by Matt Clarke
The Supreme Court of Missouri, sitting en banc, held that the trial court committed prejudicial error by allowing a police detective to testify at trial regarding an out-of-court statement made to police by a person who did not testify at trial to prove the …
by Matt Clarke
On December 16, 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors instructing them to seek to have defendants charged with drug offenses involving crack cocaine charged such that the sentence would be the same as if it involved powder cocaine, …
by Matt Clarke
The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, reversed a conviction for assault on a peace officer by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury in violation of Penal Code § 245(c) after finding that the trial court erred in denying the …
by Matt Clarke
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a Las Vegas, Nevada, police detective was not entitled to qualified immunity for arresting sidewalk chalkers who had chalked anti-police slogans, when he did not arrest other chalkers whose themes were not anti-police, even …
by Matt Clarke
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the sentence of a convicted bank robber who did not have a gun, did not touch, bind, tie up, or lock up bank employees and did not tell them to move to another location …
by Matt Clarke
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a prior conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm under Louisiana state law, La. R.S. 14:37.4 is not categorically a “crime of violence” as defined by U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 4B1.2(a) and therefore could …
by Matt Clarke
The Supreme Court of Washington held that a trial court erred when it refused to permit an attempted child rape defendant to introduce evidence of his lack of a criminal history to support his claim of lack of propensity to commit the crime and denied …
by Matt Clarke
The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, held that the term “actual killer” as used in California Penal Code§ 189(e)(l) — as revised by Senate Bill 1437, which amended the felony-murder rule and natural and probable cause doctrine — means the person who …
by Matt Clarke
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS OFTEN deploy trained dogs to detect drugs, but how accurate are the canine sniffs? Since the dog cannot testify, the courts have simply accepted that a certified drug dog is sufficient to provide probable cause for a search when the dog alerts its …
by Matt Clarke
The Supreme Court of California held that conspiracy to commit home invasion robbery is not subject to enhancement to an indeterminate life sentence under California Penal Code § 186.22(b)(4).
Police investigating the Norteño criminal street gang had wire taps and live surveillance in place …
