Second Circuit Holds Full De Novo Resentencing Hearing Required Based on Partially Successful Habeas Petition Where Resentencing Judge Not Original Judge and Changed Circumstances Plausibly Alleged by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a prisoner was entitled to a full …

Arizona Supreme Court Allows Third PCR Motion Based on IAC for Erroneous Advice About Parole Eligibility Due to ‘Pervasive Confusion’ Regarding Parole Within Legal Community by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Arizona held that a defendant’s third postconviction relief (“PCR”) motion was not untimely, nor …

Louisiana Supreme Court Finds Prosecution Withheld Favorable Impeachment and Exculpatory Evidence in Violation of Brady by Matthew Clarke The Supreme Court of Louisiana vacated four 23-year-old convictions and death sentences because the prosecution withheld impeachment and exculpatory evidence in violation of the defendant’s due process rights. In 2001, Darrell J. …

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. …

Ninth Circuit: Government’s Inflammatory Arguments in Sentencing Memorandum and at Sentencing Hearing Implicitly Breached Plea Agreement Promise Not to Recommend Sentence in Excess of Low-End Guidelines Range by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Government’s inflammatory arguments in its …

Eleventh Circuit: District Court ‘Mischaracterizing’ Habeas Claim Left Claim Unresolved in Violation of Clisby, Requiring Remand by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell In a case reiterating the Court’s hard rule that every claim must be addressed in a habeas petition before it is disposed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for …

Tenth Circuit: Confession Involuntary Where FBI Agent Falsely Claimed to Be in Contact With Judge, and Defendant Could Shorten Sentence With Each Truthful Answer by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that Shane Thomas Young’s confession was involuntary because, under the …