by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Delaware, sitting en banc, reversed Yony Morales-Garcia’s convictions and remanded for a new trial, holding that the State committed plain error when it repeatedly referred to his brother and co-defendant’s guilty plea during trial. The Court concluded that the prosecutor’s opening-statement …
by Douglas Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated a defendant’s 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, holding that his prior conviction under California Penal Code § 311.11 did not qualify as a predicate offense under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(b)(2). Applying the categorical approach, the …
by Douglas Ankney
Consolidating two appeals that had produced conflicting results in the Court of Appeals, the en banc Supreme Court of Kentucky held that the Kentucky Parole Board possesses both constitutional and statutory authority to delegate the conduct of final parole revocation hearings to Administrative Law Judges …
by Douglas Ankey
he New York Court of Appeals held that parole investigators unlawfully pursued and arrested the defendant after mistakenly believing he was a parole absconder. The Court concluded that the pursuit was unjustified for two reasons: …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Montana unanimously held that a district court violates due process when it premises a criminal sentence on a defendant’s decision to exercise constitutional rights, including the right to a jury trial, the right to remain silent, and the right against self-incrimination. …
by Doug Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a defendant’s sentence for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), holding that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas committed plain …
by Doug Ankney
Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Delaware vacated the defendant’s convictions and remanded, holding that the prosecution’s use of indirect hearsay evidence violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation rights. Although defense counsel did not object at trial, the Court applied plain error review and determined …
by Douglas Ankney
When Pontius Pilate declared he found “no fault” in the man before him, he sent Jesus to be crucified anyway. Two thousand years later, a version of this practice persists in America’s federal courts. It is called “acquitted conduct sentencing,” and it permits judges to …
by Doug Ankney
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine held that the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony comparing partial, sock-clad bloody footprints found at the crime scene to sample prints taken from the defendant. The Court determined that the State’s expert did …
by Doug Ankney
In a unanimous opinion, with a special concurrence by Chief Justice Neville, the Supreme Court of Illinois held that when a defendant seeks a self-defense jury instruction after using force against a police officer, the trial court must apply the established six-element test from People …
