by Doug Ankney
Melanie Bailey, a forensic scientist at the University of Surrey, revealed that by using a high-resolution mass spectrometry (“HRMS”) method to detect cocaine in fingerprints, she and her team can now distinguish between fingerprints left by persons who had ingested cocaine and fingerprints left by persons who ...
by Doug Ankney
The city of Opa-Locka, Florida, recently terminated Police Sergeant German Bosque's employment for the seventh time. Once dubbed "Florida's Worst Cop," Bosque had worked with the Opa-Locka Police Department for 28 years and was fired seven times for violations ranging from excessive force, stealing from suspects, and ...
by Doug Ankney
According to a study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (“PENN”), testing of the accuracy of seven smartphone breath alcohol testing devices revealed each device underestimated Blood-Alcohol Concentration (“BAC”) by more than 0.01%. To assess these devices, researchers used 20 moderate drinkers ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Connecticut ruled that under Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964), and its progeny, a jailhouse informant can be an agent of the State—even in the absence of any formal agreement between the government and an informant—and use of evidence obtained by ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California’s denial of qualified immunity with respect to officers who coerced a 13-year-old boy to falsely confess to a murder.
A security ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of Maryland (“COA”) reversed a judgment of the Court of Special Appeals (“COSA”) that held the trial court’s error in giving an anti-CSI jury instruction was harmless.
A female college student looked out the door of her apartment and saw a man on ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that district courts must, upon motion seeking relief under § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”), impose new sentences within the statutory maximum terms as amended by the FSA upon eligible defendants. The Court ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that district courts must, upon motion seeking relief under § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”), impose new sentences within the statutory maximum terms as amended by the FSA upon eligible defendants. The Court ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania clarified the standard for admission of evidence of a third person’s crimes, wrongs, or other acts (“third person guilt”) offered by a criminal defendant seeking to raise reasonable doubt that he was not the perpetrator of the crime charged.
Officer Jeffrey Ference ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the First Step Act’s (“FSA”) amendments to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) are inapplicable to defendants who were sentenced on or before the enactment date of the FSA even when a defendant’s sentence is later vacated and ...
