Utah Supreme Court Announces Framework for Analyzing Combined Brady and Napue Violations, Affirms Postconviction Relief in Capital Murder Case by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case involving an issue of first impression in Utah, the Supreme Court of Utah adopted a two-step analytical framework for evaluating prejudice when …

Generative Suspicion: What Defense Lawyers Must Know About AI-Generated Police Reports by Richard Resch by Richard Resch Police departments nationwide are racing to adopt artificial intelligence that transcribes body-camera footage, translates witness statements, and drafts investigative narratives. But these tools introduce profound risks to factual accuracy and due process that …

NYC Murder Convictions Vacated After Withheld Evidence Reveals “Factually Impossible” Coerced Confession by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A Manhattan judge vacated the convictions of Brian Boles and Charles Collins for a 1994 Harlem murder, the Innocence Project reported. Judge Ruth Pickholz ended the nearly three-decade ordeal, which …

Ninth Circuit Announces Attorney Cannot Be Compelled to Provide ‘Privilege Log’ Protected Under Fisher if Doing So Would Undermine Client’s Fifth Amendment ‘Act-of-Production Privilege’ and Attorney-Client Privilege by Sagi Schwartzberg by Sagi Schwartzberg The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an attorney cannot be compelled to …

Indiana Supreme Court Suppresses All Evidence Related to Polygraph Exam for Examiner’s Failure to Disclose Unilater-ally Changing Exam Results From ‘Admissible’ to ‘Inadmissible’ Due to Defendant’s Mental State by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Indiana upheld evidentiary suppression of a defendant’s polygraph results and inculpatory …

Third Circuit Announces COA Required for Federal Prisoner Appealing District Court’s Choice of Remedy in § 2255 Proceeding by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression in the Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a federal prisoner appealing a District …

D.C. Circuit Orders New Trial Due to Brady Violations Involving Source of Information, Not Withholding of Information Itself by Richard Resch by Richard Resch The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the prosecution violated its Brady disclosure obligations by withholding multiple law enforcement reports from the …

Hawaii Supreme Court: Due Process Violation to Exclude Evidence of Victim’s BAC in Assault Case in Which Defendant Claims Self-Defense by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Hawaii held that a trial court erred by excluding evidence of the victim’s blood alcohol concentration (“BAC”) in a first-degree …

Eighth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Decades After Conviction Because Prosecutor Destroyed Evidence Prior to Trial by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed habeas relief to two codefendants on April 29, 2020, after an Arkansas state prosecutor (now a state supreme court …