by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a nearly 20-year sentence after the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas cited what the Government might have been able to prove (but didn’t) to justify imposing a sentence that was almost eight times ...
by Dale Chappell
Wouldn’t it be nice if the U.S. Supreme Court actually said when its decision constitutes a new rule and whether it applies retroactively? If only things were so easy.
I remember the first time I heard a lawyer say that a new Supreme Court decision wasn’t a ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Colorado held on December 14, 2020, that dividing up multiple images of child pornography in order to charge a defendant with multiple counts of possession of child pornography violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of both the Colorado and U.S. Constitutions.
The case came ...
by Dale Chappell
The fired San Francisco Police Department (“SFPD”) officer who shot and killed an unarmed carjacking suspect in December 2017 faces multiple charges, including manslaughter, by the new district attorney who vowed to hold police accountable.
The incident happened when SFPD officer Christopher Samayoa was riding with his ...
by Dale Chappell
In a case that hinged on the time of death to convict the defendant, the Supreme Court of California granted habeas corpus relief where defense counsel failed to obtain an expert to testify on the time of death.
In 2005, Kimberly Long was convicted of second-degree murder ...
by Dale Chappell
In a case where the Government failed to prove that firearm enhancements applied at sentencing, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee was required to take a fresh look at the case and ...
by Dale Chappell
In a question of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated an enhanced sentence that was based on the “use of a minor to commit a crime” provision under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”) § 3B1.4, where the defendant merely purchased a firearm ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held on December 9, 2020, that as long as one of the drugs in a multidrug offense involved crack cocaine, the offense still qualifies as a “covered offense” for the First Step Act’s retroactive crack sentence reductions.
It ...
by Dale Chappell
In a case reiterating the Court’s hard rule that every claim must be addressed in a habeas petition before it is disposed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held on November 13, 2020, that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama’s ...
by Dale Chappell
In a decision highlighting the deference to state court decisions under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), the Supreme Court of the United States held on December 14, 2020, that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit failed to give a state court ...
