by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Vermont rejected a trial court’s order that a misdemeanor defendant had to be fingerprinted merely because the State participates in a national crime database. The Court said such a rule created an impermissible “blanket rule” that the law does not require.
Timothy Grant ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Mississippi held on January 9, 2020, that a pre-arming jury instruction was wrongfully given in a shooting death case and further held that no court in the state may ever again issue a pre-arming instruction to a jury preventing a self-defense with a ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in forma pauperis (“IFP”) “motions on direct criminal appeals are not subject to a merits determination under [28 U.S.C.] Section 1915.” The Court explained that this rule “ensures that all financially eligible defendants—whether granted CJA [Criminal Justice ...
by Dale Chappell
Thousands of federal prisoners were sent home early. Scores of unfair drug sentences were reduced. Barbaric criminal laws were finally fixed. Federal prisoners were offered more drug treatment and release preparation.
These are some of the things achieved by the First Step Act passed a year ago ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Nevada held on December 19, 2019, that when a defendant makes specific allegations that, if true, would establish a “prima facie” showing of a violation of racial balance in jury selection an evidentiary hearing is required.
After Keandre Valentine was convicted by a ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a Georgia prior conviction for making terroristic threats is not a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), clarifying its prior cases that had seemingly held that it was.
The case was a direct ...
by Dale Chappell
Even though we’ve passed the one-year anniversary of the First Step Act over a month ago, the portion of the bill giving federal prisoners more earned-time credits for completing certain programs is still on the distant horizon and, when it finally does begin, many prisoners will not ...
by Dale Chappell
Attacking the guilty plea is probably one of the least understood concepts in the postconviction world, even though more than 95 percent of state and federal convictions are the direct result of a guilty plea. In 2018 alone, there were 73,109 federal convictions with 71,550 of them ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held on November 20, 2019, that the retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA”) by the First Step Act applies to those who are serving a sentence after a revocation of supervised release linked to ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held on November 20, 2019, that a less familiar provision of 18 U.S.C. § 3582 is the proper vehicle for bringing a motion for relief under the First Step Act, rejecting the district court’s conclusion that First Step ...
