by David Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled a one-legged woman exonerated of murder can sue a Kentucky State Police (“KSP”) detective whom the woman charged framed her. In connection with her case, a Louisville Metro Police Department (“LMPD”) detective who was integral in her ...
by David Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment on an excessive force claim in which police officers shot a man 10 times, killing him.
On March 29, 2013, Kansas City, Missouri police officers Megan Gates and Kevin Colhour responded to ...
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) determined that two Louisiana police agencies utilized unconstitutional “investigative holds.” The practice was used by the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office (“EPSO”) and the Ville Platte Police Department (“VPPD”) to arrest and hold people in jail without obtaining a warrant and ...
by David Reutter
In response to a federal district court’scertified questions of law, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that when imposing split confinement sentences under the Tennessee Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, a trial judge is authorized to fix a percentage that the defendant must serve in actual confinement before ...
by David M. Reutter
Following the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), which concluded that Florida’s death penalty sentencing scheme violated the Sixth Amendment and was thus unconstitutional, the state’s death machine came to a screeching halt and was in complete disarray ...
By David M. Reutter
The initiative by Equal Justice Under Law to end the incarceration pending trial of persons too poor to post bail is reaping positive outcomes. Each day, there are about 500,00 human beings who languish in an American jail due to their inability to post a money ...
By David Reutter
A Michigan federal district court held that an Eaton County, Michigan Sheriff's sergeant had "arguable probable cause" to stop and detain a motorist for flashing his high beams at him as they passed. The court also held the officer had reasonable grounds to arrest the motorist when ...
by David Reutter
District of Columbia Court of Appeals held the former chairman of the United States Parole Commission was entitled to qualified immunity in a prisoner's lawsuit alleging that his denials of parole were infected by unconstitutional decision making.
Prisoner Jesse R. Redmond, Jr., was convicted in 1996 of ...
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Alabama prisoner failed to state a claim against the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), when he alleged that its application of a 2011 sex offender (S.O.) statute to his 2005 conviction violated his procedural and substantive due process rights and his ...
by David Reutter
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal held that a Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) policy prohibiting all of its K9 handlers and line employees from discussing its K9 program with any non-departmental entity violated NHP troopers' rights to freedom of speech. The violation involved a well-established constitutional right, ...
