Second Circuit – Supervised release: United States v. Francis

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Supervised release

Violation of terms – Marijuana possession

United States v. Francis

22-1080-cr

Judges Walker, Lohier, and Perez

Background: The defendant appealed from the revocation of his original, three-year term of supervised release and sentencing him to three months in prison, followed by a new, one-year term of supervised release. He argues that the court erred in finding that he violated the terms of his supervised release by possessing marijuana because it was just a violation and not a crime. He also argues that even if it is deemed a crime, the statute was retroactively repealed.

Ruling: The Second Circuit affirmed. The court held that irrespective of New York’s classification of the offense, the defendant’s underlying conduct constituted a crime under federal law.

David C. James and Emily J. Dean, assistant United States attorneys, for the appellee; Edward S. Zas and Barry D. Leiwant, of the Federal Defenders of New York, for the defendant-appellant.