by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed an order of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida that construed a letter from Tydearain Smith asking whether he was eligible for relief under the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”) and requesting ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) (“ACCA”) cannot be preserved on collateral review by treating as four separate qualifying predicate offenses stemming from a drug arrest that was identified ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Utah explained the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement and reversed the Court of Appeals’ (“COA”) affirmance of a district court’s denial of Brett Smith’s motion to suppress evidence obtained without a warrant or applicable exception to the warrant requirement in violation ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered a limited remand where the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied Gabriel Perez’s petition under § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”) without adequately explaining its reasons.
Perez was convicted ...
by Douglas Ankney
With the passage of A.B. 481, Californians have a say as to whether their local police agency looks like a military outpost.
For years, the U.S. military has given local law enforcement agencies weapons of war that are designed to engage foreign adversaries on the battlefield, including ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, ruled that Glenn Douglas Crites was entitled to consideration of his motion to have the trial court correct the record transmitted to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“DOCR”) under Penal Code § 1203.01(a).
Crites was convicted in ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the convictions of Laura Gonzalez because a detective failed to clarify Gonzalez’s ambiguous request for counsel during her interrogation and because the trial court allowed inadmissible testimony from witnesses.
In 2017, police questioned Gonzales – after providing her with warnings ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that 2018 House Bill 228’s (“H.B. 228”) amendment to R.C. 2901.05 — which shifts the burden of proof on self-defense to the prosecution — apply to all pending and new trials that occur on or after the effective date (March 28, ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression, theNew Mexico Supreme Court (“NMSC”) announced that judicial misconduct may bar retrial under the double jeopardy clause of the New Mexico Constitution.
Henry Hildreth, Jr., was charged with several offenses, including felony aggravated battery against a household member with great bodily ...
by Douglas Ankney
Forensic investigators have long used the well-known stages of blowfly development found on bodies post mortem to determine the amount of time that has elapsed since death. However, that standard of measurement is misleading when the temperatures around the body are outside the moderate range.
For example, ...
