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 ...

by David M. Reutter

In a case of first impression, the Vermont Supreme Court held “that in determining whether the criminal court would have accepted a plea agreement,” the Post-Conviction Relief (“PCR”) “court can consider only evidence that was available to the criminal court at the time it would have ...

by David M. Reutter

The Court of Appeals of New York held a trial court erred in admitting evidence of prior bad acts evidence. It further concluded the error was not harmless and reversed, ordering a new trial.

Sebastian Telfair was arrested in June 2017 after a traffic stop, during ...

by David M. Reutter

When a woman has a child while alone that does not survive, authorities may wonder if the child was stillborn or murdered by the mother. Many medical examiners attempt to answer that question by conducting a 17th Century procedure that medical experts say is “highly inaccurate ...

by David M. Reutter

Research via use of surveys and mock juries leave unexplained the “possible explanations for the often-found lack of adjustment for interrogation tactics reflected in verdicts among mock jurors.” This article summarizes a report that peered into studies by third parties that conducted experiments using these two ...

by David M. Reutter

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