by Marc Neff
Eighth Circuit Finds That Two Nearly Simultaneous Drug Sales Are One Offense for Sentencing Purposes
In United States v. Willoughby, 653 F.3d 738 (8th. Cir. 2011), Defendant Willoughby appealed from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, which designated him an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminals Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C.S. § 924(e) and sentenced him to the ACCA’s mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. The presentence...
by Marc Neff
5th Circuit Increases Defendant’s Sentence for “Importation” of Narcotics in Routine Distribution Case
In U.S. v. Rodriguez, 666 F.3d 944; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 202, Defendant Melanie Marie Rodriguez pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than fifty grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C.S. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B). The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas sentenced defendant to 180 months’...
by Marc Neff
Police Must Have Probable Cause that a Crime is Being Committed in Order to Seize a Vehicle While Waiting to Obtain a Search Warrant
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trayvon Nmn Joseph, 34 A.3d 855, was an appeal from a Judgment of Sentence in the Court of Common Pleas. Joseph appealed his convictions for persons not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell, or transfer firearms, in violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 6105(c)(2), and firearms not to be carried without a license, in violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 6106(a)(1). Appellant...
by Marc Neff
Fourth Amendment Protects Homes From Warrantless Drug Dog “Sniff Tests”
The Supreme Court of Florida has decided the case of Joelis Jardines, Petitioner, v. State of Florida, Respondent, No. SC08-2101, 2011 WL 1405080 (April 14, 2011). In this matter, police conducted a warrantless “sniff test” by a drug detection dog at defendant’s home and discovered live marijuana plants inside. The trial court granted defendant’s motion to suppress,...
by Marc Neff
Charges Dropped Against Rapper T.I.
Prosecutors recently dropped drug charges against rapper T.I. stemming from his September arrest in Los Angeles with his wife, Tiny. Police had stopped the two after their vehicle made an illegal U-turn, at which time officers reported smelling marijuana as they approached the car. After searching the car and its occupants, police discovered tablets of the illegal drug Ecstasy. Although the...
by Marc Neff
Sentencing in Drug Case Vacated
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently vacated a defendant’s conviction for drug charges upon a finding that the evidence was obtained as a result of an unlawful search and seizure. In 2008, the defendant was arrested and charged with possession and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after he was found carrying large quantities of marijuana and crack cocaine. An...
by Marc Neff
Prosecutorial Misconduct Causes Reversal in Drug Case
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a defendant’s conviction on the grounds that the prosecutor’s introduction of testimony, that he had promised not to rely on at trial, had deprived the defendant of a fair trial. In US v. Liburd, Liburd was convicted of attempted importation of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. On Oct. 4, 2008,...
by Marc Neff
Pennsylvania Superior Court Holds that Trial Court May Impose Both Mandatory Minimum and Conditional Minimum Sentences upon a Defendant, Pursuant to State Statutes
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recent decided an appeal by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the case of Commonwealth v. Hansley. In Hansley, Frederick Hansley pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, for an incident in which he sold cocaine to a police officer in September of 2008. Hansley pled guilty to a second count of possession with...
by Marc Neff
Philadelphia Appellate Court Upholds Conspiracy Conviction in One Hundred Kilogram Cocaine Trafficking Case
In a precedential decision, the Unites States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed a judgment of acquittal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, resulting from a 2007 drug trafficking operation involving one hundred kilograms of cocaine. Defendant, Ruben Boria was convicted of both conspiracy and aiding and abetting the possession with...
by Marc Neff