By Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that compelling a suspect to disclose the access password to his lawfully seized, but encrypted, personal computer violates the Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination.
In 2015, agents from the Office of the …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Washington announced procedural rules for trial courts to follow when a post-verdict motion for new trial alleges implicit racial bias of a juror or jurors.
The day after Tomas Mussie Berhe was convicted of murder and other crimes, Juror 6 …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Indiana announced the analytical framework for courts to use when determining whether a punitive in rem forfeiture violates the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. [Note: An action in rem is brought against “a thing or …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a district court violated the Ex Post Facto Clause when it applied the 2016 Guidelines Sentencing Manual to an ungrouped offense committed in 2001. This case of first impression in the First Circuit “concerns …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Tennessee reversed Brandon Cole-Pugh’s conviction because the trial court refused to instruct the jury on the defense of necessity.
According to witness Michael Douglas, while Cole-Pugh was inside The Gold Line Market, he saw that a Ms. Thomas was arguing …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the judgment of a district court that denied safety-valve relief under U.S.S.G. §§ 5C1.2 and 2D1.1(b)(17) to Nestor Barron.
In July of 2017, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence of …
by Douglas Ankney
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Georgia completely overhauled the state’s jurisprudence governing appeals of cases that resulted in guilty pleas and governing out-of-time appeals, overturning more than 75 prior decisions.
In September 2009, Cordalero Collier pleaded guilty to felony murder, and …
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, Division Two, held that equal protection requires that pretrial detainees held in home confinement on electronic monitoring be eligible for good conduct credits against their sentences later imposed by the trial court.
William Antonio Yanez …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that a warrantless search of a vehicle’s airbag control module (“ACM”) is unconstitutional.
In December 2015, Victor Mobley was driving his 2014 Dodge Charger when he collided with a 1999 Corvette. Mobley survived the crash, but the two …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the sentence of James Atwood because Judge Colin S. Bruce should have recused himself before imposing a sentence on Atwood because of Bruce’s ex parte communications with the prosecuting U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Atwood appeared …
