Today, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, overturned Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction and 23-year sentence. The court concluded that allowing witnesses to testify at trial as to other “bad acts” by Weinstein unfairly prejudiced him because it essentially amounted to a conviction that was proven more by evidence of an uncharged...Read More

Not a bad week for favorable cases. While most of these cases were decided on direct appeal, remember that these can be converted into ineffective assistance claims for a 2255 motion, if argued correctly. United States v. Colon-Cordero, Nos. 22-1171, 22-1172, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 1300 (1st Cir. Jan. 19, 2024)Luis Ángel Colón-Cordero was convicted...Read More

A jury in federal court found Joseph Mr. Zakhari guilty of trying to coerce a minor into engaging in illegal sexual activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2422(b) (Count 1); trying to send an offensive image to a minor in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1470 (Count 2); and trying to create child pornography in violation...Read More

In a case that is sure to stir up some emotions on both sides of the fence, a federal court held today that Missouri’s law requiring the sheriff to put a sign in all sex offenders’ yards on Halloween warning that they are not allowed to hand out candy is “likely” unconstitutional and granted a...Read More

UPDATE: The Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal on December 11, 2023. Therefore, the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling is upheld. There’s no argument that having to register as a sex offender causes a severe burden on someone. But does that burden equate to that person being in custody for federal habeas corpus purposes? The federal...Read More

It’s been said that a prosecutor could convince a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, and this case proves that a cop could similarly convince a judge to grant a search warrant without any probable cause. Thankfully, a federal judge put a stop to it, although a bit too late. The Cops Came Knocking...Read More

Federal Prison Newsletter, Week Ending Apr 28, 2023 Elijah v. Dunbar, No. 21-7352, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 9592 (4th Cir. Apr. 21, 2023) Objections to R&R Don’t Have to Be Overly Precise to be Sufficient for De Novo Review Petitioner filed a habeas petition and claimed that the BOP was refusing to apply First Step...Read More

Whether a nude image of a minor is considered illegal depends on whether it’s “obscene.” But what does that mean? For decades, what has amounted to obscenity has never been clearly established by the courts. The Supreme Court did set some guidelines for obscenity cases – 50 years ago – but it still left the...Read More

Otober 21, 2022: Doe v. Swearingen, No. 21-10644 (11th Cir.) Reviving a lawsuit against Florida’s sex offender registry, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (overseeing the federal courts in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia) held on Friday that the federal district court in the Southern District of Florida’s dismissal of the lawsuit as...Read More