by Douglas Ankney
On May 21, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 16th state to decriminalize possession of marijuana when Governor Ralph Northam signed Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 972.
The law, which becomes effective July 1, 2020, creates a civil penalty of no more than $25 for ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Iowa ordered the dismissal of charges after determining the State breached a plea agreement wherein the State had promised the charges would not be brought.
A fire on January 26, 2018, burned a pole barn in Powshiek County. Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve ...
by Douglas Ankney
In New York, persons accused of felonies are brought before a judge who decides whether to impose bail. Then prosecutors must present the evidence before a grand jury within six days and obtain an indictment. If the prosecutor fails in this process, the person can plead with ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of New York held that N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law (“CPL”) 710.70(2) grants a defendant the right to appellate review of a decision on a suppression motion when the decision relates solely to a count that was satisfied by a plea of guilty but ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit clarified how the requirement that a district court pronounce its sentence in the presence of the defendant applies to conditions of supervised release.
After Rosie, Walter, and Anita Diggles were convicted by a jury of fraud in connection ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a conviction for violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) is a “covered offense” under § 404 of the First Step Act where the defendant was sentenced under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(c).
In January 2007, Carl Smith ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression in the Supreme Court of Minnesota, the Court held that hotel guests have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the sensitive location information found in hotels’ guest registries, and police must have a reasonable, articulable suspicion of wrongdoing to search those ...
by Douglas Ankney
Darrell Harris was arrested for a home burglary that occurred in December 2018.
A detective from the New York Police Department (“NYPD”) told Harris his DNA had been recovered from a window of the home. Even though the arrest cost Harris his job at the John F. ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania described the contours of “breach of the peace” and held that operation of a motor vehicle with an expired registration sticker is a traffic violation that does not qualify as a breach of the peace justifying a traffic stop.
Victor Lee Copenhaver ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of South Carolina rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mitchell v. Wisconsin, 139 S. Ct. 2525 (2019), to the extent that Mitchell shifts to the defendant the burden to prove the absence of exigent circumstances to justify a warrantless blood draw.
Kathryn ...
