by Christopher Zoukis
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that a supervised release revocation sentence was plainly unreasonable. The Court concluded that it was not reasonable for a district court to fail to address nonfrivolous arguments advanced by a defendant arguing for a particular revocation sentence. ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled on October 2, 2017 that a raised middle finger, without more, amounts to constitutionally protected speech that cannot be grounds for a finding of criminal disorderly conduct.
David Freeman attended a church service at the Flowery Branch campus of the 12 Stones ...
by Christopher Zoukis
A study published in the scholarly journal Nature Human Behavior has established a connection between proactive policing and crime. But it is not the connection that proponents of proactive policing may have expected. The authors of the study found that temporary cessation of proactive policing actually led ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that field sobriety tests (“FSTs”) may not be used as definitive evidence of impairment in cases involving allegations of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. The Court also ruled that FSTs are admissible as contemporaneous observations of the ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Georgia Supreme Court sent a message to prosecutors in an October 2, 2017 opinion: A police officer’s testimony as to a defendant’s performance on a horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”) test cannot, by itself, establish a numeric blood alcohol content level.
The HGN test is one of ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Nevada Supreme Court ruled on September 14, 2017 that double jeopardy bars retrial of a criminal defendant when a prosecutor intentionally engages in egregious and improper conduct that causes prejudice to the defendant which cannot be cured by means short of a mistrial.
The case before ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on September 11, 2017 that the crime of unlawful sexual contact is a lesser included offense of sexual assault, meaning the two must merge.
This was the second case dealing with lesser included offenses decided by the Supreme Court on the same ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on September 11, 2017 that the crime of unlawful sexual contact is a lesser included offense of sexual assault, meaning the two must merge.
This was the second case dealing with lesser included offenses decided by the Supreme Court on the same ...
A Florida jury found for the plaintiff in a false arrest claim on February 28, 2013. The plaintiff, Dale Picardat, Jr., alleged that he was accosted by Miami Beach police officer Glenn Teboe when he was walking to his ex-girlfriend's house to install hurricane shutters. Because Picardat was carrying a ...
A six person federal jury found for the plaintiff in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 excessive force case on January 29, 2013.
The plaintiff, Gwendolyn Evans, claimed that San Antonio, Texas police officers Felipe Ramos and James Schneider violated her civil rights on December 10, 2009. According to her lawsuit, ...
