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News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arkansas: The DOJ announced on Jan. 24, 2023, that two former police officers in Crawford County were charged with excessive use of force after beating a man at a gas station. The New York Times reported that the two former officers, Zackary King and Levi White, …

New Jersey Supreme Court: Allowing Jury to Hear Defendant’s Invocation of Right to Counsel in Recorded Statement Together With Prosecutor Inferring Guilt Based on Request for Counsel Entitles Defendan...

Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023

Filed under: Jury Instructions, New Trial Motions, Counsel - Right to, Perjury/Perjured Testimony

New Jersey Supreme Court: Allowing Jury to Hear Defendant’s Invocation of Right to Counsel in Recorded Statement Together With Prosecutor Inferring Guilt Based on Request for Counsel Entitles Defendant to New Trial by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the convictions and sentence of …

New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Adoption of Daubert-Type Standard for Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Cases in Assessing Admissibility of Expert Evidence Under Rule 702

Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023

Filed under: Daubert Standards

New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Adoption of Daubert-Type Standard for Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Cases in Assessing Admissibility of Expert Evidence Under Rule 702 by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously adopted a Daubert-type standard for determining the admissibility of expert evidence under New Jersey …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The DOJ Civil Rights Division announced on Oct. 21, 2022, that a former sheriff’s deputy in Dallas County was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in the middle of the day on Jan. 30, 2020. The Miami Herald reported that the then-active deputy, …

New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with ...

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: After Request for Counsel

New Jersey Supreme Court: Edwards Violation When Police Fail to Cease Interrogation After Suspect Makes Ambiguous Invocation of Right to Counsel and ‘Initiates’ Request for Further Communication with Police by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that under the Edwards rule the defendant did …

News in Brief

Article • November 15, 2022 • from CLN December, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Court documents revealed the week of Oct. 3, 2022, show that a former Brookside police chief, Mike Jones, was indicted by a grand jury for speeding and impersonating an officer. AL.com reported that Jones had resigned from his post as the town’s Chief of Police …

Third Circuit Announces Conspiracy to Commit ‘Crime of Violence’ Not ‘Crime of Violence’ for Purposes of Sentencing Enhancement Under Guideline § 2K2.1(a)(4)

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

Third Circuit Announces Conspiracy to Commit ‘Crime of Violence’ Not ‘Crime of Violence’ for Purposes of Sentencing Enhancement Under Guideline § 2K2.1(a)(4) by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”) § 2K2.1 does not apply to conspiracy …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arkansas: A Mulberry police officer and two sheriff’s deputies from Crawford County were suspended after a video surfaced appearing to show them beating a man suspected of making violent threats. Maine Public Radio reported that the three officers were videoed by a bystander as they held …

New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation

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

Filed under: New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Custodial Interrogations

New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney  The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the convictions of Laura Gonzalez because a detective failed to clarify Gonzalez’s ambiguous request for counsel during her …

New Jersey Supreme Court Announces ‘Non-Transparent’ for Purposes of Tinted Window Violation Justifying Traffic Stop Means Front Windows Dark Enough That Police Can’t Clearly See People or Items Insid...

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

Filed under: Warrantless Searches, Traffic Stops

New Jersey Supreme Court Announces ‘Non-Transparent’ for Purposes of Tinted Window Violation Justifying Traffic Stop Means Front Windows Dark Enough That Police Can’t Clearly See People or Items Inside Vehicle by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that police lacked reasonable suspicion of …

New Jersey Supreme Court: Defendant Did Not Voluntarily Waive Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Because Police Persistently Contradicted and Undermined Significance of Miranda During Interrogation

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

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Custodial Interrogations/Statements, Miranda

New Jersey Supreme Court: Defendant Did Not Voluntarily Waive Privilege Against Self-Incrimination Because Police Persistently Contradicted and Undermined Significance of Miranda During Interrogation by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that because detectives repeatedly contradicted and undermined the importance of the defendant’s Miranda rights …

New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Framework for Determining Constitutionality of Warrantless Protective Sweep of Home Where Arrest Is Made Outside the Home

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

Filed under: Warrantless Searches, Arrest - Search Incident to

New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Framework for Determining Constitutionality of Warrantless Protective Sweep of Home Where Arrest Is Made Outside the Home by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In consolidated cases presenting an issue of first impression, the Supreme Court of New Jersey announced the framework for determining the lawfulness …

NJ Collects DNA Samples of All Babies Born in State and Police Can Access Data

Article • August 13, 2022

Filed under: DNA Evidence

NJ Collects DNA Samples of All Babies Born in State and Police Can Access Data by The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender and the New Jersey Monitor recently filed a complaint against the New Jersey Department of Health Division and Environmental Laboratories seeking access to subpoenas served to …

New Jersey Supreme Court: Description of Race and Gender of Robbery Suspects, Without More, Doesn’t Constitute Reasonable Suspicion for Investigatory Traffic Stop of Black Motorists

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

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Traffic Stops

New Jersey Supreme Court: Description of Race and Gender of Robbery Suspects, Without More, Doesn’t Constitute Reasonable Suspicion for Investigatory Traffic Stop of Black Motorists by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson THE NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT unanimously held that police lacked reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop a vehicle occupied …

New Jersey Supreme Court: Youth May Be Considered as a Mitigating Factor but Not Aggravating Factor in Sentencing

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

Filed under: Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Combination of Factors/Totality of Circumstances

New Jersey Supreme Court: Youth May Be Considered as a Mitigating Factor but Not Aggravating Factor in Sentencing by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a defendant’s youth may be considered only as a mitigating factor in sentencing and cannot support an …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Britain: A court hearing at London’s highest legal body is scheduled for late June 2022, The Guardian reported. It will concern a lawsuit brought against the City of London police for allegedly wrongfully tasering a Black man on April 7, 2018. Case was …

Weed Now Legal in New Jersey, New Yorkers Cannot Cross State Lines With It

Article • May 3, 2022

Filed under: Marijuana Laws/Issues

Weed Now Legal in New Jersey, New Yorkers Cannot Cross State Lines With It by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott You can buy marijuana legally in New Jersey as of Thursday, April 21, 2022, one day after “World Weed Day.” Governor Phil Murphy signed into law three bills defining …

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, …

Rutgers University Pioneers New Jersey Innocence Project

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

Filed under: Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence

Rutgers University Pioneers New Jersey Innocence Project by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian  Rutgers University-Camden is the new base of operations for the New Jersey Innocence Project (“NJIP”). Jill Friedman is the associate dean for pro bono and public interest at Rutgers Law School in Camden, as well as …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: The family of a homeless and mentally ill man who died after being restrained by Phoenix cops in 2017 will get $5 million from the city, after a 7-2 city council vote in favor of the payment on November 17, 2021, according to a report …