Skip navigation

Search

111 results
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian Legal scholars and practitioners have begun raising concerns that there is a lack of judicial diversity on court benches in America and abroad. While there have been serious efforts to increase …
Article • February 15, 2021 • from CLN March, 2021
Fatal Shootings by Police Rarely Prosecuted by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins The calls for social justice coming from nearly every city and town in America in 2020 were fueled primarily by two issues. The first was that people of color, often unarmed and without cause, were being killed by …
Misconduct by prosecutors is rampant — how do we deter it? by Mike Fawer by Mike Fawer, The Lens, Opinion https://thelensnola.org/2019/04/11/misconduct-by-prosecutors-is-rampant-how-do-we-deter-it/ I have been involved in the criminal justice system for almost 60 years, initially as a federal prosecutor, but for the greater portion of my career as a criminal …
Article • May 15, 2019 • from CLN June, 2019
Prosecutors Dropping Child Porn Charges After Software Tools Are Questioned by Jack Gillum More than a dozen cases were dismissed after defense attorneys asked to examine, or raised doubts about, computer programs that track illegal images to internet addresses. by Jack Gillum, ProPublica Using specialized software, investigators traced explicit child …
Creation of Prosecutorial Watchdog in New York Spotlights Distinction Between Misconduct and Unfair Conduct by Michael Berk by Michael Berk Thanks in no small part to the dedicated lobbying of people such as Jeffrey Deskovic — who spent 16 years locked up for a rape and murder he did not …
Article • April 12, 2019 • from CLN May, 2019
Plea Bargaining: Prosecutors Leave Trail of Injustice When Playing Hardball with Defendants by David Reutter by David Reutter To fight against government tyranny in the criminal justice system, America’s Founding Fathers enshrined into the Constitution the “right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” Plea bargains, however, …
Article • January 19, 2019 • from CLN February, 2019
Why Defining a ‘Credible Witness’ in Criminal Trials Is a Slippery Slope by Steve Horn by Steve Horn In the aftermath of her testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was hailed by legal scholars, legal practitioners, and laypeople alike as a “credible witness.” Blasey Ford, …
Article • December 29, 2018 • from CLN January, 2019
Kansas Supreme Court Rules Fourth Amendment Violation Where Purported Inventory Search Was Performed in Absence of Standard Policy by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of Kansas held the warrantless search of defendant’s purse and wallet following a traffic accident violated her Fourth Amendment rights because the search …
The Fallibility of Forensic Science: Crime-Solving Tool Can Lead to Wrongful Convictions—and Belated Exonerations by Rick Anderson by Rick Anderson It’s the ultimate crime-solving tool, enabling prosecutors to bring seemingly rock-solid charges against accused murderers and rapists while also using it to re-open and solve dust-collecting cold cases. Victims and …
Article • December 5, 2018 • from CLN December, 2018
Oregon Enhanced Drug Penalty ‘For Consideration’ Element Requires Proof of Drug Sale or Agreement to Sell by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The Supreme Court of Oregon held that the “for consideration” element of a “commercial drug offense” requires proof of a completed drug sale or an existing agreement to …
Article • December 5, 2018 • from CLN December, 2018
Colorado Supreme Court Holds Ameliorative Amendments Apply Retroactively to Non-Final Convictions by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of Colorado held that amendments to statutes favorable to defendants apply retroactively to non-final convictions, unless the statute contains language that expressly provides it applies only prospectively, resolving a conflict …
Article • December 5, 2018 • from CLN December, 2018
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Reverses Conviction for Improper Lesser-Included-Offense Determination by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas reversed an intermediate court of appeals because the lower court improperly determined that “deadly conduct” is not a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault by threat. The …
Article • November 28, 2018 • from CLN December, 2018
Free at Last! California Modifies Its Felony Murder Law, Helping up to 800 Prisoners Currently Serving Life Sentences by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon California’s felony murder statute, as originally enacted, is quite draconian in its inclusiveness. A person could be convicted and punished as severely as the primary participant …
Article • November 6, 2018 • from CLN November, 2018
Texas Woman Receives Five Years in Prison for Illegal Voting After Criminal Conviction by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna Crystal Mason, who had previously been convicted of tax fraud in 2011, will now serve a five-year sentence after being convicted in March 2018 of illegally voting in the 2016 presidential …
Article • November 6, 2018 • from CLN November, 2018
Nevada Supreme Court Announces Testimony at Probation Revocation Hearing Inadmissible in Later Criminal Proceeding by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Announcing a new rule to protect the constitutional rights of criminal defendants who face both probation revocation and new criminal charges, the Nevada Supreme Court held that testimony and evidence …
Article • November 1, 2018 • from CLN November, 2018
Filed under: Criminal Prosecution
Indiana Supreme Court Announces Single Act of Resisting Police Bars Multiple Counts, Regardless of Number of Officers Involved or People Killed by David Reutter by David Reutter The Supreme Court of Indiana held that Indiana Code § 35-44.1-3-1 authorizes only one conviction for felony resisting law enforcement where the defendant …
Article • November 1, 2018 • from CLN November, 2018
Filed under: Criminal Prosecution
Man Who Lawfully Had Sex with Girlfriend, 17, Could Face Decades in Prison for Taking Sexually Explicit Photos of Her by While age of consent to have sex is 16 in Ohio, it is not the age of consent to take sexy photos of minors in the nude. In fact, …
The Power of the Prosecutor: A Personal Account by Ashley Sawyer by Ashley Sawyer, Campaign for Smart Justice Consultant, ACLU of Vermont Have you ever watched an episode of “Law & Order”? The creators do an amazing job of dramatizing the court process. The characters playing the prosecutors are always …
Article • October 26, 2018 • from CLN November, 2018
Pennsylvania Police Use Hate Crime Law Against People Who Verbally Abuse Them, Dramatically Increasing Potential Jail Time by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Catherine Roper, deputy legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, wrote in her blog of the recent arrests and charges of hate crimes against citizens because they used …
Article • September 24, 2018 • from CLN October, 2018
Filed under: Criminal Prosecution
Idaho Supreme Court Rules Dead-Body Reporting Statute Unconstitutional As Applied to Defendant by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of Idaho held that prosecution of the defendant under a state statute that imposes a duty on anyone who discovers or has custody of a body to promptly notify …
Page 1 of 6. | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next »