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Philadelphia Man Exonerated After Police Cover-Up Exposed

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

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Evidence - Failure to Disclose

Philadelphia Man Exonerated After Police Cover-Up Exposed by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian On December 16, 2020, Termaine Hicks received what he calls “the best news I’ve heard in all my life.” Hicks learned that, after 19 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, he was finally …

Third Circuit: Brady Claims in Habeas Petitions Timely When Filed Within One Year of Date Reason to Believe Prosecutor Violated Duty To Disclose

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

Filed under: Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Timeliness of Motion, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations

Third Circuit: Brady Claims in Habeas Petitions Timely When Filed Within One Year of Date Reason to Believe Prosecutor Violated Duty To Disclose by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit determined that Dennis v. Sec’y, 834 F.3d 263 (3d Cir. 2016), altered …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Departure From SCOTUS’ Vehicle Exception to Warrant Requirement, Commonwealth’s Constitution Provides Greater Protections

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

Filed under: Vehicle Searches, Warrantless Searches

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Departure From SCOTUS’ Vehicle Exception to Warrant Requirement, Commonwealth’s Constitution Provides Greater Protections by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the Article I, Section 8 of the Commonwealth’s Constitution affords greater privacy protections to drivers than the Fourth Amendment to …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Officer Testified as Expert on Child Sexual Abuse Without First Being Qualified and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 Overruled Dunkle

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

Filed under: Expert Witnesses, Expert and Opinion Testimony

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Officer Testified as Expert on Child Sexual Abuse Without First Being Qualified and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 Overruled Dunkle by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a police officer testified as an expert without first being qualified by the court at …

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, …

Third Circuit Announces Prohibition Against Second Resentencing Under First Step Act Can Be Waived by Government

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

Filed under: First Step Act, Double jeopardy

Third Circuit Announces Prohibition Against Second Resentencing Under First Step Act Can Be Waived by Government by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit handed down an opinion on December 21, 2020, holding that the prohibition against a subsequent resentencing in § 404(c) …

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 …