by David Kim
he Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the exclusion of expert testimony regarding Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (“SBS/AHT”) in cases alleging shaking without impact, holding that the State failed to demonstrate the necessary general acceptance under the Frye standard. The Court reasoned that because …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada’s dismissal of a federal habeas petition as untimely, holding that equitable tolling applied under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) where …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that while the abandonment doctrine applies to cellphones, courts must analyze the intent to abandon the physical device separately from the intent to abandon its data – and should not reflexively conflate the two. …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the one-year time limit for filing a sentence-reduction motion under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b)(1) is a nonjurisdictional claim-processing rule that may be waived, overruling its decision in United States v. McDowell, …
by David Kim
The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that a buccal swab collected from a criminal defendant pursuant to a district court discovery order under Minnesota Rule of Criminal Procedure 9.02, subdivision 2(1)(f), rather than a search warrant, constituted an unconstitutional search requiring suppression of the resulting …
by David Kim
The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine held that waiver of the privilege against compelled self-incrimination under article I, section 6 of the Maine Constitution must be “clear and unequivocal,” and under this standard, the defendant did not waive his privilege because his responses during the …
by David Kim
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the phrase “commencement of the instant offense” for calculating the 10-year criminal history look-back period under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”) § 4A1.2(e)(2) unambiguously refers to the start of the specific offense of conviction, …
“He who controls the food supply controls the people; he who controls the energy can control whole continents; he who controls money can control the world.” – Widely Attributed to Henry Kissinger
Introduction to Central Bank Digital Currencies
Central banks around the world have long issued money in physical form, but the rise of digital technologies has spurred them to explore new frontiers, such as a Central Bank Digital Currency (“CBDC”), a digital version of a nation’s fiat money issued and backed directly by the central bank. Proponents herald CBDCs as the next evolution of money, a digital counterpart to physical cash, promising a more efficient financial landscape: reduced transaction fees, streamlined e-commerce and international transfers, and greater financial inclusion for the unbanked. They envision a “digital banknote” for an increasingly digital world, fostering innovation and modernizing payment systems. Yet these promises conceal a sinister reality. CBDCs are not a mere upgrade to our financial infrastructure – they represent a seismic transformation of money itself, centralizing unprecedented power in the hands of governments and threatening financial privacy and individual liberty on an unimaginable scale.
Imagine an ordinary citizen, Jane, buying coffee with a CBDC. Unlike …
On April 30, 2025, the United States Sentencing Commission submitted amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines to Congress, set to take effect on November 1, 2025, absent congressional action. These amendments address two significant circuit court conflicts concerning the application of robbery guidelines and criminal history calculations. This article …
As state after state abandons the failed experiment of marijuana prohibition, a critical public safety challenge remains largely unaddressed: how do we accurately and fairly identify individuals whose cannabis use has rendered them dangerously impaired behind the wheel or in safety-sensitive workplaces? Dr. William J. McNichol’s paper in …
