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Articles by Dale Chappell

Cops Seize Almost $150,000 from Black Musician for Not Using His Turn Signal

by Dale Chappell

How much does a ticket for not using your turn signal “a full 100 feet” before making a lane change cost in Oklahoma County? Apparently, all the cash you have in your car, if you’re a wealthy black entertainer who is mistaken for a drug dealer ...

Facial Recognition Gives Police Easier Access to Cellphones

by Dale Chappell

Facial recognition might make a cellphone more secure than a simple password, but it also gives the police less work to do if they want to search that phone. 

By switching from a password to facial recognition or other biometric security gateway, people are unwittingly shifting ...

Federal Judge Denies Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Detained Motorist for Giving Them the Finger

by Dale Chappell

Can police conduct a traffic stop simply because someone in the car gave them the finger? The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia held that they cannot, allowing a lawsuit to move forward in just such a case. 

When Brian Clark and some ...

Expert Report Urges Changes to Forensic Analysis in Courtrooms

by Dale Chappell

Instead of subjective personal experiences, a new report by experts urges prosecutors and forensic experts to rely more on hard data and statistics to back evidence in a criminal case. A defendant’s life might rely on it. Literally. 

“If you’re overstating or understating the value of ...

Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?

by Brandon Sample, Esq., and Dale Chappell

Question: I think my lawyer represented me poorly. How do I know if I have a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel?

Perhaps the most common question after a person’s conviction and sentence sinks in is whether their lawyer did all ...

FBI Reviewing Four Incidents of Excessive Force at Mesa, Arizona, PD in Just Four Months

by Dale Chappell

The FBI is reviewing four incidents of excessive force by Mesa, Arizona, police officers in the span of just four months, some after an “independent” investigation cleared the involved officers of any wrongdoing.

In one incident that occurred May 23, 2018, Mesa police were investigating a domestic ...

First Circuit: Sentencing Courts May Consider New Career Offender Guideline Amendment 798, Even Though Not Retroactive

by Dale Chappell

In a case where a defendant was sentenced when the career offender guideline still contained the so-called residual clause, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a sentencing court has the discretion to ignore the career offender penalty in light of the ...

Nevada Supreme Court Clarifies, Narrows Nonhearsay Rule Under NRS 51.135(2)

by Dale Chappell

An out-of-court statement is not hearsay only if the person making the statement is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement, the Nevada Supreme Court instructed, clarifying and narrowing the application of when nonhearsay statements are admissible at trial.

After Kirsten Kinard identified Dvontae Richard as the man ...

Sixth Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity Claim in Malicious Prosecution Suit for Wrongful Arrest and Conviction Involving Multiple Lies by Police

by Dale Chappell

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the denial of summary judgment filed by Detroit police in a lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution and false arrest, after police lied in order to obtain a conviction. The Court’s decision allows the lawsuit to move forward in ...

Ninth Circuit Holds Juror Who Wouldn’t Unequivocally State She Could Be Impartial Should Have Been Excused; New Trial Ordered Because Biased Juror Can’t Be Harmless Error

by Dale Chappell

In a case where a juror did not unequivocally state that she could be unbiased because she had previously been a victim in a similar crime, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the juror should have been excused for actual bias and ...

 

 

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