In a case of first impression in the federal Courts of Appeals, the Second Circuit held that district courts may not consider a defendant’s potential eligibility for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act or programs...more
Effective November 1, 2023, the United States Sentencing Commission’s Amendment 821, also known as the “2023 Criminal History Amendment,” has officially become part of the federal sentencing guidelines. Thousands of...more
The risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 while incarcerated is significant and widely documented in the U.S. On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that 4,718 federal inmates and 2,049 bureau staff members...more
Since the pandemic began, the federal courts have been inundated with Compassionate Release applications from attorneys seeking the immediate or early release of clients in custody. Compassionate Release is indeed a feasible...more
In United States v. Brooks, the Court (Leval, Pooler, Hall) reiterated that district courts are required to calculate the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range when faced with a § 3582(c)(2) motion for a sentence reduction,...more
In a summary order on January 2, 2018 in United States v. Reyes, the Court (Winter, Lynch, Droney) vacated and remanded a life sentence as procedurally unreasonable on the ground that the district court failed to properly...more
In United States v. Singh, 16-1111-cr (Kearse, Hall, Chin), the Second Circuit vacated the defendant’s 60-month prison sentence—which was nearly three times the top of his Guidelines range—for illegally reentering the United...more
In United States v. Delacruz, No. 15-4174, the Second Circuit (Kearse, Lohier, Droney) vacated a defendant’s sentence, holding that the district court’s findings supporting the defendant’s failure to accept responsibility...more
On February 16, 2017, the Second Circuit (Leval, Calabresi, Carney) issued a summary order in United States v. Lopez, No. 16-1019, vacating and remanding for reconsideration the district court’s denial of the appellant’s...more