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 ...
by Anthony Accurso
Police generally need a warrant toconduct a search or seizure in the U.S., though this rule has garnered a few exceptions since being enshrined in the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. One such exception is when a person “consents” to the search upon request. But is it true consent ...
by Anthony Accurso
Angel Diaz, a staff expert with the Brennan Center for Justice, recently published a report on internet-connected devices titled “Law Enforcement Access to Smart Devices.”
This report is part of an ongoing project by Diaz, counsel with the Liberty & National Security Program, and the Brennan Center ...
by Anthony Accurso
Police in Beverly Hills have picked-up a new trick, seemingly intended to avoid accountability: playing copyrighted music when being filmed by citizens.
Sennett Devermont is a well-known, LA-area activist with over 300,000 followers in Instagram.
He went to the Beverly Hills PD office to file a request ...
by Anthony Accurso
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a police officer’s seizure of a firearm from a vehicle was unreasonable because an inventory of the vehicle was abandoned, and the officer did not need to seize the firearm to protect the public.
On January ...
