by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan’s sentence where the sentence imposed was an upward variance from the Guidelines range based on the defendant’s criminal history, but that history had little bearing on ...
by Douglas Ankney
QAnon is a name associated with bizarre conspiracy theories. One is that a Satanic cabal of high-profile liberal pedophiles is running a worldwide sex ring. Another theory concerns a plot about kidnapped children held in underground tunnels so their blood can be harvested to keep wealthy people ...
by Douglas Ankney
This article examines how police unions have used their contracts or Collective Bargaining Agreements (“CBA”) and lobbied for special legislation known as the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (“LEOBR”) to create a system of special protections for police officers that are tantamount to an alternate, internal ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania concluded that Article I, Section 10 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, prohibition against double jeopardy, bars retrial because the prosecutor’s misconduct that evinced a conscious disregard for a substantial risk of harm deprived the defendant of his right to a fair trial.
In ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Indiana announced a new analytical framework for reviewing claims of substantive double jeopardy, overruling Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999).
A jury convicted Jordan Wadle of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury (“OWI-SBI”), OWI Endangering a Person, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed Thaddeus Beaulieu’s felony criminal contempt conviction based on the prosecutor’s remarks that rose to the level of prejudicial misconduct.
During an interview with FBI Agent Steven Rayes, Beaulieu identified various individuals in carjackings and bank robberies. Rayes ...
by Douglas Ankney
Division Eight of the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that a trial court abused its discretion when it excluded evidence of a homicide victim’s prior violent acts.
Neil Efren Delrio exchanged gunfire with his cousin, Raul Prieto. According to Delrio (the only ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the passage of eight months from the time of the unlawful seizure of Nikolay P. Bocharnikov until he gave his statement to law enforcement did not sufficiently attenuate the statement from the seizure.
In July 2017, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that a defendant has a right to question a cooperating witness about a plea deal and the witness’ possible sentencing exposure before accepting that deal even if the witness’ exposure was the same as the defendant’s. At the heart of ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Missouri held that a circuit court erred when it excluded testimony from Kane Carpenter’s expert witness relating to the accuracy of witness identifications.
In October 2016, a young white man (“Victim”) was approached by two black men, hoodies pulled low to cover their ...
