Sentencing

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Justice Department's criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding that acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan who secured the indictments against the two prominent critics of President Trump was unlawfully appointed (article available here).

Today, the United States Supreme Court denied Ghislaine Maxwell’s petition for certiorari. Maxwell v. United States, No. 24-1073 (U.S. Oct. 6, 2025) (cert. denied). Maxwell presented this question for review: under Santobello v. New York and common principles of contract interpretation, does a promise on behalf of the ‘United States’ or the ‘Government’ that is made by a United States Attorney in one district bind federal prosecutors in other districts?

Pennsylvania man stole 69 guns from gun stores—but says the restitution order stole from him, charging double for the same guns. After winning an earlier Third Circuit challenge to a restitution award of approximately $70,000, he was then ordered to pay $57,000. Man: still too much. Third Circuit: Totally agree. Restitution can cover the guns' value but not lost sales on top. Victims get made whole, not paid twice or for “consequential damages.”

Last Thursday, the U.S. Sentencing Commission released its Preliminary FY25 Third Quarterly Data Report, containing cumulative sentencing data from October 1, 2024, though June 30, 2025.

Florida executed David Pittman, 63, by lethal injection on Wednesday in what was a record 12th execution in the state this year.  Before 2025, Florida’s highest number of executions  was eight in 2014. Two more Florida executions are scheduled for this fall: Victor Tony (Sept. 30) and Samuel Lee Smithers (Oct. 14). 

So far 31 people have been executed in the U.S. to date this year, with Florida leading the nation on a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, who has signed more warrants than any of his predecessors.

Today, Judge Carlton W. Reeves, Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, announced the appointment of nine individuals to serve on the newly established Sentence Impact Advisory Group (SIAG).  Advisory groups provide Commissioners with important perspectives that help them in policy making and ensure fairness in federal sentencing.  The newly appointed SIAG members include those individuals who have been impacted by federal sentencing or have family members that have been.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Wednesday said it will consider potential reforms to the federal sentencing guidelines for fraud offenses, including the outsized role of loss calculation in sentencing, one of several priorities the agency has marked for closer examination. See Press Release.

Utah man pleads guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and agrees to criminally forfeit a lot of land. Uh oh! It's not his land, but rather is owned by a friend and former employee—though it was partially paid off with tainted money from the criminal enterprise. Tenth Circuit (over a dissent): The gov't may have had other ways to get at tainted proceeds, but taking land that was always owned by a third party isn't one of them.