NYC court: Big city guns can equal stiff sentence
Lawyer Blogs
Federal judges can give harsher penalties to people who help bring illegal guns to big cities, a federal appeals court decided Thursday.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved the practice in its ruling for the case of an illegal gun dealer who got two years in prison, which was six months more than federal sentencing guidelines recommended.
When he imposed the sentence in 2004, U.S. District Judge Charles P. Sifton in Brooklyn said there was a "crying need" to deter gun trafficking into large metropolitan areas.
A three-judge appeals panel initially had overturned Sifton's ruling. The judges then reheard the case and ruled in Sifton's favor Thursday.
The panel said Sifton's ruling was justifiable given the high payoff available to gun smugglers who target big cities.
"Where the profits to be made from violating a law are higher, the penalty needs to be correspondingly higher to achieve the same amount of deterrence," the majority opinion said.
Gerard Cavera, the convicted gun dealer in the case, was an Army veteran with residences in New York and Deerfield Beach, Fla. The appeals court said evidence in the case indicated that he likely knew 16 firearms he sold in Florida for $11,500 were destined for New York City.
Cavera's lawyer, Jeffrey Rabin, said he was "somewhat disappointed" and was considering an appeal. He argued the case would contribute to a return to the disparate sentencing that occurred before the creation of sentencing guidelines.
Related listings
-
High court to hear enemy combatant case
Lawyer Blogs 12/05/2008The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether the president may order that people picked up in the United States be detained indefinitely and without criminal charges.The court is undertaking a fresh review of the Bush administration's aggressive...
-
Smoker's widow seeks $79.5M award at high court
Lawyer Blogs 12/03/2008A cigarette maker and a smoker's widow squared off at the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the third time over a $79.5 million punitive damages award, but the real battle was between the justices and their counterparts on Oregon's high court.Twice befo...
-
Junk-bond king among those seeking Bush pardon
Lawyer Blogs 11/29/2008Some high-profile convicts past and present are among more than 2,000 people asking President George W. Bush to pardon them or commute their prison sentences before he leaves office.Junk-bond king Michael Milken, media mogul Conrad Black and American...
New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.