Category Archives/Archivos de la categoría: Articles

The Who, The What, and The How
An Interview with David Zapp

Good morning, Mr. Zapp.

David Zapp: Good morning, Ben.

I have asked to speak with you today to talk about OFAC, about what it is, and about what it does.

David Zapp. I’ll be glad to answer your questions if I can.

First of all, what does “OFAC” stand for and what does it do?

David Zapp: It stands for Office of Foreign Assets Control. It is a regulatory body that sanctions people and entities that OFAC believes are engaged in specified criminal activity.

It forbids anyone or […]

This is a copy of a letter we sent to a defendant that could be useful to other defendants facing narcotic charges.

The defendant had been in detention in Colombia and in the United States. He asked us what his options were:

Go to trial.
If you go to trial and win, excellent. If you lose, you […]

This is a case of a defendant who asked a judge to reconsider his motion for “compassionate release.” The defendant had originally asked for compassionate release relief because FCI Miami, the facility at which he was then housed, was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. The court denied the motion saying that the defendant had not shown “extraordinary and compelling reasons” for reducing his sentence.

But some time later the Defendant renewed his motion asking the court to reconsider his ruling on different grounds and citing a […]

About ten years ago Jeremy Zullo was sentenced to a mandatory minimum fifteen-years’ imprisonment. After the passage of the First Step Act of 2018, he sought compassionate release in the district court, arguing that his sentence was unjustly long, that he has shown exemplary rehabilitation, that he maintains close  relationships with his family, that he was a teenager at […]

2D CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS. JULY 2020

RACE IS NOT A REASON TO DETAIN A PERSON

Every once and awhile law enforcement has to be reminded that a person’s race is not a reason to stop a person. This is one of those cases.

The Second Circuit suppressed statements made and narcotics discovered during a search incident to […]

Here are the hypothetical facts: An individual, who is not in custody, learns he is in the cross hairs of the U.S. government. He hires an attorney who approaches the prosecutor. The prosecutor tells the attorney that he intends to indict or has already indicted the individual and the individual can either 1) surrender, 2) […]

[A very sad case that probably happens very often in this country, but never gets the media coverage it deserves. We were shocked. The following was our response to a Colombian friend who asked me if I would represent the accused. Fortunately, in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, rarely, if ever, do […]

Before you meet with the prosecutor to cooperate, if that is what you want to do, bear this in mind: you and only you can help yourself. You are the star of the show. Your success and what the prosecutor will think of you will be entirely up to you. You’re the LeBron James of […]

by Jacob Newman and Harry Sandick on May 28, 2019

In United States v. Pauling, the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s order granting the defendant’s motion to set aside his conviction for Conspiracy to Distribute or Possess with Intent to Distribute 100 Grams or More of Heroin.  The Court concluded that the District Court had correctly […]

Original article written byDanielle Quinn and Harry Sandick

Edited and abbreviated by Johanna Zapp

by Harry Sandick and Danielle C. Quinn on December 13, 2018

In United States v. Lutchman, the Court concluded that the defendant’s appellate waiver in his plea agreement was not valid (in that, for what he was giving up by waiving his right to appeal, he was not given […]

byMichael D. Schwartz and Harry Sandick on April 24, 2019

In United States v. Walker, 17-1896-cr (April 4, 2019), the Second Circuit held that the Government breached its plea agreement with the defendant by advocating for a term of imprisonment that was substantially higher than the Government’s initial sentencing estimate in the plea agreement.  The decision addresses […]

In Rodriguez v. United States, the Second Circuit remanded the case to the district court to hear evidence on a defendant’s application to vacate her guilty plea on the grounds that she would not have entered into the plea if her counsel had properly advised her as to its immigration consequences.

Most defense attorneys know that […]

I want to answer a question that I’ve been asked by an inmate who is extradition and who wants to know what the future holds for him in the United States. I want to write this article in a way that everyone similarly situated will find useful.

The question asked is, “what do the prosecutors want […]

By Stephanie Teplin and Harry Sandick on July 6, 2017, edited by David Zapp & Johanna Zapp

In United States v. Delacruz the Second Circuit the Second Circuit emphasized it previous ruling that a Sentencing Guidelines reduction for “acceptance of responsibility” is appropriate where the defendant truthfully admits the conduct comprising the offense of conviction.  It […]

By Elena Steiger Reich and Harry Sandick on August 11, 2016 edited by David Zapp & Johanna Zapp

Here’s a case that definitively answers a question that many defendants and lawyers have had.

In Jane Doe v. USA, 15-1967, the Second Circuit vacated the granting of petitioner’s motion to expunge all records of her criminal conviction holding […]

By Elena Steiger Reich & Harry Sandick

Defendant, a former member of the Polish armed services, was recruited in 2013 to provide security and counter-surveillance services by individuals posing as Colombian drug traffickers.  The individuals who recruited Defendant were in fact confidential sources running a sting operation for the United States government.  Defendant pled guilty […]

By Elena Steiger Reich & Harry Sandick 

In Reese v. United States, the Second Circuit vacated the order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Marrero, J.) denying Reese’s petition to vacate his conviction and sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255.  Reese claimed that his counsel had provided ineffective assistance. The district court rejected the […]

By Jared S. Buszin and Harry Sandick on November 17, 2017

In United States v. Tigano, No. 15-3073 the Second Circuit issued a short order reversing the conviction and dismissing the indictment with prejudice.

The case has drawn attention for the speedy trial claim that the defen-dant had raised on appeal, and it ap-pears that this was the basis for rever-sal. Mr. Tigano was […]

By Jacqueline L. Bonneau and Harry Sandick on July 20, 2016

In United States v. White, 15-229-cr the Second Circuit ordered a remand for resentencing via summary order, instructing the lower court to consider the defendant’s post-sentencing rehabilitation. Although the order cannot be cited as precedent, it represents an important reminder that practitioners can raise new factual arguments at resentencing based on […]

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 […]