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Articles by Douglas Ankney

The Catch-22 of Qualified Immunity

by Douglas Ankney
Judge Don Willett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Carlton Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi have authored opinions excoriating the doctrine of qualified immunity (“QI”). QI is a judicially created doctrine manufactured by the ...

Behavioral Health Experts Claim Head Movement While Speaking Indicator Whether Women Are Psychopathic

by Douglas Ankney
According to the authors of a study from the University of New Mexico, “[n]onverbal behaviors (i.e., head dynamics) represent an important, yet understudied, form of communication that may enhance our ability to detect certain forms of psychopathology, including psychopathy.” A research team used an automated detection algorithm ...

California Court of Appeal: Defendant’s Conversation With Officers Not Consensual Based on Officers’ Positioning and Manner of Approaching Legally Parked Vehicle so Evidence Obtained Resulting From Conversation Must Be Suppressed

by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, ruled that Jeremiah Paul’s conversation with Los Angeles Police Department Officer Charles Kumlander and Officer Helmkamp was not consensual based on the manner in which the officers approached Paul’s vehicle.
The following facts were taken from a hearing ...

New Mexico Supreme Court Revises Rules Governing Pretrial Release

by Douglas Ankney

On May 8, 2024, the Supreme Court of New Mexico revised the rules governing pretrial release. According to Artie Pepin, Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, the revisions include:

People released while awaiting trial on any felony or on specified misdemeanors (e.g., driving while intoxicated; ...

After California Cops Kill Someone, They Probe Families for Information on Deceased Before Telling Them Their Loved One Is Dead

by Douglas Ankney

Bruce Praet, cofounder of the company Lexipol, offers California cops some advice in one of his online training webinars: When notifying the family of a person the police have killed, obtain as much information as possible on the deceased before telling the family their loved one is ...

Third Circuit Orders Evidentiary Hearing on State Prisoner’s Petition Seeking Federal Habeas Relief Because Both State and Federal Courts Denied Relief Without Holding Hearing on IAC Claim That, if Proven, Would Entitle Him to Relief

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit took the unusual step of ordering the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to hold an evidentiary hearing on state prisoner Khamal Fooks’ 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for writ of habeas corpus.

Fooks pleaded guilty ...

Nevada Supreme Court Announces District Courts Have No Discretion to Deny Motion to Set Aside Judgment of Conviction Filed by Statutorily Qualified Defendants Under NRS 176A.240(6)(a)

by Douglas Ankney

The Supreme Court of Nevada held that district courts have no discretion to deny a motion to set aside the judgment of conviction under NRS 176A.240(6)(a) when filed by a defendant who meets the statutory requirements.

Christopher Kabew pleaded guilty to attempted residential burglary. The district court ...

Don’t Stand Too Close to First Responders Under New Florida Law

by Douglas Ankney

Florida Senate Bill 184 (“SB 184”) makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to approach within 25 feet of a first responder after receiving a verbal warning to stay away. Included under the provisions of the law is a requirement of intent to interfere, threaten, or harass the first ...

Big Money and Massive Surveillance: The Finance Industry’s Partnership With Federal Law Enforcement

by Douglas Ankney

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on the Judiciary (“Committee “) released a report on March 6, 2024, entitled “Financial Surveillance in the United States: How Federal Law Enforcement Commandeered Financial Institutions to Spy on Americans” (“Report”) that described in detail federal law enforcement agencies’ surveillance partnership ...

Researchers Discover Wire-Cutting Evidence Is Too Unreliable for Court

by Douglas Ankney

According to an article appearing on June 10, 2024, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have concluded that wire-cutting evidence should not be admissible in court unless additional information about the number of comparisons made is provided. A study entitled “Hidden Multiple Comparisons ...

 

 

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