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 …
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 …
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.
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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 …
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.
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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 …
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 …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the convictions of Paulos Tavares, ruling that the trial court failed to suppress evidence that was obtained as the result of an officer extending a vehicle stop without probable cause, which made the evidence the proverbial fruit of the poisonous …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Kansas ruled that an officer’s discovery of an expired license plate subsequent to an illegal seizure did not attenuate the evidence obtained as a result of the illegal seizure.
Daniel Christian lawfully parked his car on a public street …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has clarified when warrantless searches of cellphones at the border are reasonable.
Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”) agents discovered nearly 31 pounds of cocaine in the spare tire of Miguel Angel Cano’s vehicle as he …
