by David M. Reutter

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that a defendant need not “intend to harm or kill another person to be entitled to a self-defense jury instruction.” The Court found error in the lower courts’ ruling otherwise and concluded the defendant’s counsel was ineffective for failing to ...

by David M. Reutter

The Court of Appeal of California, First District, Division Three, held a trial court erred by failing to hold a resentencing hearing in the defendant’s presence after granting a motion to strike enhancements for prior prison sentences (“prison priors”). The Court further concluded that a prosecutor ...

by David M. Reutter

The Supreme Court of Kansas ruled that the “noisy conduct” provision in a Wichita ordinance is unconstitutionally overbroad under the First Amendment. The Court severed the provision from the constitutional “fighting words” provision in the same subsection.

Before the Court was the appeal of Gabrielle Griffie, ...

by David M. Reutter

he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held a defendant’s guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary due to trial counsel’s misrepresentation that all minorities would be removed from the jury, resulting in a trial before exclusively white jurors. The case was remanded to ...

by David M. Reutter

The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, issued a writ of mandate directing a trial court to grant a defendant’s request for mental health diversion. At issue was the application of Stats. 2018, ch. 1005, which recognizes that incarceration of certain persons with ...

by David M. Reutter

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a defendant’s guilty plea because it was entered without an understanding of the consequences. The basis for the Court’s ruling rested upon the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and plea agreement indicating an award for prison credit on a state charge for which the defendant could not, and did not, receive due to mandatory sentencing provisions.

Before the Court was the appeal of Samuel Arce-Ayala, who pleaded guilty to federal charges for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. “Arce-Ayala was a leader, drug point owner, and enforcer for ‘Los Menores,’ a violent drug trafficking organization in Puerto Rico,” the Court wrote.

Five years before his 2017 federal indictment, Arce-Ayala was convicted in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on two counts of attempted second-degree murder and three firearm offenses that involved Los Menores activities. Arce-Ayala was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for those convictions. Under the federal plea agreement, Arce-Ayala agreed to plead guilty to the two charged offenses in return for a sentence both parties would ...

by David M. Reutter

The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth District, held that a violation of a prisoner’s constitutional and statutory rights to be personally present at an evidentiary hearing to determine if Senate Bill 1437 prohibits him from being charged with felony murder. Finding the error was not ...

by David M. Reutter

With the rate of Americans who have a felony conviction steadily increasing as a result of the incarcerative state’s policies, corporate entities are experiencing a change of heart towards those with criminal records. In fact, many corporations say felons are often the most dependable, loyal, and ...

by David M. Reutter

It is often said that life imitates art. When it comes to electronic monitoring (“EM”), your friendly, neighborhood Spiderman was a major influence for the idea to use an electronic device to track the location of persons entangled within the criminal justice and immigration systems. The ...

by David M. Reutter

In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that “a defendant constructively is deprived of his or her constitutional right to counsel under art. 12 [of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights] where trial counsel sleeps for a significant portion of during an ...