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Category Archives: Sentencing
New Sentencing Guidelines Amendments Have Two Good Provisions for White Collar Criminal Defendants (and Lawyers)
On November 1, 2018, several new amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines went into effect. Two of them are quite positive developments for defendants—and their lawyers—in white-collar criminal cases. As a procedural matter, the new amendments were proposed by the U.S. … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
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Can Michael Cohen Reject a Presidential Pardon? Yes. But Would He?
On August 21, 2018, former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts, including campaign finance fraud. During his plea hearing, Cohen implicated the President in the crime, saying that Cohen had paid Stormy Daniels (a) at … Continue reading
Why Isn’t Michael Cohen Getting a Cooperation Agreement? (Part Two)
Last week, I wrote about the somewhat surprising fact that Michael Cohen pleaded guilty, allocated at the plea hearing that President Trump directed him to make an illegal campaign donation, and yet didn’t have a written cooperation agreement. In fact, … Continue reading
Why Isn’t Michael Cohen Getting a Cooperation Agreement? (Spoiler: He Probably Is) (Part One)
Much was made this week of the fact that Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty without a written cooperation agreement. He pleaded guilty to multiple federal offenses, including tax fraud, campaign finance violations and bank fraud. The guidelines range … Continue reading
Lawyers as Filmmakers: The Sentencing Mitigation Film
By Dan Portnov Every CLE panel on sentencing includes a judge. And often the judge emphasizes the importance of presenting your client as a person and not just a defendant. That can be a challenge at a sentencing hearing unless … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
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“Restitution for a Reckless Bank? A Dubious Remedy Indeed” – Judge Posner’s Bank of America Smackdown
Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit—love him or hate him—just wrote a(nother) scathing opinion. He remanded a criminal restitution order, concluding that Bank of America was not entitled to any restitution for fraudulent mortgage loans because of the bank’s … Continue reading
Posted in Appeal, Restitution, Sentencing
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Prosecutors Take Fair Approach to Sentencing in Fraud Case Against Executive (No, This Is Not Clickbait.)
As I’ve written about many times before, the loss amount drives many white-collar criminal sentences. The government’s view of loss amount plays a significant role in the court’s ultimate determination of that factor. the government often takes a very aggressive … Continue reading
The Hard Numbers on White-Collar Criminal Sentences
Calling all data geeks: The United States Sentencing Commission just issued its “Overview of Federal Criminal Cases, Fiscal Year 2015.” It’s a fairly short summary of the longer “2015 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics,” which is also worth checking out. … Continue reading
Posted in Sentencing
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Fifth Circuit Slaps Down District Court’s Loss Calculation in Contracting Fraud Case
The government knows—and exploits the fact—that loss amount is the driver of white collar sentences. In criminal contracting fraud cases, the government has taken the position that the relevant loss is the entire amount of the contract that was wrongfully … Continue reading
Posted in Appeal, Government contracting fraud, Sentencing
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Taking the Fifth for Financial Information: The Blankenship Case Is (Almost?) Done
Last December, Donald Blankenship was found guilty of conspiracy to violate mine safety laws. This is a misdemeanor. He was acquitted of the more serious felony charge against him for false SEC filings. In early April 2016, Mr. Blankenship was … Continue reading
Posted in Fifth Amendment, Sentencing
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