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Articles by Douglas Ankney

Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Conspiracy

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to enforce an appeal waiver where the defendant stood convicted and imprisoned for conduct that, due to developments in the law after he pleaded guilty, did not violate 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and was not criminal, and ...

First Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Based Upward Variant From Sentencing Guidelines Range on New Information Not Already in the Record at the Time of Sentencing

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found plain error where the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico based an upward variance from the Guidelines range on new information not already in the record at the time of sentencing.

In 2011, Angel ...

Indiana Supreme Court: Petitioner Entitled to File Belated Appeal More Than 21 Years After Conviction, Holding He Acted ‘Promptly’

by Douglas Ankney

The Supreme Court of Indiana held that Charlie D. Leshore, Jr., was entitled to file a belated appeal more than 21 years after his conviction because the trial court and Leshore’s attorneys failed to advise him of his right to appeal his sentence and because he promptly ...

Fourth Circuit Announces Rehaif Applies to All § 922(g) Firearms-Possession Offenses and Applies Retroactively to Initial § 2255 Motions

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the holding of Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), applies retroactively to cases on collateral review and applies to convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of ...

Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses 11 Counts of Possession of Child Pornography Because CGI Images Do Not Depict Image of a Child

by Douglas Ankney

The Supreme Court of Arkansas reversed the convictions against Jeremey Lewis on 11 counts of “distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child” because the images were computer-generated imagery (“CGI”) and did not depict or incorporate the image of a child.

Lewis was ...

The Evolving Science, Skepticism, and Limited Evidentiary Value of Firearm and Toolmark Identification

by Douglas Ankney

In People v. Kirschke, 53 Cal.App.3d 405 (1975), a firearm and toolmark identification (“FTI”) expert testified for the prosecution “that an evidence bullet had been fired by a particular firearm and that ‘no other weapon in the world was the murder weapon.’” But in post-conviction proceedings, ...

Idaho Supreme Court: Confession Obtained in Violation of Miranda Inadmissible in State’s Case in Chief but May Be Used for Impeachment Purposes Where Defendant’s Will Was Not ‘Overborne’ During Interrogation

by Douglas Ankney

The Supreme Court of Idaho held that a confession obtained in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), is inadmissible in the State’s case in chief against Daniel Lee Moore, but the confession may be used to impeach any claim of innocence by Moore ...

Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a defendant must satisfy all three subsections of the First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) in order to be ineligible for “safety valve” sentencing relief.

Julian Garcon pleaded guilty to one count ...

New York Court of Appeals Announces When an Alternate Juror Is ‘Discharged’ and no Longer ‘Available for Service’

by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of New York ruled that under state law an alternate juror discharged from service cannot subsequently be seated to deliberate the case.

Hasahn D. Murray and two codefendants were tried on assault and robbery charges. After counsel for both parties had given their ...

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Statute Automatically Sentencing Juvenile Offenders Convicted of First-Degree Murder to Life in Prison Is Unconstitutional

by Douglas Ankney

In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Tennessee followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s guidance for proportionality analysis when sentencing juvenile offenders convicted of first-degree murder; held that Tennessee’s sentencing regimen imposing automatic life sentences on juveniles is unconstitutional; and remedied the violation by applying ...

 

 

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