In Dial v. State, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2026, the Amarillo court of appeals gave this little instruction to lawyers who have future business with the court: We would ask that those appearing before this court to cautiously proofread their briefs for typographical errors, improper grammar, and questionable sentence structure. So too would we ask them to […]
With the advent of the Booker case, defense lawyers have asserted myriads of new arguments for sentence reductions for their clients. One of those arguments has been the empirical study argument; certain Guidelines are not entitled to the normal appellate presumption of reasonableness because they are not based upon empirical studies, but rather mandates from Congress […]
In Puckett v. United States, the Supreme Court faced the issue of whether Rule 52(b), the plain-error standard of review, applies to a forfeited claim that the Government has violated the terms of a plea agreement. The Supreme Court answered “yes.” James Puckett was indicted on charges of armed bank robbery and using a firearm during and […]
