by Christopher Zoukis
The Supreme Court of New Mexico reversed a defendant’s convictions for shooting at a dwelling resulting in death or great bodily harm and conspiracy to shoot at a dwelling based on a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause contained in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on January 29, 2018, that California’s carjacking law, Penal Code § 215(a), no longer constitutes a crime of violence under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F) in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The number of death row sentences handed out across the country is in decline. Despite this trend, death rows remain crowded. This is the result of a similar, but somewhat unrelated shift: Executions are also in a state of free fall. In fact, there were fewer executions ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that a convicted defendant is entitled to appointed counsel, pursuant to statute, for one review of his or her conviction—even if that review is on a petition for postconviction relief, as opposed to a direct appeal. The Court’s January 24, 2018 ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on March 15, 2018, that a claim for prosecutorial misconduct, brought by a wrongfully convicted defendant, does not accrue for statute of limitations purposes when the conviction is vacated, but when the criminal proceedings are terminated. ...
by Christopher Zoukis
Corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department led local prosecutors to prepare a list of cops who had engaged in misconduct, including excessive force, drinking on duty, and lying to investigators. The list contains 66 names and was referred to by prosecutors as the “Do Not Call” list ...
by Christopher Zoukis
Law enforcement agencies nationwide are employing technology, designed for military use in foreign lands, in order to track the location of U.S. citizens on American soil. And authorities — all the way up to the FBI — have gone to great lengths to hide the surveillance system ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The city of San Bernardino, California, along with two of its police officers who shot and killed Jerriel Dashawn Allen, agreed to a settlement of $575,000 with Allen's family, which included his parents and two minor children.
On April 14, 2007, San Bernardino Police Officers Adam ...
by Christopher Zoukis
The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed a criminal restitution order because the trial judge misapplied statutory and constitutional law in determining the amount ordered.
On February 27, 2017, Lukas Kostelecky was arrested for criminal mischief, a Class C felony, after damaging a copy machine at New Town ...
by Christopher Zoukis
An FBI report published in August 2017, and leaked two months later, identified a movement it refers to as “black identity extremists” as a new addition to the growing number of groups the agency considers possible domestic terrorists.
According to McClatchyDC.com, the report defines black identity extremists ...
