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New York Court of Appeals Overturns Murder Conviction, Finds Prosecutor Withheld Critical Video Evidence in Violation of Brady Obligations

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct

New York Court of Appeals Overturns Murder Conviction, Finds Prosecutor Withheld Critical Video Evidence in Violation of Brady Obligations by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The New York Court of Appeals overturned a murder conviction on postconviction review, finding that the State’s failure to provide surveillance video of the crime …

Tennessee Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Because Trial Court Refused to Give ‘Necessity’ Jury Instruction Because Defendant Never Testified About Mental State

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Jury Instructions

Tennessee Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Because Trial Court Refused to Give ‘Necessity’ Jury Instruction Because Defendant Never Testified About Mental State by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Tennessee reversed Brandon Cole-Pugh’s conviction because the trial court refused to instruct the jury on the defense of necessity. …

Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Safety-Valve Relief

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Safety-Valve Relief by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the judgment of a district court that denied safety-valve relief under U.S.S.G. §§ 5C1.2 and 2D1.1(b)(17) to Nestor Barron. In July of 2017, law enforcement …

Georgia Supreme Court Announces Fundamental Overhaul of Jurisprudence Governing Appeals of Guilty Pleas and Out-of-Time Appeals

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Appeals

Georgia Supreme Court Announces Fundamental Overhaul of Jurisprudence Governing Appeals of Guilty Pleas and Out-of-Time Appeals by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Georgia completely overhauled the state’s jurisprudence governing appeals of cases that resulted in guilty pleas and governing out-of-time appeals, overturning …

California Court of Appeal: Equal Protection Requires Pretrial Detainees on Home Confinement Be Eligible for Good Conduct Credits

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

California Court of Appeal: Equal Protection Requires Pretrial Detainees on Home Confinement Be Eligible for Good Conduct Credits by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, Division Two, held that equal protection requires that pretrial detainees held in home confinement on electronic monitoring …

U.S. Supreme Court ‘Death Caucus’ Setting Death Penalty Litigation Tone

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

U.S. Supreme Court ‘Death Caucus’ Setting Death Penalty Litigation Tone by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has been taking a hard stance against last-minute filings, effectively intimidating already-scarce death penalty attorneys. This could lead state and federal judges to give “short shrift” …

Georgia Supreme Court: Warrantless Search of Vehicle’s Airbag Control Module is Unconstitutional

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct, Searches, Police Searches

Georgia Supreme Court: Warrantless Search of Vehicle’s Airbag Control Module is Unconstitutional by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Georgia held that a warrantless search of a vehicle’s airbag control module (“ACM”) is unconstitutional. In December 2015, Victor Mobley was driving his 2014 Dodge Charger when he …

Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Sentencing Judge Should Have Recused Himself Due to Ex Parte Communications with U.S. Attorney’s Office

Article • December 19, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct

Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Sentencing Judge Should Have Recused Himself Due to Ex Parte Communications with U.S. Attorney’s Office by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the sentence of James Atwood because Judge Colin S. Bruce should have recused himself …

Santa Didn’t Create Naughty Cops List, But It’s Worth Checking Twice