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Criminal consequences

Plea terms and collateral consequences beyond sentencing.

CRIM-02 · 01

Plea Agreements and Collateral Consequences Beyond the Criminal Sentence

9 MIN · CRIM

A sentence ends. The consequences attached to a conviction often do not. This brief maps what a plea agreement gives up and how to inventory the aftermath before signing.

Federal pleas come in three shapes; only one binds the judge to a specific sentence, and only that one lets the defendant withdraw if the judge refuses.
The plea colloquy establishes that the plea is knowing and voluntary, which is precisely what makes it hard to undo afterwards.
Courts must warn non-citizens that a conviction may cause removal, and counsel has a constitutional duty to advise on immigration effects.

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CRIM-05 · 02

Federal Sentencing: The Guidelines Calculation, Departures, and Variances

7 MIN · CRIM

Federal sentencing runs in two stages — a guideline range that must be calculated correctly, then a statutory judgment that can move well away from it. This brief separates the two.

Since Booker in 2005 the guidelines are advisory, but a court must still calculate the range correctly before deciding anything else.
After the calculation, the court applies the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) and must explain the sentence it chooses.
A departure moves within the guidelines' own framework; a variance moves outside it based on the statutory factors. Appellate treatment differs.

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CRIM-06 · 03

Restitution Orders: How the Amount Is Set, and How Long It Is Enforced

7 MIN · CRIM

Restitution is imposed at sentencing and collected for decades afterwards. This brief explains what counts as a compensable loss, who bears the burden, and how the government enforces the judgment.

The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act makes restitution mandatory for many federal offences, and the defendant's ability to pay cannot reduce the amount.
Compensable loss is defined by statute and must be a direct and proximate result of the offence; the government proves it by a preponderance.
A restitution judgment is enforced like a civil judgment and remains collectible for twenty years, measured from release where there is imprisonment.

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CRIM-08 · 04

Asset Forfeiture: Civil, Criminal, and How Seized Property Is Reclaimed

8 MIN · CRIM

Civil forfeiture proceeds against the property rather than a person, which is why an owner charged with nothing can still lose a car or a bank balance. This brief maps the three routes and their deadlines.

Civil forfeiture is an action against the property itself, so the owner's innocence is a defence to be raised rather than a reason the case cannot start.
The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act puts the burden on the government, creates an innocent-owner defence, and sets deadlines both sides must meet.
Criminal forfeiture is part of a sentence, requires notice in the charging document, and gives third parties a separate ancillary proceeding.

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