by Douglas Ankney
In consolidated cases on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that defendants’ Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (“VICAR”), 18 U.S.C. § 1959, convictions that were based on violations of Arizona and Utah statutes criminalizing assault with ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Iowa clarified when forensic interviews of child complaining witnesses may be admitted into evidence at trial.
Jake Skahill was tried on sexual offenses alleged to have been committed against his seven-year-old daughter “K.W.” She testified at trial that while sitting on Skahill’s lap, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas reversed a judgment of the Court of Appeals (“COA”) that ruled a trial court abused its discretion when dismissing a charge of capital murder pursuant to Texas Rule of Evidence 508 (“Rule 508”) based on the State’s refusal to disclose ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, ruled that the defendant satisfied the statutory criteria of Cal. Penal Code §1170.91(b)(1) for a hearing on possible resentencing by alleging he “may be suffering from” a qualifying condition, viz., sexual trauma or substance abuse, and that the trial court ...
by Douglas Ankney
Over the past couple of decades, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and its components have been requesting and receiving data from electronic media service providers, utilizing warrants, subpoenas, and National Security Letters (“NSLs”) that come with indefinite gag orders attached. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, et al., are sworn ...
by Douglas Ankney
Thousands of protesters stormed the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in response to yet another killing of a Black man. At the Kenosha Public Library, lighter fluid and rags were found in a window well. There were no eyewitnesses to the incident. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, ...
by Douglas Ankney
During a late-night SEPTA train ride on the Market-Frankford line in October 2021, a woman was raped. In an apparent rush to disparage Philadelphia’s citizenry, Upper Darby police initially reported that other passengers looked on while the woman was being raped, with some filming for their own ...
How Judges Enhance Sentences by Supplanting ‘Not Guilty’ Verdicts with Private Findings that Defendants ‘Probably Committed’ Acquitted Offenses
by Douglas Ankney
Gregory Bell was indicted on 13 charges. He exercised his right to a jury trial. The jury acquitted Bell of 10 charges and convicted him of just three distribution ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“TCCA”) held that Marvin Rodriguez satisfied the requirements of confession and avoidance. The TCCA also instructed that Martinez v. State, 775 S.W.2d 645 (Tex. Crim. App. 1989), remains good law.
Rodriguez was charged with murder for shooting and killing Richard ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Michigan held that application of the state’s Sex Offenders Registration Act, MCL 28.271 et seq. (“SORA”), as amended by 2011 PA 17 and 18 (the “2011 SORA”), violates the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws when applied to registrants whose criminal acts ...
