Skip navigation
Criminal Legal News

Search

More search options »
17 results
Third Circuit: No ‘Constructive Possession’ of Firearm Discovered in Trunk of Vehicle Six Months After Defendant’s Arrest, 
During Which Time He Was Incarcerated and Vehicle Impounded in Tow Lot Whose...
Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025
Filed under: Preponderance of the Evidence Standard, Possession or Use of Firearms, Collective Knowledge Doctrine
Third Circuit: No ‘Constructive Possession’ of Firearm Discovered in Trunk of Vehicle Six Months After Defendant’s Arrest, During Which Time He Was Incarcerated and Vehicle Impounded in Tow Lot Whose Sole Security Feature Was a Locked Gate by Sagi Schwartzberg The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit …
California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhance...
Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025
Filed under: Prison Gangs, Kidnapping, Abduction or Unlawful Restraint, Insufficiency of the Evidence, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Gang Membership
California Court of Appeal: Evidence Insufficient to Show Robbery Victim Moved ‘Substantial Distance’ to Support Simple Kidnapping Conviction and Amendments to § 186.22 Require Vacatur of Gang Enhancements by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In consolidated appeals, the Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, held that the evidence …
Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: Motion to Intervene, Insufficiency of the Evidence
Third Circuit Vacates Possession of Cocaine Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence to Support Weight Element by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On July 7, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in a precedential ruling, ordered a defendant to be resentenced after it found there was …
Police’s Limited Understanding of AI Tools Raises Concerns, Study Finds
Article • May 15, 2023
Filed under: EP2P Software, Deceptive Investigative Techniques
Police’s Limited Understanding of AI Tools Raises Concerns, Study Finds by Miles Dyson by Miles Dyson The increasing use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools in policing is raising concerns over the limited understanding of these technologies among law enforcement agencies, according to a recent study. As AI continues to play …
Ohio Supreme Court: Amendment to Statute That Shifts Burden of Proof to State Regarding Self-Defense Applies to All Pending and New Trials After Effective Date, Regardless of When Alleged Crime Occurr...
Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022
Filed under: Retroactivity, Burden of Proof
Ohio Supreme Court: Amendment to Statute That Shifts Burden of Proof to State Regarding Self-Defense Applies to All Pending and New Trials After Effective Date, Regardless of When Alleged Crime Occurred by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Ohio held that 2018 House Bill 228’s (“H.B. 228”) …
Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Failed to Meet Its Burden to Support Uncharged Drug Quantity Under Rule 32
Article • August 9, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022
Filed under: Burden of Proof, Drugs - Determination of
Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Failed to Meet Its Burden to Support Uncharged Drug Quantity Under Rule 32 by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit admonished that “sentencing proceedings are not a free-for-all” and vacated Edward Gibbs’ sentence where the requirements …
Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Reasonable Likelihood’ Framework for Determining Whether Trial Court’s Comments to Prospective Jurors Lowered Prosecution’s Burden of Proof
Article • July 15, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022
Filed under: Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Burden of Proof, Improper Comment
Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Reasonable Likelihood’ Framework for Determining Whether Trial Court’s Comments to Prospective Jurors Lowered Prosecution’s Burden of Proof by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In companion cases, the Supreme Court of Colorado adopted the functional “reasonable likelihood” framework for determining whether a trial court’s comments to prospective …
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Dismissal of Charge Based on Express Statement of ‘Insufficient Evidence’ Is Equivalent to Acquittal for § 1170.95 Resentencing
Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022
Filed under: New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Insufficiency of the Evidence
California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Dismissal of Charge Based on Express Statement of ‘Insufficient Evidence’ Is Equivalent to Acquittal for § 1170.95 Resentencing by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, affirmed the finding of a superior court in a § 1170.95 …
Seventh Circuit Finds Lack of Evidence, Grants Habeas Relief, and Orders ‘Immediate Release’
Article • September 15, 2021 • from CLN October, 2021
Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Lack of Evidence
Seventh Circuit Finds Lack of Evidence, Grants Habeas Relief, and Orders ‘Immediate Release’ by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell In a rare case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit granted habeas corpus relief to a state prisoner after finding that the State’s evidence was lacking and the …
Second Circuit: Nondescript Photo of Unidentified Black Male Insufficient Grounds to Conduct Investigatory Stop
Article • November 15, 2020 • from CLN December, 2020
Filed under: Insufficiency of the Evidence, Pat Down Searches
Second Circuit: Nondescript Photo of Unidentified Black Male Insufficient Grounds to Conduct Investigatory Stop by Anthony Accurso by Anthony Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a lower court order denying defendant’s evidence suppression motion on the grounds that a photo, which provided very little identifying …
Kansas Supreme Court: District Court Failed to Apprise Defendant of Right to Jury Trial
Article • July 15, 2020 • from CLN August, 2020
Filed under: Right to Jury Determination/Trial, Right to Bench Trial
Kansas Supreme Court: District Court Failed to Apprise Defendant of Right to Jury Trial by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Kansas held that a district court “failed to properly apprise [Bryan Richard] Harris of his right to a jury trial and failed to ensure that Harris …
South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects U.S. Supreme Court’s Shifting of Burden to Defendant to Prove Absence of Exigent Circumstances in DUI Cases
Article • June 15, 2020 • from CLN July, 2020
Filed under: Exigent Circumstances, Warrantless Searches, Burden of Proof
South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects U.S. Supreme Court’s Shifting of Burden to Defendant to Prove Absence of Exigent Circumstances in DUI Cases by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of South Carolina rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mitchell v. Wisconsin, 139 S. Ct. 2525 (2019), to …
Iowa Supreme Court Vacates Guilty Plea for Lack of Evidence and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Article • May 15, 2020 • from CLN June, 2020
Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Lack of Evidence
Iowa Supreme Court Vacates Guilty Plea for Lack of Evidence and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Iowa ruled there was no factual basis to support a defendant’s guilty plea to possessing a tool with the intent to use in the …
10th Circuit: Evidence Insufficient to Support Conviction for Attempting to Kill Witness
Article • May 15, 2020 • from CLN June, 2020
Filed under: Insufficiency of the Evidence
10th Circuit: Evidence Insufficient to Support Conviction for Attempting to Kill Witness by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the evidence was insufficient to support John Terry Chatman, Jr.’s conviction of obstruction of justice by attempting to kill a witness. …
Fifth Circuit Finds IAC for Failure to Object to Court’s Jury Instructions that Constructively Amended Indictment by Lowering Government’s Burden of Proof
Article • May 15, 2020 • from CLN June, 2020
Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Jurors and Juries, Burden of Proof
Fifth Circuit Finds IAC for Failure to Object to Court’s Jury Instructions that Constructively Amended Indictment by Lowering Government’s Burden of Proof by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled on March 31, 2020, that the district court’s constructive amendment to an …
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence
Article • April 15, 2020 • from CLN May, 2020
Filed under: Murder/Felony Murder, Insufficiency of the Evidence
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Reverses Murder Conviction Due to Insufficient Evidence by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts reversed Jean Carlos Lopez’s murder conviction because the evidence was insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Lopez knowingly participated in the killing with the requisite …
Seventh Circuit: Unsupported CI Statements Insufficient to Justify Higher Drug Quantity for Sentencing
Article • April 15, 2020 • from CLN May, 2020
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Lack of Evidence, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2)
Seventh Circuit: Unsupported CI Statements Insufficient to Justify Higher Drug Quantity for Sentencing by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held on January 28, 2020, that the unsupported statements by confidential informants (“CI”) about drug amounts and transactions outside the direct criminal …