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News in Brief

Article • March 15, 2021 • from CLN April, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: A federal jury awarded a man who suffered severe head and face injuries in an encounter with a San Diego detective $1.5 million in November 2020. San Diego’s City Council, meanwhile, is expected to “approve a $2.5 million settlement, the money awarded by the jury …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2021 • from CLN March, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputy Sukhdeep Gill, 27, was arrested in January 2021 for faking his own shooting and alleging he’d been a victim in a drive-by shooting while on patrol, according to thefreethoughtproject.com. He was charged with felony vandalism and falsely reporting a crime, …

Eleventh Circuit Announces Drug Offenses Involving Multiple Drugs Can Qualify as ‘Covered Offense’ Under First Step Act if Crack One of the Drugs

Article • January 15, 2021 • from CLN February, 2021

Filed under: First Step Act, Multiple Drugs

Eleventh Circuit Announces Drug Offenses Involving Multiple Drugs Can Qualify as ‘Covered Offense’ Under First Step Act if Crack One of the Drugs by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held on December 9, 2020, that as long as one of the …

Jones v. Hill, GA, Order, COVID-19, 2020

Brief • December 29, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Jones v. Hill, GA, Order, COVID-19, 2020 Case 1:20-cv-02791-JPB-CCB Document 130 Filed 12/29/20 Page 1 of 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION RHONDA JONES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. VICTOR HILL, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Clayton County, Georgia, et al., CIVIL ACTION NO. …

Georgia Supreme Court Affirms Right to Resist Unlawful Arrest and Announces Right Includes Use of Proportionate Force Against Government Property

Article • December 15, 2020 • from CLN January, 2021

Filed under: Warrants - Requirements/Scope/Exceptions, Wrongful Use of Force

Georgia Supreme Court Affirms Right to Resist Unlawful Arrest and Announces Right Includes Use of Proportionate Force Against Government Property by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed that the common-law right to resist an unlawful arrest continues to be the law in Georgia and announced …

News in Brief

Article • December 15, 2020 • from CLN January, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alaska: A plan to shift the response to mental health crises away from police and into the hands of mental health professionals made strides in November 2020. The Assembly approved money to launch a mobile crisis intervention team. In Anchorage, it would operate at the fire …

Is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Ready to Investigate Arbery Cover-Up?

Article • October 15, 2020 • from CLN November, 2020

Filed under: News, News in Brief

Is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Ready to Investigate Arbery Cover-Up? by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins The murder of Ahmaud Arbery was shockingly mishandled by local police from the very beginning. Two White men chased down and shot a young Black man, and yet they had not been charged …

Blue Lives Matter More: Georgia Introduces Hate Crime Bill Designed to Protect the Cops

Article • October 15, 2020 • from CLN November, 2020

Filed under: Protests, Qualified Immunity, State Legislation, News in Brief, Hate Crimes

Blue Lives Matter More: Georgia Introduces Hate Crime Bill Designed to Protect the Cops by Michael Fortino, Ph.D by Michael Fortino, Ph.D. In the summer of 2020, a summer of discontent, a summer rife with pandemic lockdowns and street protests, the Georgia Legislature chose not to address the unrest and …

News in Brief

Article • September 15, 2020 • from CLN October, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Marissa Cruz and Paea Tukuafu filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of San Jose police in August 2020, claiming they were “battered and bruised” by cops and subject to unreasonable search and entry. The two were celebrating ahead of Cruz’s 22nd birthday at …

Jones v. Ward, GA, Complaint, Retaliation, 2020

Brief • August 24, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

Jones v. Ward, GA, Complaint, Retaliation, 2020 Case 5:20-cv-00336-CAR-MSH Document 1 Filed 08/24/20 Page 1 of 6 IN THE UNITED STAT ES DISTR ICT COUR T FOR THE MIDD LE DISTR ICT OF GEOR GIA J\\n<:&Q ·A\\$.-; co/ r i ,, t~ ~~1 " \.) DMS ION f.:- \..l QUES …

News in Brief

Article • August 15, 2020 • from CLN September, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: Mariah Valenzuela has filed legal notices against the city of Phoenix and Maricopa County over Phoenix police officer Michael McGillis’ use of force during a January 16, 2020 traffic stop, abc15.com reports. The officer, driving a white van, stopped Valenzuela for allegedly veering across the …

The Lunacy of Qualified Immunity

Article • August 15, 2020 • from CLN September, 2020

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified

The Lunacy of Qualified Immunity by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon The entire premise underlying punishment is that the person being punished knew what they did was wrong before they acted but did the action anyway. If the person lacked the requisite knowledge of right and wrong, then they may …

Georgia Supreme Court: Counsel’s Failure to Inform Defendant of Absolute Right to Withdraw Plea Prior to Sentencing Ineffective Assistance

Article • August 15, 2020 • from CLN September, 2020

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Grounds For Withdrawal

Georgia Supreme Court: Counsel’s Failure to Inform Defendant of Absolute Right to Withdraw Plea Prior to Sentencing Ineffective Assistance by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Georgia held a habeas corpus petitioner was denied the effective assistance of counsel due to counsel’s failure to advise him …

Eleventh Circuit Holds Georgia Terroristic Threats Conviction Overbroad for ACCA

Article • July 15, 2020 • from CLN August, 2020

Filed under: Terrorist Designation/Terrorism Label, Possession or Use of Firearms

Eleventh Circuit Holds Georgia Terroristic Threats Conviction Overbroad for ACCA by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held on April 8, 2020, that a prior conviction under Georgia’s terroristic threats statute was overbroad and therefore failed to meet the elements clause of …

Fulton County Prosecutor in Georgia to Expunge MLK and Other Civil Rights Leaders’ Records, But not Everyone Agrees

Article • July 15, 2020 • from CLN August, 2020

Filed under: Prior Convictions - Expungement or Reversal of

Fulton County Prosecutor in Georgia to Expunge MLK and Other Civil Rights Leaders’ Records, But not Everyone Agrees by Michael Fortino, Ph.D by Michael Fortino, Ph.D. On October 19, 1960, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested while taking part in the Atlanta Student Movement’s campaign of boycotts …

Audit of the United States Marshals Service's Contract Awarded to the GEO Group, Incorporated to Operate the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General,...

Publication • July 1, 2020

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Corrections Audits

Audit of the United States Marshals Service's Contract Awarded to the GEO Group, Incorporated to Operate the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, 2020 RE D A CT ED FOR PUB L IC REL EAS E L IM ITE D O F F …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2020 • from CLN June, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: Tucson has a new ordinance topunish those who fail to stay outside designated crime scene perimeters, the Tucson Star reports. The law aims to halt “cop haters” with cameras, but the potential fallout is a stifling of First Amendment rights. While people should not provoke …

Georgia Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Second State Habeas Petition

Article • April 15, 2020 • from CLN May, 2020

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Reversal of Precedent, Juror Misconduct Issues

Georgia Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Second State Habeas Petition by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the Walker County Superior Court’s dismissal of Joseph Samuel Watkins’ second petition for writ of habeas corpus. Watkins was convicted in 2001 of felony murder, and his conviction …

Advanced DNA Technology Helps Free Innocent Georgia Man After Nearly 18 Years in Prison

Article • April 15, 2020 • from CLN May, 2020

Filed under: junk science, Wrongful Conviction, Claim of Innocence

Advanced DNA Technology Helps Free Innocent Georgia Man After Nearly 18 Years in Prison by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon On January 8, 2020, Kerry Robinson began the New Year and a new life as he left Georgia’s Coffee Correctional Facility a free man. He had spent nearly 18 years …

Georgia Supreme Court Overrules 50 Years of Jurisprudence and Announces Courts Are to Consider Cumulative Prejudice of Trial Court and Counsel Errors

Article • March 18, 2020 • from CLN April, 2020

Filed under: Trials

Georgia Supreme Court Overrules 50 Years of Jurisprudence and Announces Courts Are to Consider Cumulative Prejudice of Trial Court and Counsel Errors by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On February 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously ruled that reviewing courts are to consider the cumulative effect of trial …