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Articles by Douglas Ankney

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 ...

Bluetooth Surveillance Tool Added to List of Known Cache of DHS’ Surveillance Technology

by Douglas Ankney

The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has an impressive cache of surveillance technology that includes, inter alia, automated license plate readers (“ALPR”) and cell-­site simulators (“CSS”). The latest tracking and surveillance revelation is that DHS and other law enforcement agencies have been using TraffiCatch since 2019.

Deployed ...

Tenth Circuit Announces Assault Conviction Under 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(6) Not a Qualifying Predicate ‘Crime of Violence’ for Purposes of USSG § 2K2.1(a)(3)

by Douglas Ankney

 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury under 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(6) is not a qualifying predicate “crime of violence” for purposes of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“USSG”) § 2K2.1(a)(3).

Kenneth Devereaux pleaded guilty ...

Ohio Supreme Court Announces Same Postconviction-Relief Filing Deadline Applies to ‘Delayed Appeal’ as Applies to Any Other Type of Direct Appeal

by Douglas Ankney

 

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that the 365-day deadline set forth in R.C. 2953.21(A)(2)(a) for filing a postconviction motion begins from the date of the filing of the trial transcript in a delayed appeal.

Michael Dudas was sentenced to prison for murder and other crimes ...

New NIJ-Funded Website Assists Forensic Practitioners Estimate Age of Unidentified Skeletal Remains of Infants and Teens Based on Dental Data

by Douglas Ankney

 

The new “Transitional Analysis Dental Age” (“TADA”) estimation tool – funded by the National Institute of Justice (“NIJ”) – is now available online to assist forensic analysts with estimating the age of unidentified skeletal remains of infants and teens. The age of the skeletal remains of ...

Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Good-Faith Exception to Exclusionary Rule Under State Constitution Does Not Apply to Search and Arrest Based on Quashed Warrant That Appears Active Due to Clerical Error by Court Administration

by Douglas Ankney

 

The Supreme Court of Minnesota declined to extend the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule, as adopted under the Minnesota Constitution, to a search and arrest based on a quashed warrant that appears active to law enforcement because of a clerical error by court administration.

In ...

California Court of Appeal Announces Rulings on Three Issues of First Impression Involving Certificate of Appealability and Habeas Petition

by Douglas Ankney

In a case involving three issues of first impression, the Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, ruled that Penal Code Section 1509(1)(c)’s 10- and 60-day deadlines are directory, not mandatory; the section’s “substantiality standard” is met where the applicant makes a strong enough case to ...

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces Prospective Abrogation of Common Law Accomplice-Corroboration Rule

by Douglas Ankney

 

The Supreme Court of Tennessee abrogated the common law accomplice-corroboration rule on a prospective basis and dismissed the murder conviction of Laronda Turner due to insufficient evidence.

Turner, along with codefendants Tony Thomas and Demarco Hawkins, were involved in the triple homicide of Anthony Isom, Chastity ...

 

 

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