by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of California held that Senate Bill 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (“SB 1437”) bars a conviction for second-degree murder predicated on the natural and probable consequences (“NPC”) doctrine, but the ameliorative provisions of SB 1437 are available exclusively via a petition pursuant to …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a police officer testified as an expert without first being qualified by the court at the trial of Rod L. Jones, Sr. The Court also held that 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 overruled, in part, Commonwealth v. Dunkle, …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey announced its adoption of the framework articulated by the California Supreme Court in People v. Luttenberger, 784 P.2d 633 (Cal. 1990), for situations where a defendant requests material not subject to discovery by rule in order to challenge …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled that an in-chambers hearing held to address questions surrounding defense counsel’s fitness to proceed is a critical stage of proceedings that entitle the defendant to be present with conflict-free representation.
Terrence Downs was tried on numerous felonies, including …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina’s special conditions of release that banned legal pornography and all internet access were overbroad and not reasonably related to the objectives of 18 …
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression in the Supreme Court of Washington, the Court, sitting en banc, adopted the federal standard enunciated in Lawrence v. Florida, 549 U.S. 327 (2007), and held that the misconduct of a petitioner’s own attorney in a habeas …
by Douglas Ankney
Today’s RoboCops are not armed predators (yet), but they read license plates, track cellphones, and report “suspicious” persons. According to the Electronic Freedom Frontier, companies like Boston Dynamics and Knightscope market robots to law enforcement. About 100 robots from Knightscope are deployed in America’s shopping …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s Sexual Offender Registration Notification and Community Right-to-Know Act, Idaho Code § 18-8301 et seq. (“SORA”).
In July 1993, Idaho …
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, held that a trial court abused its discretion by denying Rene Avila’s motion to strike prior convictions pursuant to People v. Superior Court (Romero), 917 P.2d 628 (Cal. 1996), (“Romero Motion”). The Court …
by Douglas Ankney
The California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, vacated the denial of Patrick Sean O’Hearn’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea after concluding that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate O’Hearn’s mental health history.
In October 2018, police responded to two elderly …
