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Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Seco...

Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, AEDPA

Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression, the United States Court of Appeals for …

News in Brief

Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Shootings, Dogs, Police--Excessive Force, Brady Violations, Home Search, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Brady Rule violations, Perjury/Perjured Testimony

News in Brief by Arkansas: The downward spiral of former Hot Spring County Sheriff Derek “Scott” Finkbeiner, 47, continued with his fourth arrest on May 2, 2025, reported KATV out of Little Rock. The arrest stemmed from Finkbeiner’s attempt to contact a witness, co-defendant Jordan Hammond, through the Signal app, …

Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions,  Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’  That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial  Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’

Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025

Filed under: Fifth Amendment, Prejudicial Spillover, Hearsay Evidence, Graphic and Inflammatory Evidence

Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’ by Jeffrey Cohen Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Mississippi reversed both the trial court and Court of Appeals’ decisions that the State’s multiple …

News in Brief

Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: Phoenix resident Penny McCarthy, 66, endured a terrifying ordeal after United States Marshals arrested her at gunpoint in her home, mistaking her for a fugitive, according to KNXV. Body camera footage shows officers refusing to confirm her identity despite McCarthy repeatedly asking them. “I truly …

News in Brief

Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A former Huntsville, Alabama police officer, William “Ben” Darby, was sentenced again on October 26, 2024, to 25 years for the fatal shooting of a suicidal man in 2018, according to the Slate Report. Darby was convicted for the second time in May 2024 of …

Mississippi Supreme Court: Defendant’s Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because He Was Not Informed of His Habitual Offender Status

Article • December 1, 2024 • from CLN December, 2024

Filed under: Resentencing, De Facto Career Offender, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made

Mississippi Supreme Court: Defendant’s Guilty Plea Not Knowing and Voluntary Because He Was Not Informed of His Habitual Offender Status by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that a defendant’s guilty plea to two forged prescription drug charges was not knowing and voluntary because he …

The Catch-22 of Qualified Immunity

Article • August 15, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Qualified Immunity, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

The Catch-22 of Qualified Immunity by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Judge Don Willett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Carlton Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi have authored opinions excoriating the doctrine of qualified immunity (“QI”). QI …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by

After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process

Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Counsel - Right to

After Mississippi Supreme Court Announcement, Courts Unprepared to Ensure Poor Defendants Have a Lawyer Throughout the Criminal Process by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott The Mississippi Supreme Court mandated on April 13, 2023, that poor criminal defendants must have an attorney throughout the entire criminal process. In re …

News in Brief

Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: According to The New York Times, the most notable sack and fumble of the Jefferson County high school football game on September 14, 2023, came after the game ended and the police were in the process of clearing the stadium. In the tradition of historically …

Mississippi Ends ‘Dead Zone’

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Pre-Indictment Delay

Mississippi Ends ‘Dead Zone’ by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi In April 2023, the Mississippi Supreme Court unanimously amended the state’s Rules of Criminal Procedure to eliminate the “dead zone.” Essentially, Rule 7.2 of Mississippi declares that counsel must be provided to an indigent defendant after they have been indicted. …

Mississippi Supreme Court: Court of Appeals Improperly Permitted State to Supplement Record on Appeal in Reviewing Habitual Offender Determination

Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023

Filed under: Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Sentences - Prior/Unrelated

Mississippi Supreme Court: Court of Appeals Improperly Permitted State to Supplement Record on Appeal in Reviewing Habitual Offender Determination by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Mississippi, sitting en banc, held that the Court of Appeals (“COA”) improperly permitted the State to add to the record on …

Former DHS Agent Cut and Pastes Fake DNA Tests Results in Paternity Scandal

Article • June 23, 2023

Filed under: Police Misconduct, DNA Testing/Samples

Former DHS Agent Cut and Pastes Fake DNA Tests Results in Paternity Scandal by A former DHS agent and police officer in Hancock County, Mississippi was arrested on May 8, 2023, for allegedly failing to comply with court ordered child support payments. Sun Herald reported that the former “Sheriff’s Narcotics …

Body Camera Footage Captures Fatal Arrest by Three Mississippi Officers

Article • June 23, 2023

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Videotaping, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Arrest/Arraignment

Body Camera Footage Captures Fatal Arrest by Three Mississippi Officers by On May 24, 2023, authorities in Jackson, Mississippi announced that three former police officers were indicted by a grand jury in connection with the death of a Black man in their custody on Dec. 31, 2022. The man was …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On August 4, 2022, the Vincent City Council voted to fully dissolve the city’s police force after racist text messages by a top officer were discovered, CNN reported. The city is home to about 2,000 residents and until the vote by the council, had just …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Connecticut: On Apr. 15, 2022, a Norwalk police officer of 10 years was arrested of assaulting a family member. WVIT, a news channel serving New Britain, reports that officer Jermaine Nash, 44, was arrested after a call was made to police in the mid-afternoon of the …

DOJ-Investigation of the Mississippi State Penitentiary(Parchman)-CRD, April 2022

Publication • April 20, 2022

Filed under: Prison Conditions

DOJ-Investigation of the Mississippi State Penitentiary(Parchman)-CRD, April 2022 Investigation of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman) United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division APRIL 20, 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. SUMMARY OF THE REPORT ........................................................................................ 2 II. INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS ........................................................................................... 3 III. THE PARCHMAN FACILITY ......................................................................................... 4 IV. DEFICIENT CONDITIONS …

Investigation of the Mississippi State Penitentiary(Parchman), DOJ CRD, 2022

Publication • April 20, 2022

Filed under: Prison Conditions

Investigation of the Mississippi State Penitentiary(Parchman), DOJ CRD, 2022 Investigation of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman) United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division APRIL 20, 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. SUMMARY OF THE REPORT ........................................................................................ 2 II. INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS ........................................................................................... 3 III. THE PARCHMAN FACILITY ......................................................................................... 4 IV. DEFICIENT …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On December 21, 2021, two former police officers in West Blocton, Alabama, were arrested and charged with sexual assault. According to WBRC, a news station serving Birmingham, the Tuscaloosa Police Department announced that the former officers, Craig Baird Arnold, 49, and Brian Keith Whatley, 50, …

Mississippi Supreme Court: Failure to Timely File Motion to Suppress Confession Obtained as Result of Police Threats and Promises Constitutes Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Article • September 15, 2021 • from CLN October, 2021

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of

Mississippi Supreme Court: Failure to Timely File Motion to Suppress Confession Obtained as Result of Police Threats and Promises Constitutes Ineffective Assistance of Counsel by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that a defendant’s trial counsel was ineffective for failing to timely object to the …