Jury Returns Record $80 Million Verdict for Wrongful Conviction Based on DA Misconduct by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A federal jury in New York awarded the estate of Darryl Boyd a record-breaking $80 million on November 19, 2025, for the more than 27 years he spent incarcerated …

Wyoming Supreme Court Announces Improper Comment on Defendant’s Right to Silence Is Per Se Prejudicial and Requires Reversal of Conviction, Overruling Precedent Requiring Prejudice Analysis in Such Cases by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed a defendant’s sexual abuse conviction, holding that the prosecutor’s opening …

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Prosecutor’s Repeated Statements During Closing Arguments That Defendant ‘No Longer Has Presumption of Innocence’ Constitutes Plain Error, Requiring a New Trial by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the prosecution committed plain error by repeatedly telling the jury during …

Arizona Supreme Court Clarifies Proper Fundamental Error Review Applicable to Allegation of a Single, Unobjected-to Instance of Prosecutorial Misconduct by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Arizona clarified the error review that is applicable when an appellant alleges a single instance of prosecutorial misconduct and no objection …

Kentucky Supreme Court Reverses Murder Convictions Due to ‘Flagrant Prosecutorial Misconduct’ in Misleading Jury by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Kentucky reversed a woman’s convictions for first and second-degree arson and six counts of attempted murder, four of which were enhanced as hate crimes, because the …

Ninth Circuit Reiterates Presumption of Innocence Remains Until Conviction, Grants Habeas Relief by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals held that a prosecutor’s repeated statements to a jury that a defendant wasn’t presumed innocent violated the Constitution’s Due Process Clause and granted habeas relief. The case …