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Third Circuit: IAC Where Counsel Failed to Object to Accomplice-Liability Jury Instruction in Murder Case That Relieved State of Proving Specific Intent

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

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Co-conspirator/Accomplice liability

Third Circuit: IAC Where Counsel Failed to Object to Accomplice-Liability Jury Instruction in Murder Case That Relieved State of Proving Specific Intent by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that defense counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) for failing to …

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 …

Third Circuit: No Categorical Ban on Reliability of Recantations as New Evidence

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

Filed under: Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony

Third Circuit: No Categorical Ban on Reliability of Recantations as New Evidence by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a district court’s “categorical” ban on using a witness’ recantation (and confession to the crime) as new evidence to show actual …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: No Probable Cause to Search Cellphones Merely Possessed in Proximity to Drugs and Guns

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

Filed under: War on Drugs, Probable/Proximate Cause, Cell-Phones

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: No Probable Cause to Search Cellphones Merely Possessed in Proximity to Drugs and Guns by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held on October 21, 2020, that there was no probable cause to search cellphones found on someone who was found in close …

Philadelphia Joins Other Cities in Banning Police Use of Non-Lethal Force Against Protestors

Article • November 18, 2020

Filed under: Protests, Excessive Force (Police)

Philadelphia Joins Other Cities in Banning Police Use of Non-Lethal Force Against Protestors by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Just days after the shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr. by Philadelphia Police officers, the city council voted 14-3 to ban the use of “less lethal” munitions by police against demonstrators …

Third Circuit Announces Resentencing Under First Step Act Requires Use of § 3553(a) Factors

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

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

Third Circuit Announces Resentencing Under First Step Act Requires Use of § 3553(a) Factors by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held on September 15, 2020, that when a district court determines that a person is eligible for sentencing relief under the …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Reckless Prosecutorial Misconduct Constitutes Overreaching Sufficient to Trigger Double Jeopardy Protections

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

Filed under: Double jeopardy, Prosecutorial Misconduct

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Reckless Prosecutorial Misconduct Constitutes Overreaching Sufficient to Trigger Double Jeopardy Protections by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania concluded that Article I, Section 10 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, prohibition against double jeopardy, bars retrial because the prosecutor’s misconduct that evinced a conscious …

News in Brief

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

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alaska: Police here can fly over property but they “cannot use cameras and drones for aerial searches of property without a warrant,” the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled. “The ruling stems from a 2012 case in which Alaska State Troopers received a tip about marijuana being …

Third Circuit: District Court Must Personally Address Defendant During Sentencing

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

Filed under: Meaningful Opportunity to be Heard

Third Circuit: District Court Must Personally Address Defendant During Sentencing by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reaffirmed that a district court must personally invite a defendant to allocute at the time of sentencing. A jury convicted Michael Scripps of seven counts …

Using Doctor-Prescribed Marijuana Could Send Some People Back to Prison

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

Filed under: Revocation Proceedings, Simple Possession/Personal Use versus Distribution

Using Doctor-Prescribed Marijuana Could Send Some People Back to Prison by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Melissa Gass is a wife and a mother of five children who suffers from seizures as a result of a car crash when she was 10 years old. The seizures occur weekly, sometimes daily. …

Courts Oppose Prosecutors’ Attempts to Right Past Wrongs

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

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Courts Oppose Prosecutors’ Attempts to Right Past Wrongs by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney Over the past 10 years, a growing number of reform-minded prosecutors has emerged across the U.S., seeking not only to reform current tough-on-crime practices but also to acknowledge mistakes of the past. For example, in 2018, …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Expired Vehicle Registration Isn’t ‘Breach of the Peace’ Justifying Traffic Stop

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

Filed under: Traffic stop

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Expired Vehicle Registration Isn’t ‘Breach of the Peace’ Justifying Traffic Stop by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania described the contours of “breach of the peace” and held that operation of a motor vehicle with an expired registration sticker is a traffic violation …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Cronic’s Presumption of Prejudice Triggered by Counsel Failing to Secure Interpreter for First Day of Trial

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

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Cause and Prejudice

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Cronic’s Presumption of Prejudice Triggered by Counsel Failing to Secure Interpreter for First Day of Trial by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel where a Spanish-language interpreter was not secured for the …

Pennsylvania Prosecutors Cash in on Low-Level Drug Crimes

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

Filed under: Criticism of Government, Selective Prosecution/Enforcement

Pennsylvania Prosecutors Cash in on Low-Level Drug Crimes by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon State after state is legalizing the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana. Because of the revenues prosecuting low-level drug crimes saps from prosecutors, more and more of them in major jurisdictions are refusing to …

Order of the Governor, PA, COVID-19 Release, 2020

Publication • April 10, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Order of the Governor, PA, COVID-19 Release, 2020 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR ORDER OF THE GOVERNOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA REGARDING INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED IN STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS WHEREAS, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared the coronavirus disease 2019 …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Retention of Defendant’s ID Card Constitutes ‘Seizure’ for Fourth Amendment Purposes

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

Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Retention of Defendant’s ID Card Constitutes ‘Seizure’ for Fourth Amendment Purposes by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held on January 22, 2020, that the retention of a person’s identification card by law enforcement constituted a “seizure” under the U.S. Constitution, triggering …

In Case of First Impression, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Compelling Suspect to Disclose Computer Password Is Testimonial in Nature and Violates Fifth Amendment’s Privilege Against Self Incriminat...

Article • January 21, 2020 • from CLN February, 2020

Filed under: Self Incrimination

In Case of First Impression, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds Compelling Suspect to Disclose Computer Password Is Testimonial in Nature and Violates Fifth Amendment’s Privilege Against Self Incrimination by Douglas Ankney By Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that compelling a suspect to …

Wright v. Westmoreleand County, PA, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2020

Brief • January 9, 2020

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Wright v. Westmoreleand County, PA, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2020 Case 2:20-cv-00040-MPK Document 1 Filed 01/09/20 Page 1 of 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION DAROB WRIGHT, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-40 WESTMORLAND COUNTY, JOHN WALTON, and CORRECTIONS OFFICER DOE, JURY …

Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief in Loss of GBMI Plea in Pennsylvania Court Due to IAC, Announces New Rule

Article • December 18, 2019 • from CLN January, 2020

Filed under: Habeas Corpus

Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief in Loss of GBMI Plea in Pennsylvania Court Due to IAC, Announces New Rule by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted habeas relief on September 3, 2019, to a Pennsylvania state prisoner who had lost his …

Man Freed Who Sat in Prison Nearly 30 Years While Prosecutors Withheld Evidence of Innocence

Article • November 19, 2019 • from CLN December, 2019

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Release and Reentry, Wrongful Conviction

Man Freed Who Sat in Prison Nearly 30 Years While Prosecutors Withheld Evidence of Innocence by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell A man who sat in prison for almost 30 years because prosecutors and police withheld evidence that someone else committed the crime was set free July 16, 2019, after …