On Tuesday morning, the 11th Circuit will hear three cases en banc. Two criminal cases and one false claims case.
Notably, the panel ruled for the government in each of the three cases.
I get on the 11th Circuit a lot, and one of my complaints is that the court almost never grants en banc review when the government prevails. So this is nice to see.
I didn't find any of the panel decisions earth shattering, but here they are in case you are interested:
I had to read this thrice to understand it. What's implied, but not stated, is that by granting en banc review, the Court was granting the petition of the criminal defendant who lost to the panel.
ReplyDeleteSCOTUS just granted cert on the same issue as the false claims case.
ReplyDeleteDon’t know about earth shattering, but the decisions could affect many criminal defendants. In Garçon the 11th will decide who is eligible for safety valve. If a defendant has to meet all three criteria to be ineligible (defense position) then many more of our clients would be eligible for a sentence below the mandatory minimum. In Dupree the court will decide whether someone convicted of a drug trafficking conspiracy qualifies for a sentence enhancement under the draconian career offender provision. Of the court holds that a drug trafficking conspiracy conviction does not qualify it can save many defendants convicted only of conspiracy from the enhancement.
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