by Chad Marks
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a district court’s miscalculation of defendant’s sentencing guidelines range constitutes plain error necessitating resentencing, “even where the defendant fails to object or raise the argument in his opening brief on appeal.”
Christopher Douglas was indicted ...
by Chad Marks
The Supreme Court of Alaska held that a trial court was required under Alaska state law to appoint at least two qualified psychiatrists or forensic psychologists to examine defendants who rely on a defense of insanity or diminished capacity at trial. The Supreme Court in its decision ...
by Chad Marks
December 21, 2018, changed the lives of many federal prisoners in facilities throughout the United States. That’s when President Trump signed the bipartisan First Step Act into law, making many federal prisoners eligible for release sooner than expected.
Trump invited two unlikely guests to his State of ...
by Chad Marks
The Supreme Court of Nebraska reversed a district court’s order denying prisoner James Myers’ request for DNA testing pursuant to the DNA Testing Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 29-4116 to 29-4125, related to evidence dating back to 1995.
Myers was charged with first-degree murder, use of a ...
by Chad Marks
Yehudi Manzano, a man in his 30s, was charged with producing and transporting child pornography. Manzano allegedly recorded a sexual encounter with his teenage sex partner. He then saved that video and sent it to and from his own phone.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut brought ...
by Chad Marks
The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas ruled that defense counsel’s actions conceding guilt against defendant’s express wishes during trial violated his Sixth Amendment rights under McCoy.
Albert Turner was charged with the December 2009 killing of both his wife and mother-in-law. His 12-year-old daughter witnessed the ...
by Chad Marks
The Supreme Court of Nevada ruled that a trial court’s failure to properly conduct the three-step Batson analysis when a prospective juror is allegedly dismissed on the basis of race constitutes a structural error necessitating a new trial.
Gregory Anthony Williams was convicted of six counts of ...
by Chad Marks
The Supreme Court of Washington ruled that the effective date of a certificate of discharge (“COD”) for an offender who is not in Department of Corrections (“DOC”) custody at the time the sentence is completed is the date the offender completes all requirements of the sentence.
Waylon ...
by Chad Marks
In December 2018, President Trump signed the bipartisan First Step Act into law. It’s the most substantial change in a generation to the tough-on-crime prison and sentencing laws that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars and destroyed countless families, sending many non-violent offenders to prison for decades ...
by Chad Marks
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that a police officer’s continued interrogation after the accused told the interrogator he was done talking violated his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, requiring suppression of both his confession and derivative physical evidence.
On August 7, 2015, Joshua Michael Lukach ...
