by Anthony W. Accurso
Five more states joined the growing list of jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized or decriminalized. But the new laws are a hodgepodge of regulation. Some states explicitly changed the laws to prevent police harassment by eliminating the odor of cannabis as sufficient probable cause to ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
The widespread popularization of bodycams for police was supposed to bring accountability to the “bad apples” amongst police that drive deadly interactions with citizens. However, years into widespread bodycam use, it is apparent that bodycams, by themselves, do not automatically create accountability.
After the killings of ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
A recent collaboration of volunteers organized by Amnesty International has tallied the number of surveillance cameras in three of New York's boroughs at just over 15,000. These cameras contribute to the quickening pace of erosion of privacy in American. They pose a constitutional threat to ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
The Supreme Court of Illinois reversed a defendant’s conviction for firearm possession because the State failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that he constructively possessed it.
In June 2015, a police officer pulled over a van being driven by Charles Wise. He admitted to speeding, ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania found a defendant’s counsel constitutionally ineffective where they failed to object to improper jury instructions, and there was further prejudice after the trial court admitted to a “Freudian slip,” which indicated the court was biased.
Noel Matos Montalvo was convicted, along with ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Eight, vacated a defendant’s conviction for robbery because he had been convicted for kidnapping to commit robbery, but state law prohibits multiple convictions for the same “act.”
Jose Marcos Barrios approached a vehicle parked on the street ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Supreme Court of the State of Alaska determined that a 1995 Department of Public Safety regulation, defining prior sex offenses to include convictions that were set aside, was improperly issued as it was beyond the agency’s authority to enact.
Kelley Maves was convicted of two sexual ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that the smuggling of persons across the U.S.-Mexico border alone did not justify the nonconsensual, warrantless search of the suspected smuggler’s home.
Police were called after witnessing a tractor-trailer disgorge 14 people behind an Albertsons supermarket ...
by Anthony Accurso
The Supreme Court of Wyoming clarified how the changes from common-law crimes to statutory only crimes in 2008, including modifications in 2018, affect the common-law rules for self-defense as an immunity claim. This announcement affects defendants who claim immunity from prosecution in connection to a death where ...
by Anthony Accurso
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’ order granting a new trial after the prosecutor mentioned a co-conspirator’s decision to plead guilty despite the fact the co-conspirator was not present for questioning.
Donna Ackerly was ...
