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Hawaii Supreme Court Vacates Conviction Due to Prosecutor’s Bogus Argument Attacking Defense Counsel
by Matt Clarke
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of Hawaii held that a prosecutor’s improper closing argument stating that defense counsel tried to get the complaining witness to commit perjury required that a conviction be vacated.
A jury convicted Brian Underwood of second-degree unlawful imprisonment and abuse of ...
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More from this issue:
- How Coercive Interrogations Can Lead to a False Confession, by Brian Leslie
- $9 Million Settlement in Baltimore Wrongful Conviction Case, by Christopher Zoukis
- Fifth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Granted to Louisiana Prisoner Who Overcame SOL by ‘Credible Showing of Actual Innocence’, by Christopher Zoukis
- Minneapolis Police Used EMS Staff to Drug Certain Suspects, Report Says, by Betty Nelander
- U.S. Supreme Court: Drivers of Rental Cars Not on Rental Agreement Have Expectation of Privacy, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: ‘Force’ for Aggravated Sexual Abuse Requires ‘Physical Force,’ Not Psychological Coercion, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Supreme Court’s Carpenter Decision a Warning to Police on Warrantless Data Searches, by Derek Gilna
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Process by Which Insanity Acquittees May Petition for Release, by Christopher Zoukis
- SCOTUS’ Unanimous Death-Penalty Jury Verdict Decision Affecting Florida Cases, by Derek Gilna
- New Kansas Law Compensates Those Wrongfully Convicted, by Dale Chappell
- Georgia Defense Attorney Wins Another ‘Jury-Nullification’ Case, by Derek Gilna
- New Jersey Appellate Division Extends Urbina Self-Defense Rule to Defense of Others in Plea Allocution, by David Reutter
- Virginia Supreme Court Holds Convictions for Common Law and Statutory Involuntary Manslaughter Violate Double Jeopardy Clause, by Dale Chappell
- Cato Institute: Require Cops to Carry Liability Insurance, by Christopher Zoukis
- SCOTUS Issues Landmark Fourth Amendment and Digital Privacy Opinion in Carpenter
- Eighth Circuit Rules Officer’s Inability to Read Temporary Vehicle Tag Does Not Justify Traffic Stop, Evidence Obtained Must be Suppressed, by Christopher Zoukis
- First Circuit Holds Appeal Not Barred by Plea Agreement Waiver Provision When Sentence Exceeds Agreement, by David Reutter
- New York City Decriminalizes Some Public Smoking of Marijuana in Policy Shift, by Derek Gilna
- Can Cops Shoot a Fleeing Suspect in the Back?, by Dale Chappell
- Texas Courts Rubber Stamp Post-Conviction Fact Findings in Death Penalty Cases, Study Says, by Matthew Clarke
- New Jersey AG Intervenes in Possible Wrongful Conviction Case, Considers Reforms, by Christopher Zoukis
- Hawaii Supreme Court Vacates Conviction Due to Prosecutor’s Bogus Argument Attacking Defense Counsel, by Matthew Clarke
- Drug Detection Using Fingerprints in the Works, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Reverses Relevant Conduct Firearm Enhancement Because No Connection Between Possession Charges Based on Two Separate Shootouts, by Christopher Zoukis
- Kansas Supreme Court: Deadly Weapon-Use Finding Prerequisite to Imposing Violent Offender Registration Requirement, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner Convicted of First-Degree Murder Without Evidence of Specific Intent to Kill, by Christopher Zoukis
- Why Sex Offender Registries Keep Growing Even as Sexual Violence Rates Fall, by Steven Yoder
- NYPD’s Lack of Disciplinary Record Transparency Frustrates Prosecutors, by Betty Nelander
- Maryland’s Top Court Rules Actual Notice by Trial Judge Unnecessary to Trigger Hearing Requirement On Defendant’s Request to Replace Defense Counsel, by Christopher Zoukis
- Immigration Authorities Seize Wrongfully Convicted Man After Release, by Matthew Clarke
- Chicago Tries to Reduce Deficit at its Poorer Citizens’ Expense, by Edward Lyon
- Kansas (Finally) Outlaws Sex Between Cops and Detained Citizens
- California Property Owners Billed for Their Own Prosecution, by Christopher Zoukis
- What Some Prison Sentence Lengths Actually Reflect, by Edward Lyon
- Trial Lawyer Advocates ‘Jury Nullification’ To Acquit the Unjustly Accused, by Derek Gilna
- Academic Paper Highlights Need to Tighten Rules for Fingerprint Evidence in Light of False-Positive Error Rate, by Steve Horn
- New York City Gang Database Increases 70 Percent Since 2014, by Derek Gilna
- South Dakota Supreme Court Rules that Trial Court Cannot Reject a Plea Agreement It Already Implicitly Accepted, by Christopher Zoukis
- New Mexico Supreme Court: Seriousness of Charged Crime Itself Not Sufficient to Deny Defendant Pretrial Release, by Dale Chappell
- Iowa Supreme Court: Relief from Conviction Not Required When Suing for Legal Malpractice Based on Wrongful Sentence, by Dale Chappell
- South Dakota Supreme Court Announces Search Incident to Arrest Exception to Warrant Requirement Does Not Apply to Collection of Urine Sample Upon Arrest, by Dale Chappell
- Armed and Dangerous: If Police Don’t Have to Protect the Public, What Good Are They?, by John W. Whitehead
- There’s No Rational Way to Justify America’s Drug Laws, by Maia Szalavitz
- News in Brief
- Secondary DNA Transfer: The Rarely Discussed Phenomenon That Can Place the Innocent (and the Dead) at a Crime Scene They’ve Never Been To, by Christopher Zoukis
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Texas Social Workers Challenge Blanket Denial of State Occupational License Based on Youthful Assault Convictions, Aug. 1, 2025
- After Judge’s Letter, at Least 22 Former FCI Dublin Prisoners Granted Compassionate Release, Aug. 1, 2025
- Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Award of Time Served Credit for Non-Citizen Awaiting Extradition, Aug. 1, 2025
- Former Oregon Prison Guard Sergeant Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Imprisoned Women, Aug. 1, 2025
- Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Procedure for Crediting Jail Time to Multiple Contemporaneously-Imposed Sentences, Aug. 1, 2025
- Over One-Third of Older Texas Prisoners Suffering Cognitive Impairment, July 15, 2025
- Kansas Supreme Court Revives Prisoner’s Challenge to Loss of Parental Rights, June 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Baha’i Texas Prisoner’s Dietary Claim, June 1, 2025
- $5.6 Million Settlement for California Prisoner’s Wife Strip-searched During Visit, June 1, 2025
- Academic Study of Prison Guards’ Use of Excessive Force Details Sad State of Civil Rights for Abused Prisoners, June 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- California Attorney Disbarred for Deceiving Prisoners Seeking Resentencing, Aug. 1, 2025. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Attorney Misconduct, Counsel - Effective Assistance of.
- Nebraska Supreme Court Spanks Attorney General, Orders Felons Be Allowed to Vote, March 1, 2025. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Attorney Misconduct, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, Feb. 15, 2025. Prosecutors, Wrongful Conviction, Prior Convictions - Expungement or Reversal of, Improper Comment.
- Texas Prosecutor Gets Fine, Probated Bar Suspension After Jailing Woman for Abortion, Aug. 15, 2024. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Abortion, Attorney Misconduct, Fines.
- Prosecutors Receive Absurdly Lenient Sentence of Probation for Brady Violation That Resulted in an Innocent Man Spending More Than Four Years in Prison, July 15, 2024. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Attorney Discipline, Brady Rule violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- Reform-Minded Prosecutors Face Backlash for Prosecuting Bad Cops, June 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Prosecutors, Police/Govt Misconduct, Criticism of Government.
- What Happens When Prosecutors Offer Opposing Versions of the Truth?, April 15, 2024. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Commentary/Reviews, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Outrageous Government Misconduct, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- $2.9 Million Paid by Maryland to Exonerated Former Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2024. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Pardons/Clemency, Attorney Discipline.
- Natural Language Processing Software Can Identify Biased Jury Selection, Has Potential to Be Used in Real Time During Voir Dire, Dec. 15, 2023. Racial Discrimination, Commentary/Reviews, Prosecutors, Batson Claims.
- Former AZ Assistant AG Disciplined for Misconduct in Muslim Prisoner’s Lawsuit, Jan. 1, 2022. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Religious Discrimination, Religious Diet.