State v. Lane
The New Jersey Supreme Court did not extend the "pipeline retroactivity" of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(14), which added a new mitigating factor at sentencing where "the defendant was under 26 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense." Here, the defendant was sentenced before the Legislature enacted the…
The New Jersey Supreme Court did not extend the “pipeline retroactivity” of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(14), which added a new mitigating factor at sentencing where “the defendant was under 26 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.” Here, the defendant was sentenced before the Legislature enacted the new mitigating factor. But his… Continue reading State v. Lane
The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s finding that Appellant violated parole, but reversed its ruling that Appellant anticipatorily violated probation. The Court held that “in light of the recent Superior Court decision in Simmons, the trial court imposed an illegal sentence for the probation violation because at the time Appellant engaged in the… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Cooper
The Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated the defendant’s sentence for simple assault because the lower court erred in awarding restitution to The Phia Group, a recovery and reimbursement subrogation vendor. The Court held that the vendor was not an insurance company and did not pay any claim. Therefore, the vendor was not entitled to restitution under… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Wright
The Pennsylvania Superior Court heard this case for the second time. In this iteration, the defendant challenged her sentence, arguing that the sentence was illegal because the sentencing court did not determine her reentry plan eligibility as required by Subsection 9756(b)(3) of the Sentencing Code. The Superior Court held that the issue went to the… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Risoldi
The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that the lower court did not impose a vindictive sentence. The lower court re-sentenced the defendant after the Superior Court vacated the defendant’s original sentence. The aggregate of the new sentence decreased considerably, though the court imposed increased penalties on two counts of Aggravated Assault. The defendant appealed, arguing that… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Conklin
After the Miller and Montgomery decisions, the trial court resentenced the defendant, a juvenile lifer, to imprisonment of 55 years to life. The defendant appealed, challenging the legality of the sentence as a de facto life sentence without the possibility of parole (“LWOP”) and the discretionary aspects of his sentence. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed,… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Miller
The Third Circuit vacated the defendant’s sentence and held that conspiracy to commit a crime of violence does not count as a “crime of violence” for purposes of § 2K2.1. The defendant pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). In anticipation of his sentencing, the… Continue reading United States v. Abreu
The Third Circuit revisited the career offender enhancement under the Sentencing Guidelines and the recent decision in United States v. Nasir. The District Court agreed with the probation department that the defendant had at least two qualifying predicate convictions — his repeated violations of 35 Pa.C.S. § 780-113(a)(30) — for “controlled substance offenses” under the… Continue reading United States v. Dawson
The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the defendant’s conviction for DWI but vacated his sentence as a second-time offender. The Court “reviewed the record, including the body camera recording of the defendant’s performance during the field sobriety tests, and found no basis to conclude there was an obvious and exceptional error in the concurrent findings… Continue reading State v. Zingis
The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the defendant’s consecutive sentences. The defendant pleaded guilty to two DUI-related offenses on two dockets. The lower court imposed consecutive sentences, and the defendant appealed. The Superior Court ruled that the trial court sentenced the defendant within the standard range for each conviction. “Considering the defendant’s history of jeopardizing the… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Redmond