by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that where a circuit court imposed on remand a sentence of equal maximum length as the former sentence, but required a longer period of incarceration before parole eligibility than the former sentence, the new sentence was “more severe” for purposes …
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the text of the Sexual Offense Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) does not permit a court, when applying the categorical approach to determine sex offender tier levels, to conduct a …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit announced that something more than psychological coercion is required before a sentencing court can apply the two-level enhancement of U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(4)(B).
Jacob Kirk invited Joshua Herman to Kirk’s house in Hammond, Indiana. Samantha Daniels, Kirk’s mother, was …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire held that the state’s armed career criminal statute (codified at RSA 159:3-a) applies only to persons whose qualifying convictions arise from three or more separate criminal episodes.
Jonathan Folds allegedly sold 50 grams of heroin to a “cooperating individual” (“CI”). Based …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision that a prosecutor does not enjoy absolute immunity from suit for fabricating evidence during a preliminary investigation.
In November 1999, 14-year-old C.A. was reported missing by Floyd Bledsoe. C.A. was the younger sister …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the Superior Court abused its discretion when it failed to conduct an evidentiary hearing on a habeas petitioner’s Brady claim and ruled the Appellate Division abused its discretion when it failed to conduct an evidentiary hearing …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled that forcing a suspect to undergo an anoscopy to retrieve a baggie from his rectum was an unreasonable search even though police had obtained a warrant permitting the procedure.
Guntallwon Karloyea Brown was arrested after an informant made a controlled purchase …
by Douglas Ankney
Most DNA testing companies will not provide customer data to law enforcement unless there is a lawful court order. But FamilyTreeDNA distinguishes itself by not just permitting police to access its consumer data but also relishes in doing so. In a company ad, the father of kidnapping-victim …
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit announced that limitation of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) doesn’t apply to successive § 2255 petitions and ruled that if it is appears more likely than not that the district court relied on the residual clause of 18 USC …
by Douglas Ankney
When schoolchildren were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, a frequent answer used to be “a policeman.” But apparently that’s no longer true. Sixty-six percent of police departments across the U.S. reported a decline in applications, according to a survey of 400 law …
