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Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
California Court of Appeal: Prior Felony Does Not Convert “Wobbler” Into Felony by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The fact that a defendant admitted he had prior qualifying felonies for a Cal Pen Code § 665(a) enhancement does not convert his current “wobbler” into a felony, and the trial judge …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
First Circuit: Plain Error Standard Met When Trial Court Emphasized Erroneous Jury Instruction by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The trial court’s repeated inclusion of an erroneous element in the jury instructions amounted to a “plain error,” which led the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to vacate …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Fifth Circuit: “Fugitive from Justice” Enhancement Requires Intent to Avoid Prosecution by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The government must show that a defendant had the “express intent” in fleeing to avoid prosecution to prove he was a “prohibited person” under the “fugitive from justice” definition with respect to owning …
U.S. Murder Clearance Rates Among Lowest in the World by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Statistically, U.S. law enforcement agencies are the worst crime solvers in the Western world. According to official data, there are arrests for about one-eighth of burglaries, about one-third of rapes, and about two-thirds of murders. …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
California Legalization of Marijuana Allows Convicted to Petition by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna Proposition 64, which legalizes the sale of recreational marijuana in the state of California, also has a less publicized benefit for those with state marijuana felonies on their record. It allows them to petition to have …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules “Backseat Driver” Is a Real Thing Under Criminal Statutes by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Rhode Island Supreme Court has determined that a passenger in the back seat of a vehicle who lunges forward and jerks the steering wheel qualifies as an “operator” of …
Article • February 16, 2018 • from CLN March, 2018
San Francisco and San Diego Expunging Marijuana Convictions Under Prop 64 by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón is acting upon a provision of Proposition 64 that has received relatively little media attention but is nonetheless extremely significant for tens of thousands of individuals—reduction, dismissal, or expungement of certain previous …
Prosecutor’s “Animosity” Toward Defense Leads Oregon Appeals Court to Vacate Convictions by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The Oregon Court of Appeals concluded that a prosecutor’s criticism of defense counsel during closing argument “crossed the boundary of permissible argument and prejudiced defendant’s right to a fair trial.” Doug Brunnemer was …
Bread for the World Institute - Mass Incarceration: A Major Cause of Hunger, 2018 BRIEFING PAPER NUMBER 35, FEBRUARY 2018 Mass Incarceration: A Major Cause of Hunger by Marlysa D. Gamblin Bread for the World Institute provides policy analysis on hunger and poverty, as well as strategies to end it. …
Article • January 19, 2018
South Carolina Supreme Cancels Thousands of Bench Warrants Due to Constitutional Violations by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis Thousands of arrest warrants have been recalled by county magistrates and municipal judges across the state after South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Beatty issued new instructions to local magistrates. On …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
Ohio Supreme Court: Dismissal Without Prejudice Is a Final and Appealable Order by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Counts in a multicount indictment that are dismissed without prejudice do not prevent a judgment of conviction on other counts from being “final and appealable,” the Ohio Supreme Court held. Andrew Jackson …
The Fair Punishment Project Details an “Epidemic of Brady Violations” by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Fair Punishment Project (“FPP”), a criminal justice reform group, released a report in November 2017 detailing an “epidemic” of Brady violations taking place in criminal courts across the country. The U.S. Supreme Court …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
Misdemeanor Defendants Facing Jail Time Not Told They Have a Right to Counsel, Bar Association Finds by Topher Sanders by Topher Sanders, ProPublica American Bar Association monitors report misdemeanor defendants in Nashville often aren’t told they are entitled to a lawyer even when their charges mean they could end up behind …
Massachusetts Breathalyzer Malfunctions, Evidence Withheld by The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security released a bombshell 126-page report on October 16, 2017 that found a practice of intentionally withholding evidence from defense attorneys by the state’s Office of Alcohol Testing (“OAT”). Melissa O’Meara, technical leader of the office, …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
Eighth Circuit Reverses Convictions Due to Constructive Amendment of Charges by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a man’s convictions for interfering with two forestry workers, ruling that the prosecution and court constructively amended his charges. Thomas McDill owned property …
Fourth Circuit Vacates Brady Claim Denial in Capital Case and Rebukes Prosecutors by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia abused its discretion in dismissing Anthony Juniper’s Brady claim without holding …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies Adoptive Admission Exception to Hearsay Rule by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Kentucky Supreme Court has clarified exactly what the “adoptive admission” exception to the hearsay rule is under Kentucky law and how it applies in a criminal trial. The teachable moment came in a …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
Oregon Court Vacates Order Refusing to Seal Arrest Record by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson Under ORS 137.225(l)(b), “at any time after ... a dismissal of the charges,” an “arrested person may apply” to the trial court “for an order setting aside the record of arrest.” The court is required …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
More Than Half of 2015 Police Killings Not Properly Documented in Government Data by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found that over half of all police killings in 2015 were not properly documented as such in official …
Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018
In Historic Move, 15 Cases Related to Crooked Chicago Cop Thrown Out by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis Cook County, Illinois Chief Criminal Judge LeRoy Martin tossed the convictions of 15 criminal defendants on November 16, 2017 because the cases were linked to disgraced former Chicago Police Sergeant Ronald Watts. …
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