sentencing guidelines

New Sentencing Guidelines amendments aim to strengthen corporate compliance programs

February 09, 2010 19:59

On January 21, 2010, the United States Sentencing Commission (the “Commission”) issued a notice of proposed amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines, which included amendments to those guidelines regarding the sentencing of organizations. Generally, when organizations are charged and...

Ninth Circuit rejects use of Dura Pharmaceuticals' civil loss-calculation method to fix "loss" for criminal sentencing

December 21, 2009 21:06

Nearly five years, the Supreme Court held in Dura Pharmaceuticals. Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336 (2005) that a civil securities fraud plaintiff was required to show both that an alleged fraud was disclosed to the market and that the disclosure caused a loss to shareholders, that is, that the share...

Cooperation is the only post-sentencing game in town

Alain Leibman
November 03, 2009 17:58

The Seventh Circuit recently held that, on a government motion under Rule 35(b) to reduce a sentence for new cooperation, the district court may not use the occasion to reopen sentencing to assess whether a reduction is justified under the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors.  Cooperation is the...

Need for rehabilitation may not be used to impose longer sentence

Alain Leibman
September 11, 2009 22:18

Adding its voice to a split among the circuits, the D.C. Circuit recently joined the Third Circuit in holding that, as the result of an interplay between two sentencing statutes, the perceived need to rehabilitate a defendant is not a permissible basis upon which to impose a longer sentence. Under...

Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Be Careful What You Agree To

Ron Chapman
September 08, 2009 00:44

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