by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”), in a 5-4 decision, ruled in favor of a defendant who argued that the State of Oklahoma (“Oklahoma”) lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him because he is a Native American, and his alleged crime occurred on tribal land. The decision ...
by Douglas Ankney
Perhaps now those who are actually innocent in Virginia will be able to prove their claims, thanks to legislation signed by Governor Ralph Northam. The Writ of Actual Innocence law was created in Virginia in 2004. Only four wrongfully convicted persons have obtained relief under the law’s ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Hawai’i held that showing a video to the jury of a defendant declining an officer’s request to reenact the crime violated the defendant’s right to remain silent.
Anthony G. Beaudet-Close had an altercation with Luke Ault. Ault sustained life-threatening injuries, was hospitalized, and ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Hawai’i announced that, going forward, trial courts have a duty to obtain a knowing and voluntary waiver of the penal-responsibility defense.
In June 2014, Michael Glenn was charged with Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree. Upon motion of defense counsel, the circuit court ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Colorado announced the framework for distinguishing a true threat from constitutionally protected speech.
A few days after a shooting at Arapahoe High School, students from Littleton High School (“LHS”) got into an argument on Twitter with students from Thomas Jefferson High School (“TJHS”). ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that Shane Thomas Young’s confession was involuntary because, under the totality of the circumstances, his capacity for self-determination was critically impaired.
As a sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull Young over, he drove his vehicle onto a nearby ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Kentucky heldthat a trial court’s ex parte discussion with a juror who was offered a bribe was a structural error because it denied Steven Dale Eversole his right to an impartial jury.
Eversole was tried by jury on charges of first-degree fleeing or ...
by Douglas Ankney
Tear gas is a chemical weapon banned by numerous international treaties from use in warfare. But as the images on the nightly news show us, police have used it indiscriminately on crowds of peaceful protesters.
A main chemical in tear gas is 2-chlorobenzylidene malonitrile, or “CS.” CS ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that a deputy trying to help a woman retrieve her belongings by opening the lid to a camper did not make a subsequent warrantless search lawful under the community-caretaking exception to the warrant requirement.
Deputy Buddy Clinton ...
by Douglas Ankney
A recent report found that officers in the New York Police Department (“NYPD”) fired their Tasers 995 times in 2018. Of those incidents, 224 times the use of the Tasers was unintentional.
Retired NYPD Captain John Eterno, now director of graduate studies in criminal justice at Malloy ...
