by David M. Reutter
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that when a state prisoner’s belated appeal fits within an established state-law exception to an otherwise applicable appeal deadline, the prisoner’s properly filed application for post-conviction relief remains “pending” under 28 U.S.C. § …
by Jo Ellen Nott
A Flinders University study published in the Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences provides defense attorneys with powerful tools to challenge forensic evidence in cases involving attempted crime scene “clean-ups.” The study reveals how variable and unreliable forensic interpretations of cleaned evidence can be, findings …
by Douglas Ankney
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated a defendant’s 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, holding that his prior conviction under California Penal Code § 311.11 did not qualify as a predicate offense under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(b)(2). Applying the categorical approach, the …
by David M. Reutter
In a unanimous decision resolving a certified conflict between the Second and Fourth District Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Florida held that Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(f) does not permit a defendant to withdraw a plea on the basis of good …
by Douglas Ankney
Consolidating two appeals that had produced conflicting results in the Court of Appeals, the en banc Supreme Court of Kentucky held that the Kentucky Parole Board possesses both constitutional and statutory authority to delegate the conduct of final parole revocation hearings to Administrative Law Judges …
by Richard Resch
Six years after Congress passed the First Step Act with rare bipartisan enthusiasm, the federal government’s own data offer a mixed picture of progress. The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (“BJS”) March 2026 report, covering calendar year 2024, provides the most comprehensive look yet at who …
by David Kim
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts unanimously held that amending an indictment to change the subsection of the aggravated child rape statute under which a defendant was charged constituted an impermissible substantive amendment that violated Article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Reversing the …
by David M. Reutter
Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Colorado held that a defendant must be competent before undergoing a mental-condition examination under C.R.S. § 16-8-107(3)(b) and that a trial court may not exclude expert mental-condition testimony based on a defendant’s failure to cooperate with such …
by Douglas Ankey
he New York Court of Appeals held that parole investigators unlawfully pursued and arrested the defendant after mistakenly believing he was a parole absconder. The Court concluded that the pursuit was unjustified for two reasons: …
by David Kim
In an en banc decision, the Supreme Court of Oregon held that Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution protects an individual’s privacy in internet browsing activities even when that individual accesses the internet through a publicly available Wi-Fi network operated by a third …
by David M. Reutter
The California Court of Appeal, Second District, unanimously held that a superior court’s order denying a defendant’s petition for recall and resentencing under Penal Code § 1172.1 is appealable when the court substantively evaluates the petition on its merits rather than summarily declining to …
by Jo Ellen Nott
For decades, forensic pathologists have relied on body temperature, rigor mortis, and potassium levels in the vitreous humor of the eye to estimate time of death. These methods have underpinned countless prosecutions, but their accuracy degrades sharply beyond the early post-mortem window. Rectal temperature …
by Richard Resch
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for all individuals convicted of second-degree murder (felony murder) violates Article I, Section 13 of the Pennsylvania Constitution’s prohibition against cruel punishments. The Court determined that Pennsylvania’s …
by David Kim
The Supreme Court of Indiana held that when a criminal statute defines a base offense with elevated forms at higher penalty levels, those elevated forms constitute a single statutory offense for substantive double jeopardy purposes, requiring application of the Powell multiplicity test rather than the …
by Richard Resch
The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that a plaintiff previously convicted of violating a city ordinance may proceed with a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit seeking only forward-looking relief – specifically, a declaration that the ordinance violates the First Amendment and an …
by David Kim
In an 8-1 decision authored by Justice Gorsuch, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 does not authorize courts to automatically extend a defendant’s term of supervised release when the defendant fails to report to a probation …
by David M. Reutter
The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated the denial of a motion for new trial and remanded for further proceedings, holding that a trial court errs when it concludes a defendant waived an objection to an ineligible juror based solely on the failure to object …
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Montana unanimously held that a district court violates due process when it premises a criminal sentence on a defendant’s decision to exercise constitutional rights, including the right to a jury trial, the right to remain silent, and the right against self-incrimination. …
Loaded on
April 1, 2026
published in Criminal Legal News
May, 2026, page 49
Arkansas: A Sebastian County Circuit Court judge upheld the firing of former Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) Off. Dalton Tucker on February 20, 2026, ending his bid for reinstatement. Tucker, now 26, was one of six officers dismissed in January 2025 after body-worn cameras (BWCs) captured them pointing …
