FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER
Southern District of Texas
“THE EFFECTS OF JOHNSON V. UNITED STATES,
135 S. CT. 2551 (2015)”
Brown Bag Lunch - March 23, 2016
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
United States Federal Courthouse
Jury Assembly Room, 6th floor
515 Rusk Avenue
Houston, Texas
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Federal Public Defender presents a brown bag lunch addressing the effects of Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015).
The State Bar of Texas MCLE Department has approved this seminar for 1.0 hours of CLE credit (Course No. 901346911). There is no cost for participants or for those attorneys wishing to apply for the CLE credit. Registration will be available from 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. the day of the seminar. If you have any questions, contact Anna Hughes at 713-718-4600.
AGENDA
At the end of its last term, the United States Supreme Court decided Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), and held unconstitutional part of the federal Armed Career Criminal Act. In United States v. Gonzalez-Longoria, the Fifth Circuit recently held unconstitutional part of the definition of the phrase "crime of violence" set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). These decisions have unsettled longstanding sentencing precedent in an array of federal cases, including those involving firearms, immigration, and violence.
The purpose of the seminar is to provide federal criminal practitioners with an understanding of the changes caused by Johnson and Gonzalez-Longoria, as well as ideas for what areas of federal sentencing practice may yet be affected by these decisions. Finally, the attendees will understand the limited opportunity for relief Johnson may provide for already-sentenced defendants, as illustrated by Welch v. United States, a matter pending before the Supreme Court in which a long-ago sentenced defendant seeks reduction of his sentence pursuant to Johnson.