by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of Maryland held that when a defendant’s term of confinement comprises multiple consecutive sentences and one or more underlying convictions is vacated while at least one valid sentence remains, Maryland Code Ann., Criminal Procedure Article (“CP”) § 6-218(d) requires that the defendant …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
In an issue of first impression, the Supreme Court of Maryland held that under the plain language of the Public Defender Act (“Act”), when the Office of the Public Defender (“OPD”) authorizes an attorney to file a petition for a writ of certiorari and the …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
In resolving a conflict among Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court of California held that defendants convicted of provocative act murder before its 2009 decision in People v. Concha, 218 P.3d 660 (Cal. 2009), are not categorically ineligible for resentencing under Cal. Pen. Code § …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
Flock, a private police surveillance company, has built an enormous nationwide database and license plate tracking system which collects records of Americans’ travel and makes this vast database available to law enforcement across the country. This system allows police to search the nationwide movement of …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the automobile exception to the warrant requirement did not apply when police searched a vehicle parked in a police barracks parking lot after arresting the driver for DWI, removing the passenger, obtaining the keys, and subjecting the …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion was timely, concluding that the one-year statute of limitations does not begin to run from an initial judgment that defers restitution but from the subsequent amended judgment …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of Kansas held that a trial court erred by admitting evidence of uncharged, suspected child abuse that occurred over the period of two months preceding a baby’s death under K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 60-455 (governing prior acts evidence) because the State failed to …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of Michigan held that the smell of marijuana, by itself, does not establish probable cause to search a motor vehicle. In doing so, the Court overturned People v. Kazmierczak, 605 N.W.2d 667 (Mich. 2000), which held that “the smell of marijuana alone …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
The Supreme Court of California held that a defendant was entitled to retroactive application of an amended ameliorative statute because a criminal case’s judgment is not final until the entire prosecution, including the sentencing phase, is complete.
Background
In October 2014, Oscar Lopez …
by Sagi Schwartzberg
In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Indiana held that the state’s self-defense statute justifies the use of force necessary for self-protection, even if the necessity only becomes apparent after the incident. Therefore, the self-defense statute does not require that an individual …
