by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held on November 21, 2019, that a person sentenced under the career offender guideline does not bar the district court from granting relief under the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (“FSA”), which was made retroactive by the First ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted habeas relief on September 3, 2019, to a Pennsylvania state prisoner who had lost his opportunity to enter a “guilty but mentally ill” (“GBMI”) plea because of trial counsel’s ineffective assistance, which in effect deprived him of ...
by Dale Chappell
In a lengthy opinion addressing two issues of first impression in the circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319 (2019) (holding 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) void for vagueness), created a new substantive right that’s ...
by Dale Chappell
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, holding that substantive Hobbs Act robbery is not categorically a crime of violence to support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
For over two decades, Rey Chea had ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Hawai’i held on October 1, 2019, that when a judge assesses the admissibility of an eyewitness’ identification of a defendant, not only does the jury have to consider a list of factors in deciding if the witness has properly identified to defendant, but ...
by Dale Chappell
What would you do if you found an “abandoned” bag containing valuables and cash? Would you pick it up? Back in 2006, at least 220 people did just that and found themselves arrested on charges of petty theft. It was all a scheme by the New York ...
by Dale Chappell
A man who sat in prison for almost 30 years because prosecutors and police withheld evidence that someone else committed the crime was set free July 16, 2019, after a Philadelphia judge said he was “likely innocent.”
In 1993, Chester Hollman III was convicted and sent to ...
by Dale Chappell
In Franklin County, Pennsylvania, a rural area with about 154,000 residents, high bail amounts are forcing people who can’t afford to purchase their freedom to plead guilty just to get out of jail for what are typically small-time misdemeanors.
Take, for example, the case of Tiana Lescalleet, ...
by Dale Chappell
Must a habeas petitioner in California show “good cause” under the habeas discovery statute to obtain evidence held by the court, just like he must do if the State held the evidence? No, a unanimous Supreme Court of California held, ordering the habeas court to reconsider releasing ...
by Dale Chappell
A unanimous Supreme Court of South Carolina held that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to present specific details of an alibi defense that the Court said undermined the confidence in the outcome of the trial and remanded for a new trial.
The case started when ...
