PUBLIC NOTICE CONCERNING CJA PANEL MEMBERSHIP The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is seeking applicants for the SDFL Criminal Justice Act Panel (CJA Panel) for a three-year term beginning October 1, 2018. The CJA Panel is comprised of private attorneys who are authorized to serve as appointed defense counsel pursuant [...]

In United States v. Morales, No. 16-16507 (June 29, 2018) (Ed Carnes, Marcus, Ross), the Court upheld the defendant's felon in possession conviction and sentence. First, the Court upheld the denial of the defendant's motion to suppress a warrantless search of the home based on the consent of a co-occupant.  The Court determined that the [...]

In United States v. Knowles, No. 16-16802 (May 15, 2018) (Jordan, Martin, Ginsburg), the Court concluded that the district court erred by excluding lay identification testimony, but it found the error harmless. The district court had admitted under Rule 701 identification testimony from a government witness.  The Court rejected the defendant's argument that the testimony [...]

To Arun Ravindran and Vanessa Chen for securing a government dismissal in a case involving drug and gun charges. Arun and Vanessa moved to suppress the evidence and the magistrate judge agreed that the evidence should be excluded. Rather than objecting to the judge's report and recommendation, the government dismissed.

From the Cato Institute here.

Noteworthy New York Times article.

Magistrate Judge Goodman - Miami Magistrate Judge Valle - Ft. Lauderdale Magistrate Judge Matthewman - West Palm Beach

Relying on Johnson, the court, in an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and, in large part, Neil Gorsuch, affirmed the 9th Circuit’s ruling that Section 16(b) is unconstitutionally vague. The court began by noting that to determine whether a person’s conduct falls within the ambit of [...]

In United States v. Whitman, No. 15-14846 (Apr. 24, 2018) (William Pryor, Julie Carnes, Antoon), the Court upheld convictions and sentences for bribery, wire fraud, theft, and obstruction stemming the fraudulent procurement of government contracts. One defendant challenged his bribery conviction on the ground that the court erred by failing to instruct the jury that [...]

In United States v. Maxi, No. 15-13182 (Apr. 5, 2018) (Martin, Jordan, Walker), the Court affirmed the defendants' drug-trafficking convictions. As to one defendant, the Court affirmed the denial of his motion to suppress the search of a duplex.  The Court first concluded that the defendant had standing to challenge the search because, [...]