United States v. Ceasar, No. 25-949 (2d Cir. Sept. 25, 2026) (Sack, Livingston (writing), Carney).The Second Circuit dismissed in part and otherwise affirmed Sinmyah Ceasar’s conviction for failure to appear under 18 U.S.C. § 3146(a)(1). It also affirmed the
Federal Defenders of New York Blog
The Federal Defenders of New York Blog, published by the Federal Defenders of New York, covers legal developments and case law primarily related to federal criminal defense. The blog discusses appellate court rulings, evidentiary issues, constitutional law questions such as Fourth Amendment search and seizure, prosecutorial misconduct, and sentencing matters. It also addresses significant Supreme Court decisions impacting federal criminal law, including double jeopardy and sentencing statutes. The blog provides analysis of recent federal court opinions involving fraud, obstruction of justice, and other white-collar crimes, with a focus on how these rulings affect defense strategies and defendants' rights.
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Circuit rules that manual examination of a traveler’s cellphone at an international border is “routine” and requires neither reasonable suspicion nor a search warrant.
United States v. Alisigwe, No. 24-960 (2d Cir. Sept. 17, 2026) (Menashi, C.J. (writing), joined by Gonzalez, D.J.; Lee, C.J., concurring in the judgment).The Second Circuit recently affirmed Chinwendu Alisigwe’s bank-fraud and money-laundering convictions, holding that border agents who…
Court upholds third-party risk-notification condition against delegation challenge where the defendant’s criminal record and an on-record colloquy defined the risk she posed and sufficiently guided Probation’s discretion.
In United States v. Stuart, No. 25-599 (2d Cir. Sept. 3, 2026) (Lohier, Jacobs (writing), Sack), the panel upheld a special condition of supervised release authorizing the Probation Office “to notify third parties, to whom you may present a risk including…
Federal law requiring registration and payment of $200 fee for possessing short-barreled rifles and suppressors doesn’t implicate the Second Amendment because such regulation does not “meaningfully constrain” the right to bear arms.
United States v. DeFelice, No. 25-920-cr (2d Cir. Sept. 2, 2026) (Lohier, Kearse, and Walker, Circuit Judges) (per curiam).Affirming DeFelice’s conviction on a conditional plea for possessing two unregistered short-barreled rifles and an unregistered suppressor, the panel held that…
Section 404(b) of the First Step Act reaches back only to the Fair Sentencing Act’s crack-quantity thresholds and does not carry § 401, narrowing the definition of § 841’s triggering predicates, with it.
By FDNY Staff
United States v. VanHoesen, No. 24-2692 (2d Cir. Aug. 24, 2026) (Cabranes, Livingston (writing), Menashi).The Second Circuit affirmed VanHoesen’s sentence of time served and eight years of supervised release, imposed on a § 404(b) First Step Act resentencing. The…
Sentencing court plainly erred by (1) crossing the “fine line” between declining leniency for a defendant’s silence and punishing him for it; and (2) varying upward on facts already accounted by the Guidelines
By FDNY Staff
United States v. Bagley, No. 25-606 (2d Cir. Aug. 24, 2026) (Sullivan, Bianco, Robinson (writing); Sullivan, J., dissenting).The Second Circuit vacated Stefan Bagley’s 84-month sentence for firearm trafficking conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 933(a)(3) and (b) — 21 months…
Kotteakos governs harmlessness on coram nobis
In Stinn v. United States, No. 25-293 (2d Cir. Aug. 17, 2026) (Walker (writing), Sullivan, Bianco), the Second Circuit affirmed the denial of Bradley Stinn’s petition for a writ of error coram nobis, holding as a matter of first impression…
Second Circuit Applies Hunter and Expands Its Exceptions to Appellate Waivers
United States v. Matos, No. 22-1561 (2d Cir. Aug. 13, 2026) (Cabranes, Livingston, Nardini), is the Second Circuit’s first published application of Hunter v. United States, 146 S. Ct. 1702 (2026). The result of Judge Livingston’s opinion is unremarkable:…
“Take any prescribed medications” condition of supervised release is plainly erroneous absent medically grounded, on-the-record findings that compelled medication is necessary.
United States v. McCrone, No. 22-3178 (L) (2d Cir. July 21, 2026) (Walker, Lee, Robinson)The Second Circuit today struck, on plain-error review, a supervised-release condition requiring the defendant to “continue to take any prescribed medications unless otherwise instructed by…
18th Century norms define 21st Century privacy: Technological advances in surveillance can’t outrun analog-era expectations of privacy
Chatrie v. United States, No. 25–112 (U.S. June 29, 2026) (Opinion by Kagan, joined by Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, and Jackson; Gorsuch concurs in the judgment)
Introduction
The facts in Chatrie look daunting — a bank robbery solved through a multi-step…