2023 U.S. Supreme Court Criminal Law Update

U.S. v. Hansen, Op. No. 22-179, (06/23/2023) (Immigration Offenses)

Because §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) forbids only the purposeful solicitation

and facilitation of specific acts known to violate federal law, the clause

is not unconstitutionally overbroad.

Samia v. U.S., Op. No. 22-196, (06/23/2023) (Sixth Amendment/Hearsay)

The Confrontation Clause was not violated by the admission of a

non-testifying co-defendant’s confession that did not directly inculpate

the defendant and was subject to a proper limiting instruction.

Lora v. U.S., Op. No. 22-49, (06/16/2023) (Sentencing)

Section 924(c)(1)(D)(ii)'s bar on concurrent sentences does not govern

a sentence for a § 924( j) conviction. A § 924( j) sentence therefore can

run either concurrently with or consecutively to another sentence.

Smith v. U.S., Op. No. 21-1576, (06/15/2023) (Double Jeopardy)

The Constitution permits the retrial of a defendant following a trial

in an improper venue conducted before a jury drawn from the wrong

district.

Dubin v. U.S., Op. No. 22-10, (06/08/2023) (Identity Theft)

Under § 1028A(a)(1), a defendant “uses” another person's means of

identification “in relation to” a predicate offense when the use is at the

crux of what makes the conduct criminal.

U.S. v. Schutte, et al, Op. No. 21-1326 (06/01/2023) (False Claims Act)

The FCA’s scienter element refers to a defendant’s knowledge and

subjective beliefs—not to what an objectively reasonable person may

have known or believed.

Percoco v. U.S., Op. No. 21-1158 (05/11/2023) (Honest Services Wire Fraud)

Instructing the jury based on the Second Circuit's 1982 decision in

Margiotta on the legal standard for finding that a private citizen owes

the government a duty of honest services was error.

Ciminelli v. U.S., Op. No. 21-1170 (05/11/2023) (Fraud)

Because the right to valuable economic information needed to make

discretionary economic decisions is not a traditional property interest,

the Second Circuit's right-to-control theory cannot form the basis for a

conviction under the federal fraud statutes.

Bittner v. U.S., Op. No. 21-1195, (02/28/2023) (Bank Secrecy Act/Sentencing)

The BSA's $10,000 maximum penalty for the non-willful failure to file

a compliant report accrues on a per-report, not a per-account, basis.

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