by Chad Marks
The ACLU of Idaho brought a lawsuit after the Idaho Department of Corrections refused to turn over execution-related records to a University of Idaho law professor.
Law professor Aliza Cover was denied execution-related documents after seeking copies of the records relating to two executions that took place ...
by Chad Marks
The cards were stacked against Desmond Ricks when he went to trial for the 1992 murder of Gerry Bennett outside a Detroit Top Hat restaurant.
Detroit detectives got on the stand testifying that bullets taken from Bennett’s body belonged to the revolver belonging to Ricks’ mother. Arlene ...
by Chad Marks
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Tomonta Simmons’ conviction for assault with a deadly weapon on a government official (“AWDWOGO”) under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-34.2 is not a crime of violence that can trigger a Grade A supervised release violation, and ...
by Chad Marks
Alexander Hamilton once described the reasons for the existence of clemency as those of humanity and good policy. Both clemency and parole reflect a commitment to the ancient value of mercy, but many prosecutors use their power to block mercy from becoming a reality.
Prosecutors ...
by Chad Marks
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the Government breached its plea agreement with the defendant by failing to honor its drug conduct stipulation at sentencing and failing to advocate for acceptance of its agreement after the Government learned its assumption about the ...
by Chad Marks
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order remanding a habeas case so that the district court could conduct an analysis of the substantiality of petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) claims.
Kyle J. Rodney petitioned a district court in Nevada for habeas ...
by Chad Marks
The Supreme Court of Delaware held that a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel was violated by trial counsel’s near-total absence during the pretrial stage of proceedings.
Everett Urquhart found himself on the wrong side of the law when he was arrested for the ...
by Chad Marks
February 4, 2003, forever changed my life. That’s when, at the age of 24, the federal government charged me with numerous federal offenses related to my involvement in a crack-cocaine conspiracy case.
Specifically, the Government charged me with conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine ...
by Chad Marks
California police unions are bringing their fight against a new transparency law -- Senate Bill 1421 -- to the courts, suing local governments in what looks like a losing battle in their attempt to keep the public from accessing records involving possible misconduct.
January 1, 2019, brought ...
by Chad Marks
On December 28, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled as a matter of first impression that a mother cannot be found to be a perpetrator of child abuse for using drugs while she was pregnant.
On January 27, 2017, A.A.R. (“Mother”) gave birth to a child. ...
