At Tilem & Campbell, we represent a wide variety of defendants charged with anything from traffic infractions to serious felonies including controlled substance offenses. In a recent federal case, we represented a defendant charged in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York with four drug…
Articles Posted in NARCOTICS
KIMBROUGH v. UNITED STATES DID NOT STRIKE DOWN THE FEDERAL STATUTORY MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR CRACK OFFENSES. THE FEDERAL STATUTORY MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES (21 USC 841) FOR CRACK COCAINE OFFENSES ARE ALIVE AND WELL – FOR NOW
At Tilem & Campbell, we often consult with and are retained by those facing or serving 5, 10 or 20 year federal statutory mandatory minimum sentences for cocaine base (crack) offenses. Many individuals mistakenly believe that the United States Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Kimbrough v United States, 128 S.…
THE FEDERAL 100:1 POWDER COCAINE/CRACK COCAINE RATIO AND THE RESULTING DISPARITY IN FEDERAL MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING FOR COCAINE OFFENSES?
Recently, Tilem & Campbell filed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the federal statutory mandatory minimum sentences applicable to crack cocaine offenses and the 100:1 powder cocaine vs. crack cocaine ratio. The issues raised in the appeal will be discussed in future blogs as will the United States Supreme Court’s…
NEW YORK’s VEHICLE PRESUMPTION – NEW YORK DRUG AND NARCOTICS CASES – Marijuana Not Included Part II
As discussed in the previous blog, under certain circumstances, all occupants of a vehicle can be presumed to possess drugs, guns or other weapons found within the vehicle. We also discussed the effect of the presumption on the New York criminal case and went into some detail about the presumption…
NEW YORK’s VEHICLE PRESUMPTION – KNOW WHO YOU’RE IN THE CAR WITH (AND WHAT THEY HAVE) Part I
New York Criminal Law establishes a presumption that all people in a vehicle are presumed to possess either drugs or guns that are found within the vehicle. What that means is that in New York each and every person inside a car will generally be charged with gun possession or…
NEW YORK CRIMINAL DEFENSE FIRM CHALLENGES MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES IN FEDERAL CRACK CASES
New York criminal defense firm Tilem & Campbell has filed Court papers seeking to prevent the use of mandatory minimum sentences in federal crack cases. Citing the reasoning in the recent Supreme Court decision, Kimbrough v United States that permitted Federal District Courts to consider the “100-1” ratio when considering…
CHANGES IN FEDERAL CRACK SENTENCING
The issue of crack cocaine sentences in federal cases is one that has bothered experienced federal criminal defense attorneys, especially in New York, for some time. Unlike the New York State Court System, where crack is treated the same as cocaine*, in the federal criminal system, individuals charged with crack…