by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of California held that Penal Code § 1473.7(a)(1)’s error inquiry considers all relevant evidence to determine what a defendant actually understood when entering a plea. The statute protects the ability to “meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept” actual or potential immigration …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Idaho unanimously held that competing affidavits concerning whether the defendant accepted a plea offer created a genuine issue of material fact precluding summary disposition of his ineffective-assistance claim. The Court also held that postconviction counsel’s statements while seeking to withdraw were …
by Douglas Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut plainly erred by increasing the defendant’s sentence, partly for not helping recover trafficked firearms and by invoking three circumstances used to calculate the Guidelines …
by Douglas Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the defendant’s Hobbs Act robbery and firearm-brandishing convictions and remanded for a new trial. The Court held that conditioning jury inspection of the tattoos on Valencia’s hands on his testimony infringed the Fifth Amendment …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that R.C. 2953.73(D) is satisfied when a postconviction DNA-testing order identifies the statutory ground supporting acceptance or rejection. The statute does not additionally demand factual findings or an explanation of the trial court’s analysis. Because the order invoked the …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously held that a trial court confronted with a substantive challenge to expert fingerprint testimony must assess the evidence’s reliability before admitting it and may not discharge its gatekeeping obligation by relying on a century of judicial acceptance. Because …
by Douglas Ankney
Sitting en banc, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that all parents, including a parent convicted of possessing child pornography, enjoy a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment to live with their children so that legislation burdening that right is …
by Douglas Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a court may examine an individual officer’s subjective purpose in assessing whether a warrantless administrative inspection was a pretext for a criminal investigation, rejecting the Government’s contention that such inquiries are confined to …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of the United States held that the Government’s prosecution of Ali Danial Hemani under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), based solely on his regular marijuana use and without individualized proof that his use rendered him dangerous, is inconsistent with the Second Amendment. Under …
by Douglas Ankney
In a matter of first impression, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, held that a trial court must permit a defendant who exercises the right to a jury trial on aggravating circumstances under Penal Code § 1170(b)(2) the opportunity to argue to the …
