Section 1B1.1 prescribes an ordered method: select the offense guideline, determine the base offense level and apply specific offense characteristics, apply Chapter Three adjustments for victim, role and obstruction, repeat for multiple counts and group them, apply acceptance of responsibility, determine the criminal history category, and read the range from the sentencing table. Section 1B1.3 defines the relevant conduct counted, and disputed facts are resolved on a preponderance standard.
An indictment must be a plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged, signed by an attorney for the government and citing the provision alleged to have been violated. It gives the defendant notice sufficient to prepare a defense and allows a later plea of double jeopardy. A charge omitting an element is defective. Because only a grand jury may alter what it charged, proof that broadens the charge presents a constructive amendment problem.
A claim of ineffective assistance requires both deficient performance, meaning representation that fell below an objective standard of reasonableness measured against prevailing professional norms, and prejudice, meaning a reasonable probability that the result would have been different. A strong presumption treats the challenged conduct as sound strategy. Either part may be decided first, and failure on either defeats the claim.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 983(d) an innocent owner's interest is not forfeited under any civil forfeiture statute, and the claimant carries the burden by a preponderance of the evidence. An interest held before the conduct is protected by lack of knowledge or by reasonable steps to terminate the use. An interest acquired afterward is protected only by bona fide purchaser status, with a narrow exception for a primary residence taken by marriage, divorce, separation or inheritance.
The federal formulation is an affirmative defense that the defendant must establish by clear and convincing evidence, limited to appreciation and excluding volitional impairment. State tests range from a purely cognitive inquiry to a substantial capacity formulation that includes the ability to conform conduct. Several states have abolished the defense and admit mental condition evidence only to negate the required mental state.
In a nonjudicial forfeiture the seizing agency must send written notice as soon as practicable and no later than sixty days after the seizure, or ninety days after a state or local seizure later adopted by a federal agency. The notice states a claim deadline that may be no earlier than thirty-five days after the letter is mailed. Where notice is not sent in time the government must return the property, and a declaration entered without notice may be attacked for five years.
A federal movant under section 2255(f) and a state petitioner under section 2244(d)(1) each get one year measured from the latest of four events: finality of the judgment, removal of an unlawful impediment to filing, recognition of a new retroactive right by the Supreme Court, or the date the supporting facts could have been discovered with due diligence. Finality is the controlling trigger in the great majority of cases, and the period is a limitation rather than a jurisdictional bar.
Before accepting a guilty plea a federal court must address the defendant personally in open court and confirm understanding of the charge, the penalties including any mandatory minimum and maximum, the rights being surrendered, the court's obligation to consider the guidelines, and the terms of any appellate waiver. The court must separately determine that the plea is voluntary and that a factual basis exists. Omissions are reviewed for harmless error, or plain error if unobjected.
Federal Rule of Evidence 702 admits forensic opinion only where the proponent demonstrates to the court, more likely than not, that the knowledge will help the fact-finder, that the opinion rests on sufficient facts or data, that it is the product of reliable principles and methods, and that it reflects a reliable application of those methods to the facts. The factors are flexible, general acceptance alone is not enough, and the record comes from validation studies and the case file.
Specialty confines the receiving state to the offenses for which extradition was granted, together with lesser included offenses and, under many treaties, offenses the surrendering state later consents to. The rule rests on treaty text and reciprocity rather than on constitutional protection, which is why standing to enforce it is contested and why the surrendering state's consent cures a violation.
Civil seizure ordinarily proceeds on a warrant issued under 18 U.S.C. 981(b) using the procedures of Rule 41, and may proceed without one where an established Fourth Amendment exception applies or where a state or local agency lawfully seized the property first. A criminal seizure warrant under 21 U.S.C. 853(f) requires the additional finding that a restraining order may not be sufficient. Real property may not be seized before an order of forfeiture is entered.
Rule 32 requires the probation officer to prepare a presentence report and disclose it at least thirty-five days before sentencing, with objections due within fourteen days of receipt. At the hearing the court verifies the parties have read the report, rules on unresolved objections that affect sentencing, hears argument, allows any victim to be heard, and permits the defendant to speak in mitigation. The court then states its reasons, and must advise the defendant of the right to appeal.
