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 …
by Douglas Ankney
In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirming the denial of federal habeas relief to Florida death row prisoner Gary Richard Whitton, holding that the Court of …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia vacated a circuit court order that accepted a defendant’s 20-year-old guilty plea and imposed sentence under a binding plea agreement, holding that the circuit court erred by concluding the agreement’s binding nature eliminated its discretion to allow …
by Douglas Ankney
In resolving a split among the Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court of California unanimously held that defendants who agreed to upper term sentences as part of plea bargains may seek the retroactive benefit of amended Penal Code § 1170, subdivision (b), which requires that …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Michigan unanimously held that its prior decision in People v. Betts, 968 N.W.2d 497 (Mich. 2021), applies retroactively to defendants seeking relief on collateral review under both federal and state constitutional law. Betts declared the 2011 version of Michigan’s Sex Offenders …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of South Carolina unanimously reversed the denial of Richard Alexander Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial and remanded for a new trial after his convictions for murdering his wife and son and for two weapons offenses, holding that improper communications by Colleton …
