News in Brief by Alabama: Court documents revealed the week of Oct. 3, 2022, show that a former Brookside police chief, Mike Jones, was indicted by a grand jury for speeding and impersonating an officer. AL.com reported that Jones had resigned from his post as the town’s Chief of Police …
Texas Requires Convict to Register as Sex Offender After Serving His Time for Car Theft, No Sex Crime Committed. by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On September 16, 2022, attorneys from the Civil Rights Clinic of the Georgetown University Law Center filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive …
Texas Teen Who Was Shot Repeatedly by Cop While Eating Hamburger Clings to Life by Kaden Gicker On the night of Oct. 2, 2022, a San Antonio, Texas, police officer approached a car in a McDonald’s parking lot. The New York Times and KENS in San Antonio reported that the …
News in Brief by Arkansas: A Mulberry police officer and two sheriff’s deputies from Crawford County were suspended after a video surfaced appearing to show them beating a man suspected of making violent threats. Maine Public Radio reported that the three officers were videoed by a bystander as they held …
Fifth Circuit Orders Limited Remand Where District Court’s Denial of First Step Act Relief Unclear by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered a limited remand where the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied Gabriel Perez’s petition under …
News in Brief by Alabama: On August 4, 2022, the Vincent City Council voted to fully dissolve the city’s police force after racist text messages by a top officer were discovered, CNN reported. The city is home to about 2,000 residents and until the vote by the council, had just …
Fifth Circuit: Officer’s Testimony About CI’s Controlled Buy That He Did Not Personally Witness Violates Confrontation Clause by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a Texas defendant’s drug conviction, concluding that the Government flouted his right to confront witnesses against him, …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Warrant to Search Cellphone Must Establish Nexus Between Device and Offense Beyond ‘Boilerplate’ Language About Cellphones Being Ubiquitous and Used in Crimes by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas held that a warrant affidavit failed to link a …
Fifth Circuit: New, Retroactive Supreme Court Decision Allowing SOS Habeas Petition Not New Enough to Avoid Procedural-Default Bar by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell In a decision that further narrows the federal habeas corpus remedy, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that …
News in Brief by Canada: Techdirt reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”), a division of that country’s federal law enforcement akin to the FBI, used malware to spy on people’s personal communications. The report came after the RCMP admitted to doing so in the summer of 2022. The …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Prejudice Standard for IAC Based on Faulty Probation Eligibility Advice Is an Effect on Defendant’s Decision Making, Not Different Outcome by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas clarified the correct ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) standard in cases …
News in Brief by California: The Daily News reported that two former police officers from Fullerton and Anaheim were indicted on counts of kidnapping while working illegally as bounty hunters. The former officers were Rodger Corbett, 49, formerly of the Fullerton PD and Kevin Pedersen, 34, formerly of the Anaheim …
Fifth Circuit: District Court Miscalculated Sentencing Guidelines Range by Implausibly Finding Defendant Would Use All Cash Proceeds of Drug Sales Seized to Purchase More Meth to Resell by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the …
Estate of Savion Hall v. Midland County, TX, Order Approving Settlement Agreement, Wrongful Death, 2022 Case 7:21-cv-00111-DC Document 56 Filed 06/30/22 Page 1 of 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MIDLAND/ODESSA DIVISION ANGELA ROBINSON, individually; CLARA BUSBY, as next friend, guardian, and parent of minors …
Deputy U.S. Marshall Tracks Girlfriends With Sensitive Law Enforcement Tool by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Ex-Deputy U.S. Marshall Adrian O. Pena was charged with 11 counts of unauthorized use of law enforcement services for personal gain. The charges involve nine people known to Pena through personal relationships and their …
Texas Police Refuse to Release Bodycam Footage From the Uvalde School Shooting, Claiming It Could Expose Law Enforcement ‘Weakness’ by Brooke Kaufman by Brooke Kaufman According to reporting from VICE News, the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) is trying to prevent the public from seeing police body cam footage …
News in Brief by News in Brief Britain: A court hearing at London’s highest legal body is scheduled for late June 2022, The Guardian reported. It will concern a lawsuit brought against the City of London police for allegedly wrongfully tasering a Black man on April 7, 2018. Case was …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Overruled Motion for New Trial May Be Amended With Court’s Leave Within 30-Day Period After Sentenced Imposed by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Court of Appeals of Texas held that a motion for a new trial that has been overruled by the trial …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces Coty’s ‘Inference-of-Falsity’ Framework Extended to Apply to Police Officers With Established History of Falsifying Evidence in Drug Cases by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas announced that the inference-of-falsity framework set forth in Ex parte Coty,418 S.W.3d 597 …
