In Plain Cite

Jonathan talks about new cases dealing with child sexual exploitation, fraud, and the death penalty with Brian Beck from the Western District of Virginia.

Jonathan and guest Alicia Penn discuss four new Fourth Circuit cases, covering topics including crimes of violence, child pornography sentences, and health care fraud.

In this episode we bring back special guest Emily Harrill to discuss recent Fourth Circuit decisions.

In this episode we discuss recent Fourth Circuit decisions with special guest Emily Harrill from the Federal Public Defender Office in South Carolina.

In this episode we talk about the recent public meeting of the United States Sentencing Commission and what might be in store for the Guidelines.

In this episode we talk about recent Fourth Circuit cases touching on the use of force, prior bad acts, double jeopardy, and coerced statements

Our extern, Brittany, interviews AFPD David Bungard to get a feel for what it's like to practice federal criminal defense for the indigent charged with federal crimes. David discusses the differences between private and public practice, his experience as a Criminal Justice Act panel attorney, what drew him to defense work, and what day-to-day life is like working in the office of the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of West Virginia.

This week brought the eagerly awaited Supreme Court decision in Beckles, in which the Court held that the Sentencing Guidelines could not be challenged as being unconstitutionally vague. What does Beckles mean in the short term and the long term? Does it tell us anything about the future of other claims based on the Court's 2015 Johnson decision? We dig deep into the opinion and try to figure it out.

Federal Public Defender Christian Capece and Legal Research and Writing Specialist Jonathan Byrne speak with Professor John Pfaff of Fordham University School of Law, author of "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform."

We look forward to 2017 and proposed Sentencing Guideline Amendments. Also, a look back at two big stories of 2016, the death of Antonin Scalia and the the continuing ripple of Johnson.