We handle lots of federal sentencing hearings, in Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, and throughout the federal courts in Georgia and other states as well. We are always interested when courts interpret laws that can impact the sentence that one of our clients might receive. This morning, the United States Supreme Court interpreted a law that impacts…
Continue reading ›“Words, words, words, first from him, then from you–is that all you blighters can do?”, moaned Eliza Doolittle when tiring of her speech lessons in “My Fair Lady.” Ms. Doolittle should be thankful she is not Larry Whitfield. Larry got an extra 10 years in prison for a bank robbery prosecuted in federal court because…
Continue reading ›Readers know that federal criminal cases are a large portion of our work, so we pay attention to the laws, reported decisions and news stories about how the “feds” sometimes brings really unfortunate criminal cases. This past Monday, the United States Supreme Court reversed yet another unfortunate federal criminal case, because what the Defendant did…
Continue reading ›We pay attention to federal criminal cases everywhere in the country, not just those here in Atlanta or other parts of Georgia, nor merely those arising in nearby states like Florida, Alabama or Tennessee. One reason we pay attention is so we know all the hot issues that might help our clients. One such issue…
Continue reading ›Recently, the United States Supreme Court issued another ruling that impacts federal criminal cases. The issue in this recent case was whether the Defendant should get an automatic longer sentence that is imposed when “death results” from drugs that the Defendant sold. I previously posted about this case here, and the the recent decision (which…
Continue reading ›Criminal defense lawyers here in Atlanta, and other parts Georgia and the rest of the country all occasionally confront the question of why some prosecutions end up in federal court yet similar cases are handled in the state court system. I’ve written on this topic previously. Basically, criminal cases come into federal court whenever there…
Continue reading ›Federal criminal cases here in Atlanta, throughout Georgia, in Alabama or Florida, and anywhere around the country are all brought after a federal prosecutor makes an independent decision as to whether the matter truly should be brought in federal court. Making this decision involves the time-honored concept of discretion. The recent publicity about the fact…
Continue reading ›Here we go again, the intersection of the Eighteenth Century concept of privacy enshrined in our Fourth Amendment (no searches or seizures except when done pursuant to a warrant based on probable cause) versus the modern “CSI” world where investigators take biological shards to solve the most difficult of crimes. Today, the Supreme Court hears…
Continue reading ›Our local Federal Court of Appeals, sitting just down the street from our offices here in Atlanta, yesterday reversed a federal criminal conviction for obstruction of justice. The prosecutors contended that the defendant tried to obstruct a forfeiture matter. The Eleventh Circuit joined other courts and relied on some earlier Supreme Court cases by holding…
Continue reading ›The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in U.S. v. Goyal on December 10th. The case involved the former CFO of Network Associates, Inc., which is better known by its previous name, McAfee. Mr. Goyal was charged in 15 counts with securities fraud, false filings with the SEC, and lying to auditors. The…
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