The Department of Justice announced on March 20th that Curtis Jerome Brown, Jr. was arrested by FBI agents and charged with violating civil rights, filing a false report, making false statements to federal agents, and obstruction of justice. These charges arise out of Brown’s alleged cover-up of two incidents at the Fulton County jail. The…
Continue reading ›As we mentioned in this post, after failing to obtain a death penalty sentence against Brian Nichols, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard requested U.S. Attorneys for the Northern District of Georgia to pursue a federal death penalty case against him. David Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, announced on Wednesday that…
Continue reading ›In a case arising out of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, the Supreme Court of the United States limited the exclusionary rule by holding that where an unlawful search results from isolated police negligence, the evidence obtained from that unlawful search may still be used against a criminal defendant. The exclusionary…
Continue reading ›The United States Supreme Court issued an opinion on Tuesday resolving a split in the circuits regarding whether failure to report for prison is a violent felony for the purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). This federal law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years or up to life imprisonment for…
Continue reading ›Former Clinch County Superior Court Judge Brooks E. Blitch III faces numerous federal charges for various alleged public corruption activities, ranging from fixing cases to making illegal payments to courthouse employees. Last Monday, two of the charges, involving retaliation against witnesses, were thrown out by the U.S. District court. The federal statute that was the…
Continue reading ›Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he has spoken with U.S. Attorneys about a possible death penalty trial against Brian Nichols in federal court for the killing of an off-duty federal agent. In March 2005, Nichols was on trial for rape in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia. He escaped from custody and,…
Continue reading ›On November 14, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review an Eleventh Circuit decision interpreting a federal criminal law. This decision held that firing a gun during a violent crime requires a sentence of at least ten years, even if the gun went off unintentionally. The Eleventh Circuit is located in Atlanta, Georgia and…
Continue reading ›The Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice issued a massive report earlier this week concerning how the various federal prosecutors around the country are doing (or not doing) their jobs. While there’s a lot of truth to the old saying about “lies, damn lies and statistics”, the numbers in this…
Continue reading ›Criminal cases in the federal courts here in Atlanta are no different than in other parts of the country. Criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors make their arguments in front of federal judges, who under our Constitution are appointed to lifetime positions by the President, with the consent and approval of Congress. However, what happens when…
Continue reading ›Many people, lawyers included, are surprised when I tell them there is no such thing as a “first offender” in federal court. Many years ago, there were “Youthful Offender” statutes in federal court, but in our efforts to “shock and awe” crime, we completely eliminated all vestiges of the idea that young people or first…
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