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Fourth Circuit: Long-Term Aerial Surveillance That Reveals ‘Whole of Individuals’ Movements’ Constitutes Search Without a Warrant, Violates Fourth Amendment

Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022

Filed under: Police State-Surveillance, Warrantless Searches, Suspicionless Searches

Fourth Circuit: Long-Term Aerial Surveillance That Reveals ‘Whole of Individuals’ Movements’ Constitutes Search Without a Warrant, Violates Fourth Amendment by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On rehearing en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that the Aerial Investigation Research (“AIR”) program—a first of its kind …

Maryland Court of Appeals Announces Standard for Whether Scientific Evidence Is ‘Testimonial’ for Confrontation Right Purposes Under Article 21 of Maryland Declaration of Rights

Article • November 15, 2021 • from CLN December, 2021

Filed under: junk science, Confrontation Clause/Rights

Maryland Court of Appeals Announces Standard for Whether Scientific Evidence Is ‘Testimonial’ for Confrontation Right Purposes Under Article 21 of Maryland Declaration of Rights by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Citing lack of clear guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Maryland Court of Appeals (“MCA” or “Court”) announced that …

News in Brief

Article • October 15, 2021 • from CLN November, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A former Alabama cop convicted of murdering a mentally ill and suicidal man in his own home reported to a state prison in Montgomery on September 6, 2021, to begin serving a 25-year sentence he received for the crime, according to Huntsville TV station WAFF. …

Concealed Exculpatory Evidence and New Palm Print Evidence Frees Wrongfully Convicted Man After 21 Years in Prison

Article • September 15, 2021 • from CLN October, 2021

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Evidence - Failure to Disclose

Concealed Exculpatory Evidence and New Palm Print Evidence Frees Wrongfully Convicted Man After 21 Years in Prison by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In April 2021, Jonathan Smith, Sr. was freed after serving nearly 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Last year, the Maryland Court …

Seth v. Mcdonough, MD, Settlement Agreement, Inadequacy of Response to Covid 19 Pandemic, 2021

Brief • August 18, 2021

Filed under: COVID-19

Seth v. Mcdonough, MD, Settlement Agreement, Inadequacy of Response to Covid 19 Pandemic, 2021 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND KEITH SETH, et al., Individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons Plaintiffs-Petitioners, No. 8:20-cv-1028-PX Private Settlement Agreement and Release V. MARY LOU MCDONOUGH, …

First Step Act Knocks Corrupt Baltimore Officers' Sentences from 454 Years to 20

Article • August 16, 2021

Filed under: Police Misconduct, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act

First Step Act Knocks Corrupt Baltimore Officers' Sentences from 454 Years to 20 by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Two former Baltimore police officers sentenced to a combined 454 years in federal prison had their sentences reduced to just 20 years each in May after their sentencing judge agreed that …

Maryland and Montana: First States to Pass Laws Restricting Access to Consumer Genealogy Databases by Law Enforcement

Article • August 15, 2021 • from CLN September, 2021

Filed under: DNA Evidence, Electronic Communictions Privacy Act

Maryland and Montana: First States to Pass Laws Restricting Access to Consumer Genealogy Databases by Law Enforcement by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian In recent years, law enforcement has realized the enormous potential to solve crimes by using genetic genealogy databases. New laws in Maryland and Montana seek to …

Maryland Enacts Significant Police Reform, Overriding Governor’s Veto

Article • August 15, 2021 • from CLN September, 2021

Filed under: Criminal justice system reform, Police

Maryland Enacts Significant Police Reform, Overriding Governor’s Veto by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins The first state in the nation to institute a police bill of rights now also holds the distinction of being the first to repeal it. Passed into law in 1974, the legislation afforded Maryland cops the …

Maryland Court of Appeals: Erroneous Anti-CSI Jury Instruction Was Not Harmless Error

Article • July 15, 2021 • from CLN August, 2021

Maryland Court of Appeals: Erroneous Anti-CSI Jury Instruction Was Not Harmless Error by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeals of Maryland (“COA”) reversed a judgment of the Court of Special Appeals (“COSA”) that held the trial court’s error in giving an anti-CSI jury instruction was harmless. A …

Baltimore Cop’s Teen Stepson Pronounced Dead After Being Found Hidden in Wall of Family’s Home

Article • July 9, 2021

Filed under: Wrongful Death, Police--Excessive Force, Police/Govt Misconduct

Baltimore Cop’s Teen Stepson Pronounced Dead After Being Found Hidden in Wall of Family’s Home by An officer with the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) was taken into custody on July 3, 2021, at his suburban home in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, after scuffling with local police responding to a custody-dispute …

News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2021 • from CLN July, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: An Alabama state trooper arrested on April 27, 2021 for sexually abusing a child had been fired from the FBI for sexual misconduct before he was ever hired in Alabama, fooling the state Law Enforcment Agency (ALEA) with a letter of recommendation that was apparently …

Baltimore and St. Louis ‘Shoot Down’ Spy Planes

Article • June 15, 2021 • from CLN July, 2021

Filed under: Police State-Surveillance

Baltimore and St. Louis ‘Shoot Down’ Spy Planes by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In recent months, Baltimore and St. Louis city officials voted unanimously to spare their residents from further invasions of their privacy by terminating a “panoptic aerial surveillance system” that was designed to protect soldiers on the …

Food Prison Abolition Project, MD, How Prison Food in Maryland Became Even Worse During COVID-19, 2021

Publication • 2021

Filed under: Food

Food Prison Abolition Project, MD, How Prison Food in Maryland Became Even Worse During COVID-19, 2021 MARYLAND PRISON" ABOLITION ., PROJECT liolence,Hunger, and Premature Death: 0 Covid-19 in Maryland Prisons 0 Prisons didnotprovide adequate access to personal protective equipment for incarcerated folks.Individuals alsospoketo howsome correctional staffconsistently didnotwear masks or gloves …

Chasing Justice - Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland

Publication • 2021

Filed under: Excessive Force (Police)

Chasing Justice - Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland Chasing Justice Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland Contents 5 Summary of Findings 6 Introduction 7 History 9 Race and Policing 13 Crimes by Police Chasing Justice Addressing Police Violence and Corruption in Maryland January, 2021 Joe Spielberger Public …

Duvall v. Hogan, MD, Memorandum Opinion, Denial of Medical and Mental Health, 2021

Brief • May 21, 2021

Filed under: Medical

Duvall v. Hogan, MD, Memorandum Opinion, Denial of Medical and Mental Health, 2021 Case 1:94-cv-02541-ELH Document 723 Filed 05/21/21 Page 1 of 30 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND JEROME DUVALL, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. ELH-94-2541 LAWRENCE HOGAN, JR., et al., Defendants. …

Duvall v. Hogan, MD, Order Granting in Part, Denial of Medical and Mental Health, 2021

Brief • May 21, 2021

Filed under: Medical

Duvall v. Hogan, MD, Order Granting in Part, Denial of Medical and Mental Health, 2021 Case 1:94-cv-02541-ELH Document 724 Filed 05/21/21 Page 1 of 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND JEROME DUVALL, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. ELH-94-2541 LAWRENCE HOGAN, JR., et …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2021 • from CLN June, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: On March 12, 2021, federal prosecutors in California unsealed indictments against a pair of policemen accused of pocketing cash and drugs confiscated from suspects they pulled over in traffic stops. According to a report by Law & Crime, former Rohnert Park Police Department officers Brendon …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: A week after he was shot chasing a suspect, an off-duty police officer from Alberquerque, New Mexico, was arrested on February 21, 2021, for aggravated DWI. According to a report by local TV station KRQE, Officer Fouad Cherair, 29, was found by police in the …

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 …

Maryland Court of Appeals: MTA’s Fare Sweep Constitutes Suspicionless Seizure in Violation of Fourth Amendment

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

Filed under: Illegal Search, Suspicionless Searches

Maryland Court of Appeals: MTA’s Fare Sweep Constitutes Suspicionless Seizure in Violation of Fourth Amendment by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeals of Maryland affirmed a decision of the Court of Special Appeals (“COSA”) that held police officers from the Maryland Transit Administration (“MTA”) violated Kennard Carter’s …