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New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously reversed the defendant’s controlled dangerous substances …
Delaware Supreme Court Announces Four-Part Plain Error Framework, Aligning Prejudice Standard With Federal Approach Requiring Reasonable Probability of Different Outcome by Douglas Ankney by Doug Ankney Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Delaware vacated the defendant’s convictions and remanded, holding that the prosecution’s use of indirect hearsay evidence violated …
Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Buccal Swab Pursuant to Discovery Order Violates Fourth Amendment, Overrules Inevitable Discovery Precedent, and Clarifies Accomplice-Corroboration Statute Applies Only to Sworn Testimony by David Kim by David Kim The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that a buccal swab collected from a criminal defendant pursuant to …
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Vacates Conviction Based on Confrontation Clause Where Toxicologist Testified About Toxicology Tests Performed by Others, Which SCOTUS Rejected in Smith v. Arizona by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine vacated Rochelle Gleason’s conviction for aggravated trafficking of a scheduled drug that …
Mississippi Supreme Court Vacates Convictions, Holding Multiple Errors by State Resulted in ‘Legal Chaos’ That Deprived Defendant of Right to Fair Trial Under ‘Cumulative-Error Doctrine’ by Jeffrey Cohen Sitting en banc, the Supreme Court of Mississippi reversed both the trial court and Court of Appeals’ decisions that the State’s multiple …
Maryland Supreme Court Clarifies Process for Admitting Co-Conspirator’s Hearsay Statements During Police Interview Under ‘Declaration Against Penal Interest’ Exception, Trial Court Must ‘Parse’ Interview to Determine Admissibility of Each Statement by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Maryland clarified the process a trial court must follow when …
Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024
Filed under: Background Evidence
Systemic Failures in Background Check Reporting Is Ruining Lives and Costing Billions of Dollars by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso Concerns about the accuracy of criminal background check reports led two researchers to study this issue, and the results undermined commonly held beliefs about the reliability of such reports …
Rhode Island Supreme Court Holds Temporal Requirement of ‘Recent Fabrication’ Exception to Hearsay Rule Not Satisfied and Scribbled Note Made by Child Victim of Sexual Abuse Years After Alleged Events Not ‘Excited Utterance’ by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Thomas Clarke The Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that an alleged …
First Circuit: Sentencing May Not Be Based Upon Unreliable Hearsay Testimony by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit remanded a defendant’s case for resentencing after ruling that the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico relied on impermissible hearsay …
Tennessee Supreme Court Announces Prospective Abrogation of Common Law Accomplice-Corroboration Rule by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   The Supreme Court of Tennessee abrogated the common law accomplice-corroboration rule on a prospective basis and dismissed the murder conviction of Laronda Turner due to insufficient evidence. Turner, along with codefendants Tony …
Fifth Circuit: Admission of DHS Investigation Form G-166F at Trial Where Preparer of Form Did Not Testify Violates Confrontation Clause and Rule Against Hearsay by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the admission of Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Investigation …
Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023
Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies There Is No Per Se Rule Excluding Self-Serving Hearsay by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Colorado ­clarified that there is no per se rule excluding self-serving hearsay by a criminal defendant, holding that “like any other hearsay statement, a defendant’s self-serving hearsay …
Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023
Filed under: Hearsay Evidence
Missouri Supreme Court: Use of Out-of-Court Statement Admitted at Trial Exceeded Limited Purpose of Exception to Rule Against Hearsay Upon Which It Was Admitted by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Missouri, sitting en banc, held that the trial court committed prejudicial error by allowing a police …
Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022
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, …
Publication • 2022
Filed under: Invesitgative Findings
Iowa Office of Ombudsman Annual Report FY2022 IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT - - IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT Message from the Ombudsman -– IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT – – - IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 …
Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022
Eighth Circuit: Inadmissible Hearsay Improperly Used to Revoke Supervised Release by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri erroneously relied on inadmissible hearsay to revoke a federal defendant’s supervised release. The …
Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022
Filed under: Hearsay Evidence
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Framework for Determining Whether State of Mind Exception to Hearsay Rule Applies to Out-of-Court Statements, Dual-Purpose Statements Generally Inadmissible by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a note implicating the husband of a woman who was drowned the day after …
Article • November 15, 2021 • from CLN December, 2021
New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Framework for Requesting Criminal Background Check of Potential Juror and Calls for Judicial Conference to Explore Nature of Discrimination in Jury Selection Process by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of New Jersey announced the framework that …
California Supreme Court Announces Hearsay Regarding Nonpredicate Offenses in Psychological Evaluation Reports Inadmissible in SVP Probable Cause Hearings by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of California held that Welfare and Institution Code § 6602, subd. (a) does not create an exception permitting hearsay regarding nonpredicate offenses to …
Article • May 15, 2021 • from CLN June, 2021
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Speculation Insufficient to Trigger ‘Forfeiture by Wrongdoing’ Exception to Confrontation Clause by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell In a case where the lower courts assumed a defendant prevented an alleged victim of domestic violence from appearing at trial as a witness to testify against him, …
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