by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, held that the Sexually Violent Predator Act, Welf. & Inst. Code § 6600 et seq. (“SVPA”), does not authorize the People to retain a private expert witness to testify at trial in connection with an SVPA petition. (Note: ...
by Douglas Ankney
In an issue of first impression with potentially nationwide implications, the Supreme Court of Connecticut held that a “John Doe” warrant that was based on the general description of a suspect and on several mixed partial DNA profiles, which may or may not have included the suspect’s ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a prisoner convicted of a covered drug offense but who was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence via a cross reference for murder under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) in effect before United States v. Booker ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ended the practice of judges presiding over juvenile delinquency proceedings and granting continuances for the sole purpose of extending the delinquent’s period of incarceration.
A juvenile identified as “Noah N.” was 17-years-of-age when he allegedly punched and bit a family or ...
by Douglas Ankney
With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), news pundits and left-leaning politicians decry the “radical” justices on the U.S. Supreme Court as if the High Court’s utter disrespect for the freedom guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution is a recent development. Beginning ...
by Douglas Ankney
On an issue upon which the circuits are split, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that district courts may consider the First Step Act’s (“FSA”) non-retroactive changes to sentencing law, in conjunction with other factors specific to the individual defendant, when deciding whether ...
by Douglas Ankney
According to a September 2022 report from AP News, law enforcement agencies from suburban Southern California to rural North Carolina are using an obscure cellphone tracking tool known as “Fog Reveal” that enables the cops to follow people’s movements months back in time. As of September 2022, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island’s denial of habeas relief where the court found reversible error under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) (defendant may challenge prosecutor’s peremptory strike of prospective ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that district courts must provide habeas petitioners with notice and an opportunity to be heard before dismissing a habeas petition sua sponte (on its own motion) based upon the limitation of Fourth Amendment claims enunciated in Stone ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed an order of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana that denied absolute immunity to District Attorney Scott Perrilloux and Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Detective Marlon Foster in a suit alleging they fabricated evidence in ...
