by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a district judge may not delegate to a probation officer the decision to require inpatient, rather than outpatient, treatment because of the liberty interests at stake.
Abran Martinez tested positive for cocaine use …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Nevada held that a district court abused its discretion when denying Jack Paul Banka’s motion to withdraw his Alford plea (North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970)) where Banka wasn’t informed that his conviction carried a mandatory minimum …
by Douglas Ankeny
The Supreme Court of Texas announced the standard governing factual-sufficiency review of a finding that a person is a sexually violent predator (“SVP”).
In 2004, Jeffery Lee Stoddard pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was scheduled to …
by Douglas Ankney
Division Five of the First Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal held that Senate Bill No. 136 (“SB 136”) made unenforceable a plea agreement that contained a one-year prior prison enhancement.
Jeffrey Allan Joaquin was charged with: (I) premeditated attempted murder with …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of North Carolina upheld a decision of the Court of Appeals (“COA”) that found plain error where an investigator from the Department of Social Services Child Protective Services (“DSS Investigator”) “improperly bolstered or vouched for the victim’s credibility.”
Fifteen-year-old Virginia (a …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Montana held that a five-year delay in bringing John Wilson Chambers to trial violated his right to a speedy trial, and the lengthy delay was presumptively prejudicial.
In May 2012, Chambers was arrested and confined in Stillwater County for his …
by Douglas Ankney
A unanimous Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) held that the express remedies provision of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq. (“RFRA”), permits litigants, when appropriate, to obtain money damages from federal officials sued in their individual capacities.
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by Douglas Ankney
In a December 2020 report in the libertarian magazine Reason, Bonnie Kristian presents a compelling case for legislation governing use of robots by police. She begins by comparing robots to the implementation and expanded use of SWAT units. A little over 50 years ago, …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the phrase “reason to believe the suspect is within” in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), means that when police enter a third-party’s residence without a search warrant to execute an …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the Government is barred – on double jeopardy grounds – from seeking the death penalty at the retrial of Alexis Candelario-Santana because the jury’s verdict that did not impose the death sentence at Candelario’s …
