by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision of a district court that granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs in a § 1983 suit alleging that the practices of the judges (“Judges”) of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court (“OPCDC”) violated the Due ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated Michael Clark’s conviction and remanded for a hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978).
Investigator Todd Maas is a police officer in Superior, Wisconsin. He prepared a warrant application and signed the supporting ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Minnesota announced a heightened pleading standard when a petitioner asserts a Birchfield/Johnson claim for relief in a collateral postconviction motion.
On March 22, 2012, deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department found Jason Fagin asleep in his car. A pat search of Fagin ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Missouri clarified that a defendant is entitled to a self-defense jury instruction whenever there is substantial evidence to support the submission of the instruction, and the fact that a defendant presents evidence contrary to the theory of self-defense is not an exception.
Andrew ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Maryland Court of Appeals abrogated the rule that required the testimony of accomplice(s) be independently corroborated and replaced it with a new rule.
In August 2015, Sandeep Bhulai’s body was discovered lying next to his vehicle. He had been shot multiple times. The investigation led police ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(k) for revocation of a term of supervised release that was imposed as a result of crimes that occurred in 2005 violated the Ex Post Facto Clause.
In 2007, Tommy ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of California held that where an electronics search condition of probation is not reasonably related to future criminality the condition is invalid under People v. Lent, 541 P.2d 545 (Cal. 1975).
In 2014, the juvenile defendant (identified as “Ricardo”) was declared a ward of ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit instructed a district court to issue a conditional writ of habeas corpus based on a state court’s erroneous application of evidentiary rules that resulted in the denial of the defendant’s right to present a complete defense.
Paul Scrimo ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that child pornography stored on multiple devices at the same location and at the same time is only one count of possession under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).
Samuel Elliott had over 8,000 images of child pornography, including ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified the circumstances when a defendant’s bail may include home confinement coupled with private armed security guards.
Jean Boustani applied for bail pending trial, proposing conditions that included home confinement under supervision of private security guards paid for ...
