Author Archives: David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By D. Brandon Trice and Harry Sandick on January 9, 2018

In a summary order on January 2, 2018 in United States v. Reyes, the Court vacated and remanded a life sentence as procedurally unreasonable on the ground that the district court failed to properly apply a reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1.  The decision reiterates that a three-level […]

An article by Jacqueline L. Bonneau and Harry Sandick, December 20, 2017, edited by David Zapp and Johanna Zapp

In United States v. Singh, 16-1111-cr (Kearse, Hall, Chin), the Second Circuit vacated the defendant’s 60-month prison sentence—which was nearly three times the top of his Guidelines range—for illegally reentering the United States after the commission of […]

“Eric Carpenter, a former Army lawyer who teaches law at Florida International University, said a naked plea can be advantageous by allowing the defense to refrain from agreeing to certain facts that it might otherwise have to concede to under a plea agreement.”

This remark was made in connection with the plea of guilty by Sgt […]

March 1, 2017

MAILED VIA USPS CERTIFIED MAIL
Juan Carlos Pinzón
1724 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036

Dear Ambassador Pinzón,

We write this letter in support of a request that you insist to the appropriate U.S. authority to honor the condition of extradition as set forth by your Supreme Court to allow extradited Colombian nationals visits by […]

Por Johanna Zapp

Lo siguiente es parte de un artículo que apareció en el diario New York Times recientemente.  El mismo habla de la decadencia de los juicios con jurado en nuestros tribunales. Hace poco estuve en la Radio Pública Nacional  para tratar exactamente este tema. Yo comentaba sobre cómo los acusados están aterrorizados ante la […]

By Johanna Zapp

This is part of an article that appeared in the New York Times recently. It talks about the decline of jury trials in our courts. I was recently on National Public Radio talking about this exact issue. I was commenting on how defendants are terrified at the notion of going to trial. An […]

By David Zapp and Johanna Zapp

Guidelines are like politics. Depends on where you are. In “Red” (Republican-Conservative) federal districts, guidelines will apply more frequently. In “Blue” (Democratic-Liberal) districts, “below-guideline” sentences will be the order of the day.

Let’s take New York City and Miami/Tampa. New York City is blue, blue, blue.  Trump didn’t even bother to […]

Associated Press, November, 15, 2016.

“NEW YORK —With Manhattan federal court jurors watching, an Assistant U.S. Attorney confronted a government informant after a defense attorney played the audio of recorded prison phone calls that the lawyer said proved that the informant in recent weeks engaged in drug trafficking from prison and lied about communicating with his […]

Editorial, New York Times,  December 7, 2016

The Constitution gives presidents nearly unlimited authority to grant pardons and commute. In the last two years, Mr. Obama has directed the Justice Department to systematically review cases of people serving out sentences that would be far shorter had they been convicted under new, more lenient sentencing laws. While […]

NYTimes, Front Page, Sunday July 31, 2016

“Steve Cara expected to sail through the routine medical tests required to increase his life insurance in October 2014. But the results were devastating. He had lung cancer. Doctors told him it was inoperable.

His oncologist recommended an experimental treatment: immunotherapy. Uncertain, Mr. Cara sought a second opinion. A doctor […]

By David and Johanna Zapp

Utah v. Strieff, 136 S.Ct. 27 (2015), did not overrule Terry. v. Ohio (stop and frisk).  But it sure made it harder for defendants to succeed on motions to suppress evidence in circumstances that started out unlawfully.

That is because the Court held that an officer’s discovery of an outstanding arrest warrant […]