Public Defense

In United States v. Cabrera, No. 09-2553-cr (2d Cir. May 26, 2010), the defendant argued that claims based on his pretrial motions should not be deemed waived by his guilty plea because the district court did not advise him of this during the allocution. The circuit disagreed: "We have never required that defendants be informed that by pleading guilty they waive the right to appeal defects in the prior proceedings."

In United States v. Waithe, No. 07-2234-cr (2d Cir. May 19, 2010), the court bounced an Anders brief, then held that defendant's prior escape conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 751 was not a crime of violence for the purposes of the illegal reentry guideline.

In United States v. Barris, No. 08-4247-cr (2d Cir. May 17, 2010), the court continued to apply the Williams rule precluding mandatory 924(c) sentences when the defendant is sentenced to a longer mandatory minimum on another count, even though the issue is now before the United States Supreme Court.

Full post as published by Second Circuit Blog on May 31, 2010 (boomark / email).