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Venue

Second Circuit Holds Government Can Establish Venue By Directing Cooperator to Place Calls to Co-Conspirators From That District

In United States v. Tank Yuk, et al., 15-131 (March 15, 2018), the Second Circuit (Chin (dissenting), Carney, Forrest, sitting by designation) affirmed the convictions of three defendants in a drug trafficking conspiracy who were prosecuted and convicted by a...
March 19, 2018
Sentencing

Court Holds New York Second-Degree Robbery is Crime of Violence Under 2014 Sentencing Guidelines

In United States v. Smith, No. 15-3313-cr, the Second Circuit (Winter, Cabranes, Restani, sitting by designation) held that New York second-degree robbery is a “crime of violence” under § 4B1.2(a) of the 2014 United States Sentencing Guidelines.  As the panel acknowledged,...
March 15, 2018
Guilty Plea

Second Circuit Reminds Courts They Must Advise Defendants of the Immigration Consequences of Guilty Pleas

In United States v. Gonzales, 16-4318 (March 13, 2018), the Second Circuit (Sack, Parker, Carney) in a per curiam order vacated the conviction of a defendant who had pled guilty without being informed that he was likely to be deported...
March 14, 2018
Venue

Circuit Holds that Interstate Travel Element Confers Multiple Venues for Prosecution

In United States v. Holcombe, 16-1429-cr, the Second Circuit (Jacobs, Leval, Lohier) resolved three open issues involving a conviction for failing to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a).  First, the Court held...
February 28, 2018
Sentencing

Second Circuit Continues To Give A Close Look To Supervised Release Conditions

In a recent nonprecedential summary order, the Second Circuit (Winter, Lynch, Chin) vacated and remanded a sentence due to a condition of supervised release that prohibited the defendant from having unsupervised contact with any minor, including his nine-year old son. ...
February 26, 2018

Circuit Clarifies Guidelines Provision Allowing Post-Conviction Reduction Of Drug Sentences

In United States v. Carosella, 17-896-cr, the Second Circuit clarified an open issue relating to Amendment 782 to the Sentencing Guidelines.  Amendment 782 is sometimes called the “drugs minus two” amendment because it reduced the base offense level for drug...
February 23, 2018
Forfeiture

Circuit Resolves Jurisdictional Questions In Context Of Section 853(n) Asset Forfeiture Proceeding

In a short opinion in United States v. Ohle, 16-601-cr, the Second Circuit (Leval, Calabresi, Cabranes) resolved two open questions about the application of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4, both in the context of a proceeding brought under Title...
February 22, 2018
Fourth Amendment

Good Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Saves Conviction Based on Illegal Search

In United States v. Gomez, 16-181-cr (Parker, Wesley, and Droney), the Second Circuit found that the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated during a five-minute traffic stop because the police officers extended the stop for reasons unrelated to the defendant’s...
February 21, 2018
Sentencing

Violation of supervised release sentences must be reasonable

On February 9, 2018, the Second Circuit issued a summary order vacating a sentence imposed for a violation of supervised release.  United States v. Kalaba, 17-328, involved a defendant who had been convicted for credit card theft and who was...
February 15, 2018
Sentencing

Lengthy summary order affirms an order of restitution

In a 12-page summary order issued on February 9, 2018, the Second Circuit affirmed an order of restitution in United States v. Quatrella, 17-1786.  The order is interesting primarily because it addresses the question of when a victim of an...
February 14, 2018
Fifth Amendment

Acquitted conduct still can be used at sentencing

In a short summary order issued on February 9, 2018, in the case of United States v. Muir, 17-150, the Second Circuit affirmed a sentence and reminded everyone that nothing about Apprendi, Booker and their progeny changes the rule that existed even prior to...
February 13, 2018
Sentencing

Court Orders Jacobson Remand to Determine Reasonableness of $10 Million Fine

In United States v. Zukerman, No. 17-948 (2d Cir. Feb. 6, 2018) (ALK, RAK, RSP) (summary order), the appellant, Morris Zukerman, challenged the substantive and procedural reasonableness of his sentence, which was imposed following his pleading guilty for tax evasion...
February 8, 2018
Sentencing

Circuit Says “I’ll Drink To That,” Grants Defendant’s Appeal Challenging Alcohol-Ban Condition of Supervised Release

Update:  The Second Circuit’s decision in United States v. Betts (No 17-231), which was initially released as a non-precedential summary order on February 5, 2018, was re-released as a published opinion on March 28, 2018.  A copy of the opinion...
February 5, 2018
Sixth Amendment

Joseph Tigano’s Ticking Clock: Circuit Reverses Conviction of Defendant Forced to Wait Seven Years for Trial

On November 15, 2017, the Second Circuit reversed by summary order the conviction of Joseph Tigano III on drug charges, determining that he had been deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial and indicating that an opinion...
January 26, 2018
Sentencing

AOL Outlaw Must Bear the Burden of Proving Who Pays the Price

On January 9, 2018, the Second Circuit (Kearse, Cabranes, Wesley) rejected a request by ex-AOL Inc. employee Jason Smathers to junk the restitution component of his sentence, which requires him to recompense the online service provider for the losses it...
January 16, 2018
Sentencing

Circuit Vacates Sentence for Failure to Correctly Apply Acceptance-of-Responsibility Guideline

In a summary order on January 2, 2018 in United States v. Reyes, the Court (Winter, Lynch, Droney) vacated and remanded a life sentence as procedurally unreasonable on the ground that the district court failed to properly apply a reduction...
January 9, 2018

Ganek v. Leibowitz and a Proposal to Reform Search Warrant Procedure

In Ganek v. Leibowitz, No. 16-1463, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 20226 (2d Cir. Oct. 17, 2017), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently reversed a district court’s determination that federal prosecutors and agents were not entitled to qualified...
January 3, 2018
Trials and Evidentiary Rulings

Second Circuit Remands for New Trial Based on District Court’s Improper Exclusion of Advice-of-Counsel Testimony

In United States v. Scully, 16-3073-cr (Pooler, Lynch, Cogan[1]), the Second Circuit vacated the defendant’s conviction for various offenses, including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, the sale of misbranded and unapproved drugs, and the unlicensed...
December 27, 2017
Sentencing

In Rare Ruling Vacating Sentence as Both Procedurally and Substantively Unreasonable, Second Circuit Expounds on the Role of Mercy in Sentencing

In United States v. Singh, 16-1111-cr (Kearse, Hall, Chin), the Second Circuit vacated the defendant’s 60-month prison sentence—which was nearly three times the top of his Guidelines range—for illegally reentering the United States after the commission of an aggravated felony...
December 20, 2017
Habeas Corpus

Court Rejects Habeas Claim That Admission of DNA Evidence Violated Petitioner’s Confrontation Right

On Tuesday in Washington v. Griffin, 15-3831-pr (Katzmann, Kearse, Livingston), the Second Circuit affirmed the denial of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on a Confrontation Clause challenge.  At issue was whether it was proper for the New...
November 30, 2017
Speedy Trial

Circuit Reverses Conviction & Dismisses Indictment in Case Where Defendant Waited Seven Years for Trial

In United States v. Tigano, No. 15-3073 (Winter, Walker, Pooler), the Second Circuit issued a short order reversing the conviction of Joseph Tigano, III and dismissing the indictment with prejudice.  The Court noted that a full opinion in the case...
November 17, 2017
Fifth Amendment

Court Declines to Revisit Reversal of LIBOR Convictions

The Second Circuit has denied the government’s request for rehearing en banc in United States v. Allen, et al. (16-cr-98).  In July, a panel of the Court (Cabranes, Pooler, Lynch) vacated the convictions of Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti for...
November 13, 2017
Sentencing

The Klansman and His Death Ray: Second Circuit Affirms Conviction and Sentence in Bizarre Domestic Terrorism Plot

In United States v. Crawford, 16-4261-cr (Kearse, Cabranes, Wesley), the Second Circuit affirmed via summary order the terrorism-related conviction and sentence of a Klansman in upstate New York. This case represented the first conviction under the 2004 law barring the...
November 8, 2017
Fourth Amendment

Federal Agent’s Misrepresentation in LG Search Warrant Affidavit Insufficient to Clear Qualified Immunity Hurdle

In Ganek v. Leibowitz, No. 16-1463 (2d Cir. Oct. 17, 2017) (Raggi, Chin, Carney), the Second Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s determination that federal law enforcement authorities were not entitled to qualified immunity from plaintiff’s Bivens claims for...
November 1, 2017
Sentencing

Circuit Amends Decision Affirming Sentence Two Panel Members Deemed “Absurd,” Remands for Resentencing

On October 5, 2017 the Circuit published an amended opinion in United States v. Jones, No. 15-1518 (Walker, Calabresi, Hall), which supplanted a decision issued on September 11 that we covered in an earlier blog post.  The amended decision differs...
October 19, 2017
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Circuit Remands Restitution Order for Further Consideration of Indigent Defendant’s Right to Counsel and Application for Expert Services

In United States v. Torriero, the Second Circuit (Chin, Droney, Restani by designation) vacated by summary order a $765,561 restitution order relating to costs incurred by the EPA in cleaning up a property that the defendant had used as an...
October 13, 2017
Fourth Amendment

Circuit Sidesteps Interesting Suppression Questions in Body-Packing Case

The Second Circuit issued a published opinion on September 11, 2017  in United States v. Pabon, No. 16-1754 (Cabranes, Livingston, Pauley), a case arising from an interesting set of facts involving the warrantless arrest of an individual suspected of body-packing...
October 9, 2017
Forfeiture

Second Circuit Finds Death Extinguishes Trial Convictions and Related Restitution Order – But Tax Offenses and Bail Forfeiture Survive

In 2010, a federal jury in the Eastern District of New York convicted body-armor tycoon David H. Brooks of multiple counts of conspiracy, insider trading, fraud, and obstruction of justice for his role in a $200 million scheme to enrich...
September 27, 2017
Statutory Interpretation

Skelos Vacated: For The Second Time This Year, Conviction Of Leading New York State Legislator Is Undone Due To McDonnell

The Second Circuit (Winter, Raggi, Hellerstein by designation) today vacated by summary order the convictions of former New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam Skelos.  Dean and Adam Skelos were convicted of Hobbs Act conspiracy...
September 26, 2017
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Second Circuit Not Troubled By Error on Notice of Appeal Form, Proceeds To Decide The Appeal

On September 18, 2017, in United States v. Caltabiano, No. 16-1275-cr, the Second Circuit (Walker, Lynch, and Lohier, Js.) clarified the jurisdictional scope of a Notice of Appeal.   The Court confirmed its authority to review a criminal appeal notwithstanding errors...
September 20, 2017
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Circuit Denies Protection to Hallway Conversation Between Co-Defendants, Highlighting Limits of JDAs

A Joint-Defense Agreement (JDA) can be an extremely valuable tool in coordinating defenses against pending or impending prosecution, as it formalizes the creation of a zone of privilege in which co-defendants and their counsel can exchange confidential information without fear...
September 18, 2017
Sentencing

Second Circuit Remands for Resentencing to Consider Role Reduction under Amendment 794

On September 11, 2017, the Second Circuit (Parker, Carney, Stanceu) reversed by summary order the sentence of the defendant in United States v. Soborski (16-cr-3369).  The panel remanded the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of...
September 14, 2017
Sentencing

Second Circuit Affirms Sentence Based on Correct Application of Career Offender Guideline, Yet Majority of Panel Agrees the Result is “Unjust” and “Close to Absurd”

Note: The Court amended its opinion to find a way to remand the case. See our coverage here. On Monday, September 11, the Second Circuit issued a published opinion in United States v. Jones, No. 15-1518 (Walker, Calabresi, Hall), a case...
September 13, 2017
Habeas Corpus

Of Dead Sea Scrolls and Criminal Impersonation

Golb v. Attorney General, No. 16-0452-pr (Jacobs, Leval, Raggi), arises out of unusual facts—forged emails by a proponent of one side of an academic dispute—and reaches an unusual result.  On habeas review, the Second Circuit found that it only owed...
September 12, 2017
Trials and Evidentiary Rulings

Affirmance in Drug Conspiracy Trial Considers Sufficiency of the Indictment and Evidentiary Rulings

United States v. Gill, No. 15-4444-cr(L) (Livingston, Chin, Carney), a decision in a drug trafficking and murder conspiracy appeal, offers several interesting rulings on evidentiary and trial practice issues that arose out of a 4-week trial.  As we often see,...
September 1, 2017
Sentencing

Second Circuit Vacates Sentence Based on Failure to Apply the Categorical Approach

In United States v. Genao, No. 16-924 (Katzmann, Lynch, Chin), the Second Circuit examined the application of the categorical approach to a prior burglary conviction that indisputably involved threats of physical harm but whose minimal elements arguably did not meet...
August 29, 2017
Trials and Evidentiary Rulings

Newman’s “Meaningfully Close Personal Relationship” Requirement No Longer Good Law

A divided Second Circuit panel (Katzmann, Pooler (dissenting), Chin) on Wednesday upheld the insider trading conviction of former SAC Capital portfolio manager Mathew Martoma.  Confronting its precedent in United States v. Newman, 773 F.3d 438 (2d Cir. 2014), for the...
August 25, 2017
Trials and Evidentiary Rulings

Divided Second Circuit Panel Upholds Martoma Conviction, Ruling that Newman’s “Meaningfully Close Personal Relationship” Requirement Is No Longer Good Law After Salman

In a highly anticipated decision, a divided Second Circuit panel (Katzmann, Pooler (dissenting), Chin) today upheld the insider trading conviction of former SAC Capital portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, ruling that the “meaningfully close personal relationship” requirement set out by the...
August 23, 2017
Fourth Amendment

Court Finds Condition of Supervised Release Invalid

In United States v. Browder, the Second Circuit (Cabranes, Lohier, Forrest, sitting by designation) has vacated in part an order finding that the defendant violated two conditions of supervised release. The Court’s decision sheds light on the respective roles of...
August 18, 2017
Jurisdiction and Procedure

Second Circuit Holds That “Rule of Specialty” Objection Belongs to Nations, Not Defendants

Last week, in Barinas v. United States, the Second Circuit held that a defendant who is extradited to the United States to face charges, pursuant to agreement with the asylum nation, may not raise the objection that the prosecution exceeds...
August 2, 2017
Habeas Corpus

Section 2255 Petition Challenging Ineffectiveness Of Trial Counsel Denied

Last week, in Weingarten v. United States, the Second Circuit denied the Section 2255 petition of a convicted child sex offender, who claimed that his counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to challenge the timeliness of the Government’s indictment. ...
August 1, 2017
White Collar Crime

Court Dispenses With Fraud Defense Based on Gumball Victims’ Disclaimers

The Chiclets and Runts vending machine at your local car repair shop last decade may have been one piece of a fraudulent enterprise that ensnarled roughly 7,000 victims.  As CEO of Vendstar, Defendant Edward (“Ned”) Weaver directed a scheme that...
July 26, 2017
Fourth Amendment

When A Police Stop Is Not A Stop

Yesterday the Second Circuit, in United States v. Huertas (15-4014) weighed in on the question of when a suspect’s brief encounter with police can support a finding that the suspect was “seized” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.  Judge...
July 25, 2017
Fifth Amendment

Convictions Reversed in LIBOR Case

On July 19, 2017, in United States v. Allen, et al. (16-cr-98) (Cabranes, Pooler, Lynch), the Second Circuit issued a decision reversing the convictions of defendants Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud...
July 24, 2017
Fifth Amendment

Convictions reversed in LIBOR case

On July 19, 2017, in United States v. Allen, et al. (16-cr-98) (Cabranes, Pooler, Lynch), the Second Circuit issued a decision reversing the convictions of defendants Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud...
July 19, 2017
White Collar Crime

Second Circuit Denies Public Access to Monitor’s Reports on Separation-of-Powers Grounds

In a decision that will provide reassurance both to prosecutors and to the institutions with whom they enter into deferred prosecution agreements (“DPAs”), the Second Circuit (Katzmann, Lynch, Pooler (concurring)) held in United States v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., No....
July 17, 2017
Sentencing

Court Remands Guidelines Sentence for Child Pornography Offenses Without Finding Procedural or Substantive Unreasonableness

In a summary order issued on July 11, 2017, United States v. Burghardt, No. 16-949(L) (Katzmann, Pooler, Lynch), the Second Circuit remanded a 322-month Guidelines sentence for distribution and receipt of child pornography for “further consideration” by the district court. ...
July 13, 2017
Honest Services Fraud

Silver Conviction Vacated Due To Jury Instructions

This morning the Second Circuit (Cabranes, Wesley, Sessions, D.J.) released an opinion vacating the conviction of Sheldon Silver and remanding the case to the district court for further proceedings including a retrial.  The Second Circuit concluded that the evidence of guilt...
July 13, 2017

Page 5 of 8

About Our Blog

The Second Circuit Criminal Law Blog is your place to follow the criminal law decisions rendered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. With a rich 225-year history of legendary judges like Learned Hand and Henry Friendly, the Second Circuit has long been known for writing important and thoughtful opinions on many subjects, including the criminal law. We review every published criminal law opinion handed down by the Second Circuit in order to provide you with a summary of the holding, an assessment of the key legal issues, and practice pointers based on the Court’s ruling. Our focus is on white-collar criminal cases and matters relating to internal investigations. Our blog is written by a team of experienced attorneys, including many former law clerks for the Second Circuit and other federal courts. The blog’s editor in chief is a former Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York who has appeared in more than 100 Second Circuit criminal appeals.

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Editor in Chief

  • Contact Harry Sandick.

    Harry Sandick

    212.336.2723

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Blog Contributors

  • Contact Anna Cox.

    Anna Cox

    212.336.2027

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  • Contact Daniel Feder.

    Daniel Feder

    212.336.2236

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  • Contact Joshua Kipnees.

    Joshua Kipnees

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  • Contact Ryan J. Kurtz.

    Ryan J. Kurtz

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  • Contact Jane Metcalf.

    Jane Metcalf

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  • Contact Hilarie Meyers.

    Hilarie Meyers

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  • Contact Madeline More Lane.

    Madeline More Lane

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  • Contact Clinton W. Morrison.

    Clinton W. Morrison

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  • Contact Maggie O'Neil.

    Maggie O'Neil

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  • Contact Faust Petkovich.

    Faust Petkovich

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  • Contact Anna Petrocelli.

    Anna Petrocelli

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  • Contact Harry Sandick.

    Harry Sandick

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  • Contact Nicole Scully.

    Nicole Scully

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  • Contact Isaiah Strong.

    Isaiah Strong

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Firm News
Barbara Mullin Named Among Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 Top 250 Women in Litigation
Partner Barbara Mullin has been named one of Benchmark Litigation’s 2026 Top 250 Women in Litigation. The ranking uses an extensive research process, including “months of investigation into individual litigators’ professional activities as well as client feedback surveys and one-on-one interviews” to identify women who are “top players” in their field. To learn more, please click here.
Event
Stephanie Bunting Glaser to Speak on SECPI Webinar
On Tuesday, September 22, Counsel Stephanie Bunting Glaser will speak on a Strengthening Evaluation Contracting Partnerships Initiative webinar titled "Gathering Space for Strengthening Evaluation Partnerships." Ms. Glaser will reflect on how evaluation firms can protect their intellectual property and the role of intellectual property contract clauses. To learn more, please click here.
Event
Clint Morrison to Speak at Association of Corporate Counsel NYC Strategic Counsel Summit
On Tuesday, September 22, Partner Clint Morrison will speak on a panel at the Association of Corporate Counsel NYC's 2026 Strategic Counsel Summit titled "Privilege and Ethical Implications of the In-House Use of GenAI Tools." Mr. Morrison will join Norman Greenberg (Deputy Chief Legal Office Managing Director and General Counsel for Credit and Real Estate, Sculptor Capital) and Sarah Kalin (Deputy General Counsel, Arevon) for a CLE program exploring legal trends relating to the intersection of attorney-client privilege and materials created by in-house lawyers and their non-lawyer colleagues through generative AI tools.  To learn more, please click here.
Firm News
Firm Secures Complete Patent Litigation Victory on Behalf of J&J
On August 31, 2026, Patterson Belknap secured a victory on behalf of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) in a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement litigation relating to Spravato®, its blockbuster esketamine nasal spray approved for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation. This litigation was initiated after an ANDA filing by Sandoz, Inc. (“Sandoz”) in 2023, seeking FDA approval for its generic version of Spravato. Janssen asserted that Sandoz’s proposed generic product would infringe certain claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 11,446,260, 10,869,844; 11,173,134; and 11,311,500.  Sandoz counterclaimed for declaratory judgment that each of the asserted patent claims was invalid under 35 U.S.C. §103 and/or § 112.  On August 31, 2026, the U.S. District...
Publication
New York State Overhauls Employee Access to Workplace Records
Employers in New York State will soon face extensive mandates that grant New York employees unprecedented access to their personnel records. By November 8, 2026, employers must provide employees with copies of their personnel records within five days of request, notify employees when certain negative information is added to their files, and comply with new recordkeeping obligations. In a major expansion of employee rights, employers must also allow employees to dispute information contained in their file. Background On September 9, 2026, Governor Hochul signed New York Senate Bill S3460 into law, effective November 8, 2026. The law is codified at New York Labor Law § 210-b. Prior to this legislation, an employee’s personnel file was generally considered the property of the employer,...
Publication
DOJ Issues Press Release on Liability for Unregistered Foreign Agents
On September 16, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a press release “remind[ing] the public of federal laws that require individuals to register as foreign agents when they act in the United States at the direction or control of a foreign government or foreign principal, and that they will face civil and criminal liability if they fail to do so.” The press release points specifically to two federal laws that require such registration: the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq., and 18 U.S.C. § 951. The press release is a departure from former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s February 5, 2025 memorandum to DOJ employees, which directed that criminal charges under FARA should be limited...
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