by David M. Reutter
The Supreme Court of Kansas ruled that the “noisy conduct” provision in a Wichita ordinance is unconstitutionally overbroad under the First Amendment. The Court severed the provision from the constitutional “fighting words” provision in the same subsection.
Before the Court was the appeal of Gabrielle Griffie, ...
by David M. Reutter
he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held a defendant’s guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary due to trial counsel’s misrepresentation that all minorities would be removed from the jury, resulting in a trial before exclusively white jurors. The case was remanded to ...
by David M. Reutter
The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, issued a writ of mandate directing a trial court to grant a defendant’s request for mental health diversion. At issue was the application of Stats. 2018, ch. 1005, which recognizes that incarceration of certain persons with ...
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a defendant’s guilty plea because it was entered without an understanding of the consequences. The basis for the Court’s ruling rested upon the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and plea agreement ...
by David M. Reutter
The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth District, held that a violation of a prisoner’s constitutional and statutory rights to be personally present at an evidentiary hearing to determine if Senate Bill 1437 prohibits him from being charged with felony murder. Finding the error was not ...
by David M. Reutter
With the rate of Americans who have a felony conviction steadily increasing as a result of the incarcerative state’s policies, corporate entities are experiencing a change of heart towards those with criminal records. In fact, many corporations say felons are often the most dependable, loyal, and ...
by David M. Reutter
It is often said that life imitates art. When it comes to electronic monitoring (“EM”), your friendly, neighborhood Spiderman was a major influence for the idea to use an electronic device to track the location of persons entangled within the criminal justice and immigration systems. The ...
by David M. Reutter
In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that “a defendant constructively is deprived of his or her constitutional right to counsel under art. 12 [of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights] where trial counsel sleeps for a significant portion of during an ...
by David M. Reutter
In a case of first impression, the Vermont Supreme Court held “that in determining whether the criminal court would have accepted a plea agreement,” the Post-Conviction Relief (“PCR”) “court can consider only evidence that was available to the criminal court at the time it would have ...
by David M. Reutter
The Court of Appeals of New York held a trial court erred in admitting evidence of prior bad acts evidence. It further concluded the error was not harmless and reversed, ordering a new trial.
Sebastian Telfair was arrested in June 2017 after a traffic stop, during ...
