Maryland Supreme Court Announces New Constitutional Rule Requiring Voir Dire Questions Related to Child-Witness Credibility and Abrogates Prior Inconsistent Case Law by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The Supreme Court of Maryland announced a new rule of constitutional law permitting defendants to ask potential jurors during jury selection whether they …

California Court of Appeal: Petitioner Has Constitutional Right to Be Present at Evidentiary Hearing Under Felony Murder Resentencing Law by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth District, held that a violation of a prisoner’s constitutional and statutory rights to be personally present at …

California Court of Appeal: Petitioner Has Constitutional Right to Be Present at Hearing to Determine Facts Surrounding Felony Murder Charges for Possible Resentencing Under § 1172.6 by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, held that a prisoner’s constitutional and statutory rights …

Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Must Either Orally Pronounce All Discretionary ‘Standard’ Conditions of Supervised Release in the Presence of Defendant or Provide Conditions in Writing Prior to Sentencing by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that U.S. …

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 …

Indiana Supreme Court Reverses Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction Where Trial Court Denied Defense Counsel Opportunity to Directly Voir Dire Prospective Jurors by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Indiana reversed Kyle N. Doroszko’s involuntary manslaughter conviction because the trial court denied defense counsel the opportunity to voir dire …

Washington Supreme Court Announces Adoption of ‘Rule of Automatic Reversal’ When Prosecutor Flagrantly Appeals to Racial and Ethnic Bias During Voir Dire by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The Supreme Court of Washington, sitting en banc, announced a new rule for situations involving flagrant appeals to racial and ethnic bias …

SCOTUS Goes Live on Camera by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we live and conduct our business, yet some of those changes were long past due. Many relate to safety, others to convenience, and a few —namely with the U.S. Supreme Court — …