by Mark Wilson
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a Texas defendant’s drug conviction, concluding that the Government flouted his right to confront witnesses against him, in violation of Confrontation Clause. See Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).
Kenneth Hamann and William Davis were ...
by Mark Wilson
The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas clarified the correct ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) standard in cases of erroneous probation eligibility advice. It is not necessary to show a different outcome, only that the erroneous advice impacted the defendant’s decision-making, the Court instructed.
Timothy Aaron Swinney ...
by Mark Wilson
The Supreme Court of Iowa held that the warrantless entry of an apartment to arrest the occupant on a misdemeanor charge was unlawful, requiring suppression of evidence of cocaine possession obtained from the unlawful entry.
Ames, Iowa, police officer Jamie Miller was dispatched to a fourplex apartment ...
by Mark Wilson
The Supreme Court of California held that sentencing courts have the authority to strike a firearm enhancement and substitute a lesser uncharged statutory enhancement.
California Penal Code § 12022.53, the state’s “Use a Gun & You’re Done” law, establishes a tiered system of sentencing enhancements for certain ...
by Mark Wilson
THE NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT unanimously held that police lacked reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop a vehicle occupied by three Black men based solely on a radio dispatch that two Black males had just robbed a convenience store in the area and one was armed with ...
by Mark Wilson
THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE Ninth Circuit held that a federal law, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv), that criminalizes encouraging or inducing an alien to reside in the U.S. for private financial gain of such person is facially overbroad and unconstitutional because it covers a substantial ...
by Mark Wilson
On March 4, 2022, Oregon lawmakersunanimouslypassedSenateBill1584, commonlyknownastheOregonJusticeforExonereesAct,joining37otherstates,Washington D.C.,andthefederalgovernmentinenactingwrongfulconvictioncompensationlegislation.
A total of 35 Democratic and Republican lawmakers ultimately supported the bill that mirrors statutes recently enacted in Idaho, Montana, and Kansas. Under the law, a person may file a claim for wrongful conviction compensation if the person: (1) ...
by Mark Wilson
Oregon’s new law restricting the publication of booking photos without a criminal conviction went into effect on January 1, 2022.
During the 2021 legislative session, Oregon lawmakers passed House Bill 3273 prohibiting public disclosure of booking photos, commonly known as mugshots, except in a few limited circumstances, ...
by Mark Wilson
Oregon’s 592 contracted public defenders, in a state with more than 4.2 million citizens, amount to just 31% of the attorneys needed to represent the state’s indigent criminal defendants, according to a two-year study by the American Bar Association’s Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (“ABA”) ...
by Mark Wilson
On August 4, 2011, a federal court in Washington state granted attorneys’ fees and costs on a Plaintiff’s Terry stop verdict. Yet the court reduced the $418,000 fee award request to just $90,042.12 because Plaintiff prevailed on just one of five claims, and the jury did not ...
