by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Sixth Appellate District has explained the procedural requirements for adjudication of petitions filed pursuant to Penal Code § 1170.95.
In the middle of the night of June 14, 1991, John Lewis Drayton and three other men entered the Wards’ home with ...
by Douglas Ankney
The 25,000-member American Public Health Association (“APHA”) issued a statement addressing police violence that begins: “Law enforcement violence is a critical public health issue.” And in what could be termed a “typical case in support,” Joseph Goldstein of The New York Times reported the tragic stories of ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire affirmed a superior court’s decision suppressing the initial incriminating statements made by Dominic Carrier because police violated the protections of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). The Court also affirmed the suppression of additional statements because the State failed ...
by Douglas Ankney
In the largest-ever study of racial profiling by police during traffic stops, Stanford University has shown that Black people are much less likely to be stopped after sunset when “a veil of darkness” masks their race. The five-year study analyzed 95 million traffic-stop records that had been ...
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 ...
