in prison, even in…
Sentencing Commission Creates New Sentencing Tool (JSIN) For Judges
The U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) recently created a new tool for judges that will let them compare sentences for similar defendants under specific guidelines to help “guide” them on what sentence may be appropriate for an offense. It’s also a valuable tool for the public in seeing how the judiciary is treating certain types of…
How Geofence Warrants Kill Free Speech
Hundreds of protestors marched in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020. Little did these protestors know that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) issued at least a dozen geofence warrants to gather data from their electronic devices they carried that day, even if they didn`t break the…
Common Questions About Federal Child Porn Charges
The Feds just took my computer! Now what happens? Common questions about facing federal child pornography charges