by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s vacatur of Bruce Carneil Webster’s death sentence based on newly discovered evidence that Webster was intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty.
In 1998, the U. ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana’s opinion that found a provision of Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act (“SORA”) requiring registration of Plaintiffs who relocated to Indiana after SORA’s enactment violated their right to travel ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of Maryland affirmed a decision of the Court of Special Appeals (“COSA”) that held police officers from the Maryland Transit Administration (“MTA”) violated Kennard Carter’s Fourth Amendment protections from illegal searches and seizures when the officers conducted a fare sweep.
Carter was on ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit determined that Dennis v. Sec’y, 834 F.3d 263 (3d Cir. 2016), altered the Circuit’s jurisprudence regarding “Brady claims” [Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)] such that the claims are timely filed pursuant to ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the use of an un-Mirandized statement against a defendant in a criminal proceeding violates the defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights and may support a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Terence Tekoh gave a written statement ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of California held that Senate Bill 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (“SB 1437”) bars a conviction for second-degree murder predicated on the natural and probable consequences (“NPC”) doctrine, but the ameliorative provisions of SB 1437 are available exclusively via a petition pursuant to California Penal ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a police officer testified as an expert without first being qualified by the court at the trial of Rod L. Jones, Sr. The Court also held that 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 overruled, in part, Commonwealth v. Dunkle, 602 A.2d ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled that an in-chambers hearing held to address questions surrounding defense counsel’s fitness to proceed is a critical stage of proceedings that entitle the defendant to be present with conflict-free representation.
Terrence Downs was tried on numerous felonies, including murder, for the ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey announced its adoption of the framework articulated by the California Supreme Court in People v. Luttenberger, 784 P.2d 633 (Cal. 1990), for situations where a defendant requests material not subject to discovery by rule in order to challenge the veracity ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina’s special conditions of release that banned legal pornography and all internet access were overbroad and not reasonably related to the objectives of 18 U.S.C. § ...
