by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed Fernando Miguel Samora’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm because the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah gave the jury an erroneous instruction on constructive possession.
In May 2017, Samora borrowed ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a district court’s failure to offer an explanation for its sentence was plain error in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c).
Gilberto Rosa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Count One) and aggravated identity ...
by Douglas Ankney
As of the date of this article, protests continue against police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. While racism and police brutality are at least as old as America itself, Floyd’s death appears to be a catalyst that brought formerly ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) partnered with Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada-Reno (“RSJ”), to release for use by journalists, academics, and the general public a database containing thousands of data points on over 3,000 sheriff’s offices and police departments nationwide. The Atlas of ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) remanded Terence Tramaine Andrus’ case to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“TCCA”), directing the TCCA “to address Strickland prejudice in light of the correct legal principles.”
Andrus, 18, was high on marijuana and PCP when he attempted a ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Indiana held that a defendant cannot be forced to unlock her smartphone because doing so would violate her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The Court also provided a detailed rationale against extending the “foregone conclusion” exception of Fisher v. United States, 425 ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reaffirmed that a district court must personally invite a defendant to allocute at the time of sentencing.
A jury convicted Michael Scripps of seven counts of wire fraud for fraudulently transferring millions of dollars from the bank accounts ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit explained the meaning of conduct that is “part of the same course of conduct or common scheme or plan” when a district court determines whether it is relevant conduct for sentencing purposes.
On January 22, 2018, Tom Lewis ...
by Douglas Ankney
On June 30, 2020, the Supreme Court of Hawai’i announced that, going forward, police officers are not permitted to testify in expert or lay capacity that a driver appeared intoxicated, overruling State v. Toyomura, 904 P.2d 893 (Haw. 1995).
Maxwell F. Jones was convicted following a ...
by Douglas Ankney
May 26, 2020, demonstrations around the nation erupted over the police killing of George Floyd. Shortly afterwards, the FBI signed an expedited agreement to extend its relationship with Dataminr, The Intercept reported.
Dataminr is a company that monitors social media and had already had contracts with the ...
