by Douglas Ankney
The Council of State Governments Justice Center (“CSGJC”) initiated efforts to reduce employment barriers for people with criminal histories. Recognizing that nearly 25% of all jobs in the U.S. require some type of government-issued license, 10 state legislatures adopted laws that expand licensing opportunities for people with ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeals of New York reversed an order of the Appellate Division that had affirmed a trial court’s order denying a hearing requested pursuant to Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), and the Court remitted to the trial court to ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, held that Penal Code § 1203.2(b)(1) requires trial courts to receive a parole agency’s written report before ruling on a parole revocation petition and that there is no exception for a petition filed against a lifetime parolee.
Jerry Denton Williams, ...
by Douglas Ankney
Maine passed LD 1521 without the governor’s signature to become the fourth state in the nation to abolish civil asset forfeiture, requiring instead a criminal conviction before property may be forfeited. The law took effect July 13, 2021. “It’s a very simple concept; you don’t lose your ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia ruled that a person who provided false information to a detective who failed to identify himself as a police officer had no duty under City of Martinsburg Municipal Code § 509.05 (“§ 509.05”) to cure the prior false statement ...
Answering an open question, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a judgment becomes final for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2255’s statute of limitations upon conclusion of direct review of the deferred restitution judgment.
On October 26, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Western ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the mental state necessary for a depraved-minded murder, Minn.Stat. 609.195(a) (2020), is a generalized indifference to human life, which cannot exist when the defendant’s conduct is directed with particularity at the person killed. To the extent that State v. Mytych ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the smell of marijuana, by itself, no longer creates probable cause to justify a warrantless search of a vehicle during a traffic stop.
After observing a vehicle fail to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, Pennsylvania State ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Idaho announced, “that henceforth, testimony from drug recognition expert requires the state to comply with the expert witness disclosure requirements set forth in Idaho Criminal Rule 16(b)(7).”
Timothy Dacey was arrested on suspicion of Driving under the Influence (“DUI”), but a subsequent breath ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, affirmed the finding of a superior court in a § 1170.95 proceeding that the trial court’s dismissal of a charge for insufficient evidence under the facts of this case is the equivalent of an acquittal. (Note: All statutory ...
