A recent Fourth Circuit opinion gives some needed relief for a limited class of federal inmates. Whiteside v. United States opens the door for convicted defendants to bring post-conviction claims, under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, based on their erroneous classification as career offenders. This is likely to have the most impact on individuals who were…

Sometimes as a defense attorney we need to do the police’s job for them. That is exactly what happened in a case in which one of our clients was accused of breaking into a parked car in front of his gym. By many standards this was not a huge case, but for an accountant with…

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore (and other offices around the county) has announced a new policy, effective March 13, in which certain drug offenders will receive a 2-level downward departure on the drug quantity chart. This is fantastic news and it aligns with imminent changes to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Statistically, this amounts to…

It is a sad state of affairs when Debo Adegbile cannot be confirmed to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The Senate last week rejected his appointment – after President Obama nominated him. What is sad is the reason why he was not approved, despite his stellar credentials. He was not approved because, when…

A new law that would reduce drug sentences passed a major Senate hurdle this week with bipartisan support. It still has a long way to go before it will become law, but it is off to a good start. The Smarter Sentencing Act, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, would take some of the sting…

The Federal Sentencing Commission has recommended a change to the Sentencing Guidelines that could shorten drug sentences by an average of 11 months. This proposal is yet another indication that lawmakers and policymakers are starting to realize that federal drug penalties are way too long and  need to be reigned in. The Commission’s recommendation is…

I get asked the question all the time. Why do you represent criminal defendants? Sometimes I ask myself. But this is why. I have sat in prison visiting booths with inmates serving life sentences whom I believed were innocent. I have stood side by side with guilty defendants who were better human beings than the…

A recent report by Human Rights Watch underscores an obvious fact of federal drug prosecutions: the Government uses the threat of sentencing enhancements to all but force criminal defendants to plead guilty. As a result, 97 percent of federal drug cases result in guilty pleas. By statute, criminal defendants receive extreme mandatory enhancements in some…

One of the great injustices of the Maryland state bail system is that it discriminates against the poor. People who are charged with crimes are often held on high bails that they cannot possibly afford. This can happen for even relatively minor criminal allegations. The only way they can get out is by paying a…

The war on marijuana in the U.S. is waning. A recent Gallup poll reveals that more than half of Americans – 58% – agree that now is the time to legalize marijuana. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational use for adults and, this past September, the DOJ declared that…

Second degree assault in Maryland can no longer be counted as a crime of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), according to a Fourth Circuit opinion issued today by a unanimous panel, United States v. Thomas Royal. This ruling has been a long time in the making, but it is good to see that the issue has finally been laid to rest.

The bottom line is that far fewer people will be categorized as Armed Career Criminals, which saves these people from draconian 15-year mandatory sentences. In addition, the ruling is very likely to apply to career offender designations. We still do not know how this will play out for people who have already been sentenced to enhanced sentences based on a second-degree assault conviction. But rest assured we will be litigating this in the very near future. …

This week U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced a change in policy that could offer some benefit to people charged with federal drug crimes. Make no mistake, these are policy directives only and not federal law – and their impact is likely to be minimal. In fact, I’m not even sure that we will see a real change. Nonetheless, it is at least a start in reforming our unfair, arbitrary, expensive, and self-defeating federal drug laws. Here is what Holder said he would do:

* Direct US Attorneys to develop local strategies for determining “when federal charges should be filed, and when they should not.” This may mean that local prosecutors should use more discretion when deciding which cases to actually charge federally….