by Dale Chappell
For the first time since 1862, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided a record low number of regular-docket cases – just 52. But that doesn’t mean the highest court in the land wasn’t busy. In fact, it was busier than ever, handing down decisions under the cover ...
by Dale Chappell
The Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, granted habeas relief on April 3, 2020, in a case where appellate counsel failed to request a jury instruction that could have led to a lesser included conviction, requiring the vacatur of a murder conviction.
Jonathan Hampton filed ...
by Dale Chappell
The art of withdrawing a guilty plea comes down to which phase of the criminal proceeding the guilty plea is at when the motion to withdraw is filed. The phases are: (1) prior to it being accepted by the court, (2) after acceptance but before sentencing, and ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that a prisoner immediately released under the First Step Act of 2018 could not “bank” the extra time spent in prison toward a future prison sentence imposed in the event of a supervised release revocation.
While the ...
by Dale Chappell
When a prisoner uses his one good shot at habeas corpus relief in federal court, it can be disheartening when the law that foreclosed relief changes after the case has been closed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has clarified when Federal Rule of ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of California, on July 20, 2020, established a new time limit for filing subsequent habeas corpus petitions in state courts that clarifies when a state petition is “pending” to toll the harsh one-year clock for filing a habeas petition in federal court.
Almost nine ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit publishes more orders denying “second or successive” habeas corpus petitions (“SOS applications”) than any other Circuit, and it then uses those published cases against every litigant who comes before the court, even those on direct appeal. The practice ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of California vacated a life without parole (“LWOP”) sentence imposed in a first-degree murder conviction, applying its recent decisions clarifying a “special circumstance” to allow such a sentence and instructing that those decisions apply retroactively for habeas corpus relief.
A decade ago, a jury ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled on July 22, 2020, that when a “covered offense” under the First Step Act is reduced, a non-covered offense may also be reduced to achieve the purposes of sentencing, reiterating that any covered offense allows a court ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted permission for a state prisoner to file a second or successive (“SOS”) habeas corpus petition in the federal court to attack a three-decade-old murder conviction based on newly discovered evidence.
On August 23, 1985, a mother of ...
