Reining in Police Monitoring of Social Media by Michael Thompson by Michael Dean Thompson Social media has revolutionized connectivity, allowing people to develop and maintain relationships well beyond what was possible just a generation earlier. The revolution has, however, enabled the joint planning, execution, and documentation of crimes. It is …

Tenth Circuit: Counsel Advising Black Defendant No Minorities Would Be on Jury Is Material Misrepresentation About Right to Impartial Jury Rendering Guilty Plea Unknowing and Involuntary by David Reutter by David M. Reutter T he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held a defendant’s guilty plea was unknowing …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Vacates Guilty Plea Conditioned on Waiving Right to Pursue Claim Racial Bias Infected Jury Deliberations by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts vacated a defendant’s guilty plea to a sentencing enhancement as involuntarily entered. In doing so, the Court held …

Ohio Supreme Court Announces New Standard for ‘Actual Racial Bias’ for Jurors and Holds Counsel Was Ineffective for Failing to Strike Racially Biased Juror by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Ohio held that Glen E. Bates was deprived of his right to effective assistance of counsel …