United States v. Booker

Holding the Sentencing Guidelines are advisory

Apprendi v. New Jersey

Holding that “[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt”

Blakely v. Washington

Holding that “[w]hen a judge inflicts punishment that the jury's verdict alone does not allow, the jury has not found all the facts ‘which the law makes essential to the punishment,’ and the judge exceeds his proper authority”

Cunningham v. California

Holding that the "jury-trial guarantee proscribes a sentencing scheme that allows a judge to impose a sentence above the statutory maximum based on a fact, other than a prior conviction, not found by the jury or admitted by the defendant"

Shepard v. U.S.

Holding that when conducting certain inquires related to prior convictions courts are limited to certain judicial record evidence-charging instruments, terms of a plea agreement, or "transcript of colloquy between judge and defendant in which the factual basis for the plea was confirmed by the defendant, or to some comparable judicial record"

Rita v. U.S.

Holding that the "appropriateness of brevity or length" of a judge's statement of reasons "depends upon circumstances"

Taylor v. United States

Holding that the term "burglary" as used in the Armed Career Criminal Act was to be given its "generic, contemporary meaning" to avoid a scenario in which "a person ... would, or would not, receive a sentence enhancement based on exactly the same conduct, depending on whether the State of his prior conviction happened to call that conduct ‘burglary’ "

In re Winship

Holding that the government must prove every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt

National Cable Telecom. Assn. v. Brand X Internet S

Holding that an agency is free within "the limits of reasoned interpretation to change course" only if it "adequately justifies the change"

INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca

Holding that the phrase "well-founded fear," which is also found in 8 U.S.C. § 1101, is ambiguous

Section 924 - Penalties

Holding that conviction for eluding police, under Maine statute which provides that "[w]hoever, after being requested or signaled to stop, attempts to elude a law enforcement officer by driving a vehicle at a reckless rate of speed which results in a high-speed chase between the operator's vehicle and any law enforcement vehicle using a blue light and siren is guilty" of a felony-level crime, involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)

Section 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States

Requiring proof of an "act to effect the object of the conspiracy"

Section 1101 - Definitions

Finding notice and comment rulemaking is required for the agency's interim rule recognizing fear of coercive family practices as basis for refugee status

Section 1227 - Deportable aliens

Granting this discretion to the Attorney General

Section 3663 - Order of restitution

Providing for the payment of restitution "to the State entity designated to administer crime victim assistance in the State in which the crime occurred"

Section 7201 - Attempt to evade or defeat tax

Attempting to evade or defeat tax

Section 1029 - Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices

Criminalizing conspiracy to commit access device fraud

Section 1039 - Fraud and related activity in connection with obtaining confidential phone records information of a covered entity