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Text & History (Free subscription) | 10/13/2009
This morning, the Supreme Court is set to hear two cases that concern the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel. In the first, Padilla v. Kentucky (08-651), the Court will consider whether that right extends to advice regarding the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction. The petitioner, Honduras-born Jose Padilla, had been a legal [...]
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Truth Out (Free subscription) | 10/13/2009
Attorneys and veteran's groups are alarmed by recent reports that two US Army soldiers imprisoned at the Fort Lewis Regional Correctional Facility (RCF) have been subjected to human rights abuses and violations of their constitutional rights. read more
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SCOTUSblog (Free subscription) | 10/01/2009
Analysis The Supreme Court has a few ways of recognizing — one might say “creating” — new constitutional rights, but it has one that it has not used for 30 years. When that technique was last used, John Paul Stevens was the junior Justice, he was just days away from his 59th birthday, and he was [...]
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Sentencing Law and Policy (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
... court erred in imposing his sentence for three reasons: (1) the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights by considering uncharged conduct when deciding an appropriate sentence; (2) the district court violated his Fifth Amendment rights by failing to require the Government to prove uncharged conduct by more than a preponderance of the evidence standard;...
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Concurring Opinions (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
... Will Affect the Litigation of Corporate Crime and Department of Justice Policies and Expand the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Christopher McNamara The Free Jammie Movement: Is Making a File Available to Other Users over a Peer-to-Peer Computer Network Sufficient To Infringe the Copyright Owner’s 17 U.S.C. § 106(3) Distribution Right? Ken Nicholds Answering Justice...
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Southern District of Florida Blog (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
... However, the statute exempts “any transaction necessary to preserve a person’s right to representation as guaranteed by the sixth amendment to the Constitution.” 18 U.S.C. § 1957(f)(1). Thus, the plain meaning of the exemption set forth in § 1957(f)(1), when considered in its context, is that transactions involving criminally derived proceeds are...
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Criminal Defense (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
... are for the purpose of securing legal representation to which an accused is entitled under the Sixth Amendment. Accordingly, the exemption is limited to attorneys’ fees paid for representation guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment in a criminal proceeding and does not extend to attorneys’ fees paid for other purposes." My favorite part of any criminal appellate...
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Count Us Out (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
In May, Obama’s Justice Department went before the Supreme Court to argue against a 23-year-old precedent that was established in the Michigan v. Jackson case to shore up our Sixth Amendment right to legal representation. The issue before the court this year was whether a defendant who already has been appointed counsel may be interrogated by police without that counsel present....
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Arizona Republic (Free subscription) | 10/17/2009
U.S. District Judge David Campbell ruled Friday against defendants Dennis and Daniel Mahon, who argued that their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were violated because sheriff's officers were trying to discuss with them their suspected roles in the Scottsdale bombing as well as their affiliation with people implicated in the infamous Oklahoma City case.
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This Ain't Hell (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Attorneys and veteran’s groups [sic, not a one is a veteran's group]…alarmed…human rights abuses and violations of their constitutional rights…”Prisoner of Conscience,” resisted deployment to Afghanistan….in order to prevent his family from going homeless….James M. Branum…strip-searches…illegally monitored by guards….”The Fort Lewis Brig is violating the constitutional rights...
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Denver Post (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
... the Supreme Court that the incorrect information that was given to Padilla was a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to "effective assistance of counsel."But Kentucky Assistant Attorney General WM Robert Long Jr. said criminal attorneys' only constitutional duty is to advise defendants on guilt, innocence and sentencing when it comes to pleas, not what may happen in the...
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Paralegal SLO (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
... to aid terrorists.) Padilla wants his guilty plea tossed out, arguing that it violates his Sixth Amendment rights guaranteeing effective assistance of counsel. He maintains that he wouldn't have pleaded guilty if he hadn't been misinformed by his court-appointed attorney of the broader consequences. "The court will decide whether criminal defense attorneys must give their...
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Examiner (Free subscription) | 10/13/2009
... the Supreme Court that the incorrect information that was given to Padilla was a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to "effective assistance of counsel." said it is the constitutional duty of the lawyer to explain not only the direct consequences of a guilty plea but any collateral consequences as well. "His duty is to inform the client of the legal risk," he said.Congress...
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JURIST (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court officially opened its 2009 term Monday, hearing oral arguments in two cases. In Maryland v. Shatzer, the Court heard arguments on whether the Edwards v. Arizona prohibition against interrogation of a suspect who has invoked the Fifth Amendment right to counsel is inapplicable if, after the suspect asks for counsel, there is a break of more than two years...
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Counterterrorism Blog (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
... on acquitted conduct to increase a defendant's sentence, and this reliance does not violate the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial." During his sentencing hearing, Ashqar acknowledged that his refusal to answer grand jury questions, despite a grant of immunity, stemmed from his desire to stay loyal: "I don't want to become a traitor or collaborator. I don't want...
