by Matt Clarke
On September 1, 2015, a California court of appeal vacated the decision of the Board of Parole Hearings to deny parole to a prisoner who had been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison because the decision was impermissibly based upon the prisoner’s claim ...
by Matt Clarke
In an opinion handed down on November 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of North Carolina upheld a state law banning registered sex offenders from accessing commercial social media websites on the Internet.
Lester Gerard Packingham, a registered sex offender (RSO), was convicted of accessing commercial social media ...
by Matt Clarke
When California Governor Jerry Brown announced his intention of getting a voter initiative to reduce the length of time nonviolent prisoners would spend in prison onto the ballot, it engendered opposition ... and a sense of irony. Brown was the governor who ushered in California's "tough-on-crime" era ...
by Matt Clarke
On January 12, 2017, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals dismissed the interlocutory appeal of a deputy sheriff who was a bystander when a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer conducted a roadside body-cavity search of two women.
DPS Officer Nathaniel Turner stopped Brandy Hamilton and ...
by Matt Clarke
Destruction of evidence held at the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office led to the dismissal of over 140 Texas criminal cases—most of them involving drug charges.
When supervisors at the Precinct 4 Constable’s Office directed Deputy Constable Chris Hess to organize the evidence room, they had ...
by Matt Clarke
On September 30, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that was introduced by Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando), felonizing some prosecutorial misconduct. Under the new law, a prosecutor can be sentenced to up to three years in prison for altering or intentionally withholding ...
by Matt Clarke
On November 30, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a federal district court’s judgment that portions of the North Carolina sex offender restrictions statute were unconstitutional.
John Does #1 through #5 (collectively, the “Does”) are persons who have been convicted of a ...
