by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, held that a trial court has authority to deny a request for a continuance of a motion to suppress under California Penal Code § 1050(e) even if the decision may foreseeably result in dismissal of the prosecution. (All statutory references ...
by Douglas Ankney
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Applied Biosystems Rapid HIT ID DNA Booking System was approved by the FBI for use by law enforcement booking stations to automatically process, upload, and search DNA reference samples from qualifying arrestees against the U.S. National DNA Index System (“NDIS”) database.
Joanie Brocato, former ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a driver who leaves the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury before being statutorily excused may be punished for only one violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3742 (requiring driver of any ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that only one conviction may result under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) for a single incident of firearm possession, even though the defendant may belong to more than one disqualified class.
Joshua Grant shot his ex-girlfriend after a ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Montana held that Kasey Lee Secrease’s trial attorneys were ineffective under both the U.S. and Montana Constitutions for failing to object to an incorrect jury instruction that lowered the State’s burden of proof.
Trooper Charles Burton arrested Secrease for DUI. Because Secrease refused ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the right of privacy under Article 1,Paragraph 7, of the New Jersey Constitution protects recorded calls made on a police stationhouse telephone from warrantless seizure in the absence of fair notice that the conversation is being monitored or recorded, ...
by Douglas Ankney
On rehearing en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that the Aerial Investigation Research (“AIR”) program—a first of its kind aerial surveillance initiative—enabled police to deduce the whole of individuals’ movements. Therefore, accessing its data is a search, and its warrantless ...
by Douglas Ankney
The California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, ruled that the coercive atmosphere created by police during a prearrest interview of a teen suspect in his own home made it a custodial interrogation requiring advisement of rights pursuant to Miranda v Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), ...
by Douglas Ankney
The California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, held that Superior Courts are to consider only the elements of a juvenile’s prior adjudicated felony and not the juvenile’s conduct when considering a petition to recall his sentence under California Penal Code § 1170(d)(2)(B).
David Lee Harring, Jr., ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that mere physical proximity of guns and drugs to each other is insufficient for automatic application of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”) § 2 K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement under the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Commentary Note 14(B) for a drug-trafficking ...
