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Virtual Injustice: How Remote Hearings Harm Incarcerated Defendants
Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025
Filed under: COVID-19, Cause and Prejudice, Video-Conferencing
Virtual Injustice: How Remote Hearings Harm Incarcerated Defendants by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Vermont’s increased reliance on remote court hearings, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safety, has created significant challenges for incarcerated individuals, their attorneys, and the broader justice system. While remote proceedings have …
Third Circuit Announces Claim of Innocence Does Not Resolve Whether Defendant Would Have Accepted Plea Offer Absent Counsel’s Error and Holds Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Properly Advise Defend...
Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025
Filed under: Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Rejection
Third Circuit Announces Claim of Innocence Does Not Resolve Whether Defendant Would Have Accepted Plea Offer Absent Counsel’s Error and Holds Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Properly Advise Defendant About Mandatory Sentences If Plea Offer Rejected by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third …
SCOTUS Clarifies Prejudice Standard Under Strickland for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims at Capital Sentencing
Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024
Filed under: Cause and Prejudice, Per se ineffectiveness
SCOTUS Clarifies Prejudice Standard Under Strickland for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims at Capital Sentencing by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of the United States clarified the governing test for determining whether errors defense counsel made during a capital sentencing hearing resulted in sufficient prejudice to require …
Kansas Supreme Court Announces Complete and Wrongful Denial of Defendant’s Constitutional Right to Testify Constitutes ‘Structural Error’ and Reverses Convictions Where Defendant Removed From Stand an...
Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024
Filed under: Procedural Default/Error, Right to Testify, Right to Testify/Remain Silent
Kansas Supreme Court Announces Complete and Wrongful Denial of Defendant’s Constitutional Right to Testify Constitutes ‘Structural Error’ and Reverses Convictions Where Defendant Removed From Stand and Entire Testimony Stricken by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Kansas held that the complete and wrongful denial of criminal defendant John …
Texas Man Exonerated by DNA Evidence After 25 Years of Maintaining His Innocence
Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Wrongful Conviction, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Innocence Protection Act
Texas Man Exonerated by DNA Evidence After 25 Years of Maintaining His Innocence by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott Martin Lucio Santillan, now 50 years old, was fully exonerated in the Frank Crowley Criminal Courts in Dallas, Texas, on March 22, 2023. His 25 years of wrongful imprisonment …
Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default
Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024
Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Summary Disposition, Cause and Prejudice, Proving Cause
Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The term “procedural default” is a significant barrier in federal habeas corpus petitions. It means that if a claim could have been raised on direct appeal or at any earlier stage but was not, a federal court …
New York Court of Appeals Declines to Adopt Per Se Rule That Handcuffed Person Is Always ‘In Custody’ for Miranda Purposes, but Holds the Handcuffed Defendant Was ‘In Custody’ and Suppress Incriminati...
Article • April 15, 2024 • from CLN April, 2024
Filed under: Preservation of Issues, Public Safety Exception, In Custody
New York Court of Appeals Declines to Adopt Per Se Rule That Handcuffed Person Is Always ‘In Custody’ for Miranda Purposes, but Holds the Handcuffed Defendant Was ‘In Custody’ and Suppress Incriminating Statements by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeals of New York declined to adopt a …
U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence
Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024
Filed under: AEDPA, Procedural Default/Error, Proving Cause, Capital Cases, Procedural Error, Effective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Right to, Counsel - Effective Assistance of, Strickland Standard, Per se ineffectiveness, Right to Counsel
U.S. Supreme Court Apparently Prioritizes Ideology Over Guilt or Innocence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The current justices on the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) apparently prioritize ideology over guilt or innocence. Almost 40 years ago, SCOTUS held that the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantee of a …
Colorado’s Amendments to Post-Conviction DNA Testing Statute Allows Greater Number of Affected Persons to Seek Testing
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Innocence Protection Act
Colorado’s Amendments to Post-Conviction DNA Testing Statute Allows Greater Number of Affected Persons to Seek Testing by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On March 10, 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 1034 (“HB 1034”) into law, opening the door to a greater number of people convicted of felonies to …
Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Procedural Default/Error, Resentencing
Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of …
Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Consp...
Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023
Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Cause and Prejudice, Hobbs Act
Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Conspiracy by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to enforce …
After Spending Over 30 Years in Prison for a Murder Maryland Man Didn’t Commit, Judge Grants Petition for Writ of Actual Innocence
Article • May 20, 2023
Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence
After Spending Over 30 Years in Prison for a Murder Maryland Man Didn’t Commit, Judge Grants Petition for Writ of Actual Innocence by Miles Dyson by Miles Dyson Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Peters granted a petition for a writ of actual innocence, overturning the conviction of Anthony Hall, …
SCOTUS Announces Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Challenging State’s Postconviction DNA Testing Procedures Begins to Run Upon Completion of State-Court Litigation, Including Appeals
Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Procedural Default/Error
SCOTUS Announces Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Challenging State’s Postconviction DNA Testing Procedures Begins to Run Upon Completion of State-Court Litigation, Including Appeals by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of the United States held that when a prisoner’s request for postconviction DNA testing of evidence …
Seventh Circuit Vacates Federal Drug Conspiracy Conviction Because District Court Failed to Ensure Defendant Understood ‘Agreement’ Element of Conspiracy and Failed to Ensure Factual Basis for Guilty ...
Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023
Filed under: Procedural Default/Error, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Knowingly and Voluntarily Made
Seventh Circuit Vacates Federal Drug Conspiracy Conviction Because District Court Failed to Ensure Defendant Understood ‘Agreement’ Element of Conspiracy and Failed to Ensure Factual Basis for Guilty Plea by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for …
Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Address Nonfrivolous Argument Raised in First Step Act Motion Constitutes Procedural Error in Violation of Concepcion
Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023
Filed under: Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), First Step Act, Procedural Default/Error
Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Address Nonfrivolous Argument Raised in First Step Act Motion Constitutes Procedural Error in Violation of Concepcion by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that when deciding a motion for a sentence reduction under § 404 …
After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity
Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023
Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence
After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins There are thousands of people incarcerated in America who are factually innocent. Until September of 2022, Adnan Syed was one of them. And, while we celebrate his freedom after it was …
SCOTUS: Arizona Supreme Court’s Interpretation of State Procedural Rule so ‘Novel and Unforeseeable’ It’s Not ‘Adequate’ to Preclude SCOTUS Review of Federal Death-Penalty Claim
Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023
Filed under: Death Penalty, Procedural Default/Error
SCOTUS: Arizona Supreme Court’s Interpretation of State Procedural Rule so ‘Novel and Unforeseeable’ It’s Not ‘Adequate’ to Preclude SCOTUS Review of Federal Death-Penalty Claim by Richard Resch by Richard Resch In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Sotomayor, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Arizona Supreme …
Fourth Circuit: Immigration Judge’s Failure to Inform Noncitizen of Right to Appeal Deportation Order Was Prejudicial and Invalidated Later Indictment for Illegal Reentry
Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023
Filed under: Cause and Prejudice, Deportation/Removal/Exclusion, Failure to Inform
Fourth Circuit: Immigration Judge’s Failure to Inform Noncitizen of Right to Appeal Deportation Order Was Prejudicial and Invalidated Later Indictment for Illegal Reentry by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that an immigration judge’s failure to inform an undocumented noncitizen of …
Madeline Mendoza Exonerated After Wrongful Conviction for Murder Engineered by Disgraced Former Chicago PD Detective Reynaldo Guevara
Article • February 19, 2023
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence
Madeline Mendoza Exonerated After Wrongful Conviction for Murder Engineered by Disgraced Former Chicago PD Detective Reynaldo Guevara by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott In January 2023, a Cook County Illinois judge vacated the wrongful conviction of Madeline Mendoza who served 17 years in prison for a murder she …
Fifth Circuit: District Court Erred in Finding That a Fourth Amendment Stop Did Not Occur
Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023
Filed under: Procedural Default/Error, Terry Stops
Fifth Circuit: District Court Erred in Finding That a Fourth Amendment Stop Did Not Occur by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana erred in finding that a Fourth Amendment stop …
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