Matthew G. Kaiser at The Kaiser Law Firm PLLC

Short Wins - The Fair Sentencing Act And The New York Times On Brady And Criminal Discovery

There was only one win in the federal circuits last week, but United States v. Blewett was a whopper - the Sixth Circuit held that the Fair Sentencing Act applies retroactively to people sentenced before it took effect. ...more

5/20/2013

Does A Person Submitting False Medicare Bills Abuse The Trust Of The Doctor Making Money Off Of The False Bills?

Hiring is always hard, especially in a small office. You have work that needs to be done. You can't do it all. Maybe you're a professional, like a doctor, and some of the work isn't the best use of your time....more

5/17/2013 - Billing Fraud Healthcare Medicaid Medicare

The Second Circuit On Appointed Counsel And The Perils Of Hiring A Lawyer For A Federal Criminal Case

Most people who are accused of a crime in federal court are unable to pay for a lawyer and have one appointed for them....more

5/16/2013 - Affidavits Public Defenders

Short Wins - Missing Evidence, Medicare Fraud, And How Normal People React To Federal Prosecutions

There was only one published criminal case in the federal circuits last week where the defendant won. It's a good case on jury instructions for missing evidence, and the short write up is below....more

5/14/2013 - Evidence Federal Prosecutors Fraud Healthcare Fraud Medicare

Short Wins - And More On Jury Nullification

Six new cases from the federal circuits this week. My favorite - a subjective measure, I know - is United States v. Ramirez. Any time a court, even the Ninth Circuit, vacates a drug conspiracy conviction for insufficient...more

5/6/2013 - Controlled Substances Court of Federal Claims Drug Trafficking Firearms Illegal Drugs Jury Nullification

Did The First Circuit Encourage Jury Nullification?

We have too many federal criminal laws - more than 4,000. And, as frequent readers of this blog will note, there are times when the federal government prosecutes a person that is a close call - it may or may not be a crime....more

5/2/2013

Short Wins - Resentencing Mania Sweeps The Federal Appeals Courts

There are a handful of resentencing remands in the federal courts last week. Perhaps most interesting is United States v. Francois, remanding because the sentence imposed exceeded the statutory maximum. One doesn't see...more

4/30/2013 - Court of Federal Claims Remand Resentencing

The Fourth Circuit Holds That A Plea Based On Law Enforcement Fraud Is Invalid, Even If The Person Is Guilty

October 29, 2007 started bad for Cortez Fisher. He walked out of his house and the Baltimore police approached him (he lived in Baltimore). They asked to talk to him. He said no. He tried to drive away, but backed into...more

4/29/2013 - Affidavits Fraud Law Enforcement Pleas Police Search Warrant

The Jury Gets To Decide Whether All The Elements Of A Crime Have Been Proven, Even If One Of Them Is Really Complicated

Many white-collar cases start the same way - a person is an entrepreneur. He has a vision for a business he'd like to build. He wants to do great things and reform an industry....more

4/25/2013 - Jury Verdicts US Munitions List Vendors White Collar Crimes

Short Wins - A Miranda Violation And Two Fraud Convictions Vacated

Last week was a great week for folks appealing a federal conviction. In United States v. Garrido and again in United States v. Cone fraud convictions were reversed by the Ninth Circuit and the Fourth Circuit. Separately,...more

4/23/2013

The Sixth Circuit On Why A False Statement Charge In A Real Estate Scheme Requires More Than Just A Misleading Check

Bernard Kurlemann may have done many things - he borrowed millions to build a pair of houses in Mason, Ohio, for example - but he did not make a false statement to a bank....more

4/16/2013 - False Statements Jury Instructions Loans Misleading Impressions Mortgages Straw Purchasers

Not All Violations Of Laws Are Crimes; The Eleventh Circuit Vacates A Conviction For An Illegal Food And Drug Practice That You...

United States v. Izurieta is an odd opinion. Turns out the Eleventh Circuit was a very good defense attorney in this case. Two brothers - Yuri and Anneri Izurieta - ran an import/export business. They brought food...more

4/15/2013 - Exports FDA Food Safety Imports

Short Wins - Is It Unseemly That DOJ Asks For New Prosecutors While Federal Defenders Are Being Laid Off?

Three opinions are in this week's "short wins" - on restitution calculation, competency in a bank robbery case, and the Fair Sentencing Act....more

4/15/2013 - DOJ Federal Prosecutors Public Defenders

Short Wins - Public Defender Withdrawals Of Two Kinds

Last week was an active week in the federal appeals courts. Perhaps most interesting - especially to those who are concerned about the state of our federal public defenders - is the Second Circuit's opinion in United...more

4/11/2013 - Child Pornography Federal Budget Firearms Illegal Drugs Jury Instructions Mental Hospitals Public Defenders Sequestration Sex Offenders

Short Wins - More On The Federal Defender Budget Mess And The Withering Sixth Amendment

Two wins in the Eighth Circuit - nice. Other than that, it's a whole lot of resentencing news. In news related to last week's short wins post, though, where I lamented that Assistant Federal Public Defenders will be...more

4/1/2013 - Confrontation Clause Federal Budget Federal Sentencing Guidelines Illegal Gun Possession Public Defenders Right To Counsel Sequestration Sixth Amendment Spending Cuts Witness Unavailability

Indian Tribal Documents Are Not Documents From The Federal Government Even When The Federal Government Wants Them To Be

My grandmother was part Cherokee. I am, I understand, something around one sixty-fourth Cherokee. And, I understand, for years my grandmother's family tried to hide their Indian status....more

3/25/2013 - Evidence Native American Issues Self-Authentication Tribal Governments

Short Wins - A Remand In An Export Control Case

There's only one published win in the last week for a criminal defendant in our federal circuit courts. Gotta love a good case involving the Munitions List....more

3/25/2013 - Export Controls Federal Employees Furloughs Right to a Jury Sixth Amendment US Munitions List

Short Wins - Day After St. Patrick's Day Edition

It's a good week for violent crime in the federal circuits - a robbery case from the First Circuit and an assault in Indian country winding up in the Ninth Circuit. And both resulted in a defendant-friendly remand. Go federal...more

3/18/2013 - Burglary Self-Authentication Sentencing Enhancements Sex Offender Registry Sex Offenders SORNA Tribal Governments

If You Transfer Someone's Personal Identity Information, You Don't Necessarily Use It, And They Aren't A Victim Of Your Identity...

Erica Hall was an office assistant at an OB/GYN office in Coral Springs, Florida. The job may not have paid well, because Ms. Hall was trying to make some extra cash on the side by selling patient information to some folks...more

3/15/2013 - Conspiracies Data Protection Identity Theft Personally Identifiable Information Sentencing Enhancements

Short Wins - Slow News Day Edition

Only one win last week - on a technical issue of what counts as a crime of violence, statutory rape, and sentencing law. Pity....more

3/12/2013 - Sentencing Enhancements Statutory Rape

The Third Circuit Shows How The Sentencing Guidelines For Fraud Are Complicated; Victims And Losses Bamboozle The Government And...

The federal sentencing guidelines are probably the most problematic in three areas - fraud, child pornography, and drugs....more

3/7/2013 - Credit Cards Federal Sentencing Guidelines Fraud Intended Loss

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Matthew G. Kaiser

The Kaiser Law Firm PLLC

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