Earlier this year the US Sentencing Commission reduced guideline ranges for nonviolent drug crimes. This past Thursday, the federal panel unanimously approved its latest set of priorities: white-collar crime sentences. The panel revealed that it is considering changes...
Tampa Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
Sentencing
Obama’s initiative is exposing more federal inmates to the possibility of clemency
An Obama administration initiative to encourage nonviolent drug offenders in federal prison to seek clemency is likely to trigger tens of thousands of petitions. Clemency is the act by an executive member of government of extending mercy to a convicted individual. In...
What if you were convicted of a crime you did not commit?
Fred Weichel has spent the past 32 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. Weichel was found guilty of murdering 25 year old Robert LaMonica in 1980 outside of the man's Braintree apartment. Recently, after developing a relationship with a fellow...
When will a stay of execution be granted?
Convicted serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells was executed last Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to issue a stay to consider his lawyers' bid for more information on the drugs that would be used to kill him. A stay of execution is a court order that...
What is a posthumous pardon?
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has recently refused to issue a posthumous pardon for Cameron Todd Willingham. Willingham was executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three children. After working diligently on his case, the Innocence Project is...
Counsel’s Failure to Object Cost Client Jail Time
Edwin Aguilar-Ibarra pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery and the commission of a Hobbs Act robbery and was sentenced to 87-months. Prior to his sentencing, his defense counsel failed to make timely objections to the presentence investigation...
Mandatory Minimum Sentences: No Longer Seen as a Positive Solution
Mandatory minimum sentences were once created as a "one-size-fits-all" solution for sentencing disparities. However, these sentences have recently been recognized as coming up short of these expectations. This recognition arises from reasons such as the fairness of...
Court Reverses Carjacking Conviction on Double Jeopardy Grounds
Figgs timely appealed his sentence on double jeopardy grounds his sentences for carjacking with a firearm, sentences, and armed robbery. He contends that the trial court committed fundamental error in adjudicating him guilty and sentencing him on both the armed...
Important Federal Sentencing Guidelines Decision
In Rodriguez, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a four-level enhancement under federal sentencing guidelines section 2B1.1(b)(2)(B), after concluding that the Government had failed to present any "reliable and specific evidence" to support its contention...
Rules for Withdrawing a Guilty Plea after Sentencing
The Florida Supreme Court in Campbell v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly S727a (Fla. 2013) found that a defendant is not entitled to withdraw a plea of guilty or nolo contendere following the rendition of a sentence, based solely on the trial court's failure to formally...