How the Killing of George Floyd by Police Sparked Nationwide Protests and Calls for Systematic Change
by Christopher Zoukis, MBA
“If one of us is not free, none of us are free.”
– Max Mills and Ayesha Muzaffar, Co-Chairs, Students Against Mass Incarceration, University of California, Davis School of Law ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Office of Homeland Security (“OHS”) has been purchasing “anonymized” cellphone location data for use in Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) investigations, according to information obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
Under Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018), law enforcement agents are ...
by Richard Resch
For virtually every person who’s seen the horrifying video of George Floyd’s final moments, his killing feels qualitatively different than the countless other police killings of unarmed individuals that plague America. True, there have been many others that were captured on video, and many involved a White ...
by David M. Reutter
As governments act to contain COVID-19, tracing persons who have come in contact with infected persons is at the forefront of the move to contain the disease’s spread. Tracing people via location surveillance may prove to be an effective tool, but at what cost?
The Electronic ...
by John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute – Commentary
“When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you—pull your beard, flick your face—to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held on March 4, 2020, that the savings clause of 28 U.S.C. § 2255(e) is available even if based on a court decision that existed earlier but was not made retroactive until after the direct appeal and first ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that it is impermissible to admit a statement made by the defendant to Pretrial Services for the purpose of impeaching the testimony of a witness at trial.
In August 2014, Detective ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Sixth Appellate District has explained the procedural requirements for adjudication of petitions filed pursuant to Penal Code § 1170.95.
In the middle of the night of June 14, 1991, John Lewis Drayton and three other men entered the Wards’ home with ...
by Douglas Ankney
The 25,000-member American Public Health Association (“APHA”) issued a statement addressing police violence that begins: “Law enforcement violence is a critical public health issue.” And in what could be termed a “typical case in support,” Joseph Goldstein of The New York Times reported the tragic stories of ...
by Dale Chappell
Courts often look to Congress when interpreting the meaning of a law. They look at Congress’ intent behind the law and any statements made by legislators in drafting the law. This is the “legislative history” of the law and one of the main tools courts use to ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Supreme Court of Indiana suppressed all evidence resulting from search warrants obtained on the basis that the sheriff’s department concluded a suspect “stole” the GPS device being used to track him when it failed to transmit its location for 10 days.
Derek Heuring was suspected of ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire affirmed a superior court’s decision suppressing the initial incriminating statements made by Dominic Carrier because police violated the protections of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). The Court also affirmed the suppression of additional statements because the State failed ...
by Douglas Ankney
In the largest-ever study of racial profiling by police during traffic stops, Stanford University has shown that Black people are much less likely to be stopped after sunset when “a veil of darkness” masks their race. The five-year study analyzed 95 million traffic-stop records that had been ...
by Anthony Accurso
The government declassified a court order from October 2018 that details the FBI’s misuse of its access to mass surveillance data collected in partnership with large tech and communications companies.
The order detailed what many Americans suspect: Federal agencies misuse mass surveillance in contravention of controls Congress ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit made three important favorable rulings on April 24, 2020, concerning relief under the First Step Act for career offenders, those who get released while their motion is pending, and the proper avenue for relief.
The case came before ...
by Douglas Ankney
On May 21, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 16th state to decriminalize possession of marijuana when Governor Ralph Northam signed Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 972.
The law, which becomes effective July 1, 2020, creates a civil penalty of no more than $25 for ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held on March 24, 2020, that substantive Hobbs Act robbery is “too broad” and doesn’t qualify to require a sentencing enhancement under the career offender provision of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“USSG”).
In a consolidated direct appeal ...
by Michael Fortino, Ph.D.
Now that COVID-19 has brought about new public enforcement policies, a dystopian world where government agencies watch our every move may not be as far in the future as we might think. With the intent of observing crowd activities in public places (and private ones as ...
by Derek Gilna
Tara Reade, who has accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she worked for him as an aide, now faces accusations that she inflated her academic credentials to win certification as a prosecution expert witness on domestic violence in several ...
by Ed Lyon
Pedro Barbosa lives in New York City. Michael Bergmann is a former New York City cop who was fired from the force for providing false testimony in court that could have sent Barbosa to prison for up to 15 years.
“They [referring to Bergmann and his partner] ...
by Dale Chappell
In a case of first impression, the Nebraska Supreme Court held on March 13, 2020, that theft from multiple owners “at the same and in the same place … constitutes a single offense,” and thus multiple theft charges violates the Double Jeopardy Clause of both the Nebraska ...
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the district court’s failure to give a defendant notice that he belonged to a class of persons prohibited from possessing a firearm during his plea colloquy constitutes a structural error that requires his guilty plea ...
by Chad Marks
In 1972, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) in Furman v. Georgia eliminated the death penalty. The Court, in striking down state-sanctioned killing, identified problems such as racism, arbitrary application, and the fact that ending people’s lives did little to nothing in the way of ...
by Michael Fortino, Ph.D.
Hundreds of rogue joint state-federal task forces—accountable to no one, and acting as units of vigilante justice—continually violate the constitutional rights of individuals while hiding behind the aegis of “qualified immunity.”
The concept of the “joint task force” was first initiated by President Richard Nixon in ...
by Dale Chappell
Ending what had been a “standard case-management practice,” the Supreme Court of Colorado held that a trial court may not order a defendant to turn over his defense exhibits to the prosecution prior to trial under the discovery rule because it violates a defendant’s constitutional rights under ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Iowa ordered the dismissal of charges after determining the State breached a plea agreement wherein the State had promised the charges would not be brought.
A fire on January 26, 2018, burned a pole barn in Powshiek County. Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice recently announced grants of more than $145 million being awarded through various programs it helps to fund. These grants will cover initiatives centered on forensic science.
Notable inclusions from this total are:
• $78 million to state ...
by Anthony Accurso
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in 2018, which has been slowly changing the way courts interpret the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in our era of mobile technology — and impacting the day-to-day investigative efforts of police.
In Carpenter v. United States, ...
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the plea agreement that required the defendant to waive his right to seek compassionate relief unless he exhausted all administrative rights of appeal for the Bureau of Prisons’ (“BOP”) failure to bring such a motion ...
by Michael Fortino, Ph.D.
Like a scene out of Will Smith’s movie, Legend, one of the most iconic visual images during the New York City lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 is a photo of a lone policeman on horseback patrolling a deserted downtown street. Juxtaposed to that image ...
by Douglas Ankney
In New York, persons accused of felonies are brought before a judge who decides whether to impose bail. Then prosecutors must present the evidence before a grand jury within six days and obtain an indictment. If the prosecutor fails in this process, the person can plead with ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Supreme Court of California announced an extension of its prior rule of when to allow application of an amended sentencing statute, such that it may be applied to a defendant’s sentence still under appeal even though that sentence resulted when his probation was revoked.
In November ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of New York held that N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law (“CPL”) 710.70(2) grants a defendant the right to appellate review of a decision on a suppression motion when the decision relates solely to a count that was satisfied by a plea of guilty but ...
by Ed Lyon
The U.S. Department of Labor ranks hospitals as one of the most dangerous workplaces for a person to work. It seems that hospitals are even more dangerous a venue for a mentally ill person seeking treatment, particularly when police are involved.
“Cops are not trained in best ...
by Ed Lyon
It is a rare week to pass without a report of an accidental shooting by police.
The reason for better than 99 percent of these accidental weapon discharges is the lack of ongoing firearm training after a law enforcement officer completes initial academy training.
Most firearms training ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit clarified how the requirement that a district court pronounce its sentence in the presence of the defendant applies to conditions of supervised release.
After Rosie, Walter, and Anita Diggles were convicted by a jury of fraud in connection ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a conviction for violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) is a “covered offense” under § 404 of the First Step Act where the defendant was sentenced under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(c).
In January 2007, Carl Smith ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression in the Supreme Court of Minnesota, the Court held that hotel guests have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the sensitive location information found in hotels’ guest registries, and police must have a reasonable, articulable suspicion of wrongdoing to search those ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held on April 14, 2020, that a sentencing court may consider a prisoner’s good conduct in fashioning a lower sentence in light of the First Step Act.
The ruling came after John Allen filed under the First Step ...
by Douglas Ankney
Darrell Harris was arrested for a home burglary that occurred in December 2018.
A detective from the New York Police Department (“NYPD”) told Harris his DNA had been recovered from a window of the home. Even though the arrest cost Harris his job at the John F. ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of South Carolina rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mitchell v. Wisconsin, 139 S. Ct. 2525 (2019), to the extent that Mitchell shifts to the defendant the burden to prove the absence of exigent circumstances to justify a warrantless blood draw.
Kathryn ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania described the contours of “breach of the peace” and held that operation of a motor vehicle with an expired registration sticker is a traffic violation that does not qualify as a breach of the peace justifying a traffic stop.
Victor Lee Copenhaver ...
by Kevin Bliss
Risk assessment tools are not effectively reducing pretrial detention or prejudicial profiling practices in determining bail. In addition, few counties concern themselves with the effectiveness of such programs, not even bothering to monitor their results.
Two organizations looking to make the government more transparent, Media Mobilizing Project ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held on May 15, 2020, that the refusal by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to reduce a crack cocaine sentence under the First Step Act required the court to justify why it wouldn’t ...
by David M. Reutter
In affirming the conviction and death sentence of Sean Alonzo Bush, the Supreme Court of Florida announced it is abandoning the different standard for reviewing wholly circumstantial evidence cases.
Bush was convicted of the brutal attack on his estranged wife Nicole Bush. The couple was separated ...
by Douglas Ankney
Over the past 10 years, a growing number of reform-minded prosecutors has emerged across the U.S., seeking not only to reform current tough-on-crime practices but also to acknowledge mistakes of the past. For example, in 2018, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office opened a Conviction Integrity Unit (“CIU”) ...
by Kevin Bliss
The $14 billion invested in police equipment and community policing in the U.S. has not helped instill trust and camaraderie between the police and black communities, says writer and activist Philip McHarris, in an article published in The Appeal.
In fact, it only offers more opportunity ...
by Michael Fortino, Ph.D.
Rand Corporation, a prominent think tank known for its ability to forecast future trends, describes a post-COVID-19 era where police departments experience reduced, if not curtailed power, and are rendered nearly obsolete as a protectorate of the public from risk of a coronavirus outbreak.
Retired Police ...
by Dale Chappell
A unanimous Supreme Court of North Carolina held on May 1, 2020, that waving the middle finger at the police was not disorderly conduct to justify a traffic stop and subsequent charges stemming from that stop.
Trooper Paul Stevens of the North Carolina Highway Patrol was assisting ...
by Dale Chappell
When 17-year-old Barbara Blatnik was found dead in December 1987, Cleveland police found DNA under her fingernails, but it was a mixture of hers and her killer’s. At the time, DNA techniques couldn’t separate mixed DNA, and the case went cold.
However, a new technique used by ...
by Douglas Ankney
In preparation for what may aptly be described as “Mad Max Meets COVID-19,” the federal government has submitted “expedited purchase orders” for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, riot gloves, and other protective equipment for the federal police assigned to guard Veterans Affairs (“VA”) facilities.
According to ...
by Douglas Ankney
Willie Simmons became addicted to drugs while in the Army and stationed abroad. In 1982, he was in Alabama and “in need of a quick fix.”
Simmons wrestled a man to the ground and took his wallet that contained nine dollars. Police arrested him a few blocks ...
by Matt Clarke
In March 27, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated a firearms possession conviction from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio because the Government showed the jury a social-media video of a masked person it alleged was the defendant ...
Loaded on
June 15, 2020
published in Criminal Legal News
July, 2020, page 51
California: The death of David Glen Ward of Petaluma was declared a homicide by the Marin County coroner in May 2020, followed by a lawsuit from David’s mother, Ernestine Ward, alleging wrongful death, excessive force and negligent supervision by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies. Leading up to the fatal encounter, ...
