Insightful articles on federal postconviction relief, prison survival strategies, sentencing issues, and life after prison—written from firsthand experience and over a decade of research in the federal system.
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News for April 11, 2026: Compassionate Release for Sentencing Disparities and “Only Available Caregiver” Applies More Broadly
FAVORABLE POST-CONVICTION CASES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 11, 2026 This week’s newsletter covers some common compassionate release issue: sentencing disparities that develop over time, especially when co-defendants get relief through cooperation, plea deals, or changes in the law, and how courts are applying the “only available caregiver” standard in compassionate release cases, making clear it doesn’t mean literally the only person in existence, but whether anyone else is realistically in a position to provide the care. United States v. Parada, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 9861 (11th Cir. Apr. 7, 2026) “Only Available Caregiver” Requires Proof No One Else Can Actually…
News for April 5, 2026: Career Offender Oversights, Mailbox Rule Failures, § 2255 Discovery Standards, and Appeal Waivers Still Don’t Bar Appeals
This week covers some issues that come up all the time in post-conviction cases: when counsel misses a clearly developing challenge to a career offender enhancement, why the mailbox rule only works if you follow it exactly, how to properly obtain discovery in a § 2255 case, and a reminder that an appeal waiver does not eliminate the right to appeal, or counsel’s obligation to file one. United States v. Casildo, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 9248 (9th Cir. Mar. 31, 2026) Appellate Counsel Ineffective for Ignoring Clearly Foreshadowed Career Offender Issue The Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded for resentencing after…
The Reason Elizabeth Holmes’ Sentence Reduction Was So Small: The Deterrence Myth
Elizabeth Holmes was eligible under a change in law to get 27 months off her sentence. Her sentence was reduced by only one year. Why? Because the court fell back on an erroneous myth: longer sentences deter crime. Studies prove over and over this is false. The law here was straightforward. A retroactive Sentencing Guidelines amendment lowered the punishment for certain first-time offenders. Holmes qualified. That change dropped her guideline range by 27 months. That is the system acknowledging that people like her have been sentenced too harshly. The court agreed she qualified. It recalculated the guideline range. It accepted…
Why the PSR Matters More Than Ever Under a New BOP Policy
No longer is the PSR only for determining the overall sentence in court. The Bureau of Prisons has adopted a new policy that changes how it evaluates offense conduct. Instead of relying primarily on the statute of conviction, the BOP now looks to the underlying conduct described in the PSR to make decisions that affect classification, programming, and whether someone can actually benefit from sentence-reduction opportunities like First Step Act credits. That shift puts the accuracy of the PSR front and center. At sentencing, lawyers focused on facts that affected the guideline range or statutory penalties. If a statement in…
News for March 27, 2026: No Tolling of Supervised Release, Compassionate Release Exhaustion Update, and BOP Refusing to Update Law Libraries
Not much this week with favorable cases, but this Supreme Court decision could affect some of people serving sentences for supervised release violations. There is also an update on compassionate release developments. Rico v. United States, 2026 U.S. LEXIS 1490 (U.S. Mar. 25, 2026) Conduct After Supervised Release Expires Cannot Be Charged as a Violation The Supreme Court made it clear: once supervised release expires, it’s over, and anything that happens after that cannot be turned into a violation, even if the person absconded earlier. In this case, the lower court allowed a new offense committed after the expiration date…
News for March 22, 2026: Compassionate Release, Bad Searches, and Bad Advice About Deportation Risk
Here are some recent favorable (and useful) cases from the courts: United States v. Frick, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54160 (W.D. Wash. Mar. 16, 2026) Compassionate Release Granted Where BOP Could Not Provide Necessary Medical Care The district court granted compassionate release after finding that the Bureau of Prisons was unable to provide the specialized, ongoing medical care required for the defendant’s serious and deteriorating health conditions. The record included expert medical testimony establishing that the defendant faced a risk of serious deterioration or death without proper treatment, which the facility could not deliver. The court also relied on its…
News for March 19, 2026: Courts Can’t Rely on Unverified Facts in Presentence Report
Court Relies on Disputed PSR Allegations Without Evidence or Ruling, Sentence Vacated United States v. Sam, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 7691 (8th Cir. Mar. 17, 2026) The Eighth Circuit vacated a 240-month sentence after finding that the district court relied on disputed, unproven allegations in the Presentence Report while completely bypassing the required process for resolving those disputes. The case highlights a fundamental breakdown in how sentencing objections must be handled. After the initial sentencing hearing, the court indicated it was considering a substantial upward variance based on allegations in the PSR that went well beyond the core offense conduct.…
News for March 15, 2026: Hearsay Violations, Habeas Tolling, and Insufficient Evidence
This Week’s Legal Updates That Could Make a Difference Every week, I track court decisions across the country looking for rulings that actually matter—cases that expose errors courts are making and opportunities most people (and most attorneys) miss. Below are a few recent decisions that highlight real issues in supervised release, appeals, and postconviction timing. If you or your loved one is dealing with any of these situations, these cases are worth paying attention to. United States v. Davis, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 7334 (2d Cir. Mar. 12, 2026) Supervised Release Violation Vacated Where Court Admitted Hearsay Without Required Findings…
What Are My Chances for Relief in a Habeas Case?
One of the most common questions prisoners and their families ask is simple: “What are my chances for relief with a habeas petition?” You will often hear a discouraging answer online: that fewer than one percent of habeas petitions succeed. When people hear that statistic, they understandably assume that filing a habeas petition is almost pointless. That conclusion is not accurate. Federal habeas relief is difficult, but it is not impossible. The real problem is that most petitions fail before the court ever reaches the claims in the petition. The main reason is not that the claims are weak. The…
Compassionate Release is Still Broken in the Bureau of Prisons
There are cases that expose policy problems. And then there are cases that expose something much worse. Terry White was serving a 48-month sentence for a felon-in-possession conviction. He had already served the majority of his time. His projected release date was August 2026, roughly six months away. Then his eight-year-old son was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare and aggressive brain tumor. Average survival: six months. This isn’t a condition where you “monitor and see what happens.” This is a terminal diagnosis. His son began rapidly deteriorating: losing the ability to walk, suffering neurological symptoms, and…
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