by Harold Hempstead
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the pretrial detention period in General Laws c. 276, § 58B begins to run when a defendant is detained, not when an order of detention is formally issued.
On December 26, 2021, while Chayanne Velazquez was …
by Harold Hempstead
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted John A. Esposito’s application for discretionary appeal to answer in the affirmative the question of whether trial courts are bound to follow precedents of the Court of Appeals that have not been overturned.
On June 11, 2022, the …
by Harold Hempstead
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that a probationer’s due process right to present a defense was violated when he was precluded from calling the complainant as a witness at his probation violation hearing.
In 2008, Concetto Costa pleaded guilty to pleaded guilty …
by Harold Hempstead
The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that defense counsel did not waive Luis F. Huggins’ right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress the warrantless search of his hotel room, by affirmatively stating “no objection,” when the State moved to introduce the …
by Harold Hempstead
The Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, held that the term “actual killer” under the current felony-murder rule, as amended by Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), means the person who personally committed the homicidal act.
On February 3, 2017, Jerry …
by Harold Hempstead
The Supreme Court of Nevada ruled that a trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to substitute counsel where the record demonstrated defense counsel was unprepared for trial and motion was timely.
Dequincy Brass was charged with 22 crimes based on allegations that he …
by Harold Hempstead
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana erred in finding that a Fourth Amendment stop did not occur when “deputies flagged down [Neguel A.] Morris’s car, or when they ordered him …
by Harold Hempstead
In the beginning of July 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the City’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham announced at a press conference that NYC is opening the nation’s very first DNA “gun crimes unit at a public DNA crime laboratory.”
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by Harold Hempstead
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a vindictive sentencing claim pursuant to North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711 (1969), meets the definition of a legality challenge that is cognizable under the Post-Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-46.
In 2007, …
by Harold Hempstead
The Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, held that Assembly Bill No. 1259’s (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.) ameliorative changes to Penal Code § 1473.7 apply retroactively to defendants who were convicted by trial as well as by plea, whose cases are not yet final, …
