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News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025

Filed under: Assault by Police, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Stun Guns/Tasers, Immigration, False Arrest, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of

News in Brief by Alabama: Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith faces six misdemeanor counts after a grand jury indicted him on May 30, 2025, for knowingly employing uncertified personnel. WBRC in Birmingham reported that Smith’s second-in-command, Chief Deputy Ralph Williams, was also indicted on one count of providing false or …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alaska: In a rare move, federal prosecutors asked an Alaska judge to vacate the 2019 assault conviction of long-time felon Johnny-Lee Preston Burk, citing a concealed relationship between the presiding judge and a prosecutor in the case. The Alaska Beacon reported that United States District Judge …

News In Brief

Article • November 1, 2024 • from CLN November, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News In Brief by Alabama: WSFA out of Mobile reported that on August 22 and 23, 2024, a sex trafficking sting operation occurring in several jurisdictions resulted in the arrests of 11 men. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and other law enforcement officials discussed the results at a press conference. …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: Former Centre policeman Michael Kilgore, 40, should have known co-conspirators will bumble any crime. After his co-conspirator went singing to authorities, Kilgore was fired and charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in May 2023. WRCB reported, that according to the plea agreement, Kilgore …

Kentucky Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Discretion by ‘Rehabilitating’ Juror Who Indicated Could Not Be Impartial and Failing to Strike Juror

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: For Cause, Challenges for Cause, Voir Dire, Judicial Disqualification/Misconduct

Kentucky Supreme Court: Trial Court Abused Discretion by ‘Rehabilitating’ Juror Who Indicated Could Not Be Impartial and Failing to Strike Juror by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Kentucky concluded a trial court abused its discretion by failing to find a juror had evinced “a reasonable …

Sixth Circuit: Trial Judge’s Personal and Condemnatory Remarks Directed Toward Defendant Requires Recusal

Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024

Filed under: Different Judge, Appearance of Justice/Impartiality, Comments by Judge

Sixth Circuit: Trial Judge’s Personal and Condemnatory Remarks Directed Toward Defendant Requires Recusal by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that a trial judge’s personal and condemnatory remarks directed toward a defendant required recusal of the judge. Leron Liggins was charged …

Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury

Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023

Filed under: Jury Instructions, Criminal Procedure, Fair Trial, Verdicts

Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Kentucky reversed convictions for first-degree wanton endangerment (“FDWE”) and first-degree persistent felony offender, holding that the trial court …

DOJ Concludes Louisville Police Engaging in Patterns of Unconstitutional Conduct

Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Protests, First Amendment, rights, Relevant Conduct

DOJ Concludes Louisville Police Engaging in Patterns of Unconstitutional Conduct by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney After conducting a two-year investigation in the wake of the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by police, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) concluded that the Louisville Metro Police Department (“LMPD”) engages in patterns …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: According to information attained by Hatewatch, the leader of the extremist Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association emailed a video regarding an investigation into his son which could potentially cause the father to be prosecuted. Richard Mack sent a video of his son’s alleged child …

Hardin v. City of Louisville, KY, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2023

Brief • September 7, 2023

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction

Hardin v. City of Louisville, KY, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 RELEASEANDSETTLEMENTAGREEMENT This Release and Settlement Agreement is made and entered into this _ _ _ day of September 2023, by and between the Parties as defined below. DEFINITIONS For the purposes of this Release and Settlement Agreement ("Settlement Agreement"): (I) …

Sixth Circuit Holds Bump Stocks Not Regulated Under Machinegun Statute

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: Gun Laws/Crimes, Guns - Type of, Firearms

Sixth Circuit Holds Bump Stocks Not Regulated Under Machinegun Statute by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit weighed in on the ongoing Circuit split of whether a “bump stock” – placement of which on a semiautomatic rifle enables it to function …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Reported by KHSL in Chico/Redding, Nicholas Lee Rush, 49, a Chico Police Officer, has been charged with providing marijuana to an underage family member, 17, and also encouraging the teen to share the stash with his girlfriend. In 2022, an investigation into whether Rush was …

Sixth Circuit Suppresses Evidence Obtained as a Result of Warrant That Lacked Probable Cause of Criminal Activity in Arson Investigation

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: Probable Cause, Suppression

Sixth Circuit Suppresses Evidence Obtained as a Result of Warrant That Lacked Probable Cause of Criminal Activity in Arson Investigation by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit required suppression of evidence based upon a warrant for evidence related to a structure …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: The District Attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascón, announced that a police officer in San Fernando was charged with theft. CBS News reported that the officer, Jeffrey King, 37, was handed charges on June 6, 2023, of misdemeanor petty theft, felony extortion, and felony …

Fired Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor Hired by Sheriff’s Office in Rural Kentucky, Sparking Outrage

Article • May 6, 2023

Filed under: Police--Excessive Force

Fired Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor Hired by Sheriff’s Office in Rural Kentucky, Sparking Outrage by Former Louisville police officer Myles Cosgrove, responsible for the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020, has obtained a new job at a sheriff’s office near Louisville, Kentucky. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office confirmed …

News in Brief

Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: It was announced by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 20, 2023, that a police officer in Madison was arrested, accused of sexual misconduct. AL.com and WHNT in northern Alabama reported that the officer, Kevin Walter, 35, was arrested on Feb. …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The DOJ Civil Rights Division announced on Oct. 21, 2022, that a former sheriff’s deputy in Dallas County was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in the middle of the day on Jan. 30, 2020. The Miami Herald reported that the then-active deputy, …

Sixth Circuit Announces Criminal Forfeiture Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b) Is Mandatory Claims-Processing Rule, Reverses $62.5 Million Money Judgments

Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023

Filed under: Forfeiture, Sentence and Judgement

Sixth Circuit Announces Criminal Forfeiture Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b) Is Mandatory Claims-Processing Rule, Reverses $62.5 Million Money Judgments by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed two money judgments totaling $62.5 million after holding Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(b) …

Kentucky Supreme Court Announces Obtaining Real-Time CSLI Data Constitutes a Search Under Fourth Amendment, Addressing Legal Question U.S. Supreme Court Explicitly Left Open in Carpenter

Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023

Filed under: Cell-Site-Location Records, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Fourth Amendment

Kentucky Supreme Court Announces Obtaining Real-Time CSLI Data Constitutes a Search Under Fourth Amendment, Addressing Legal Question U.S. Supreme Court Explicitly Left Open in Carpenter by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Kentucky upheld a suppression order, holding that individuals …

News in Brief

Article • November 15, 2022 • from CLN December, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

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 …