by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that a warrantless search of a vehicle’s airbag control module (“ACM”) is unconstitutional.
In December 2015, Victor Mobley was driving his 2014 Dodge Charger when he collided with a 1999 Corvette. Mobley survived the crash, but the two people in the ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the sentence of James Atwood because Judge Colin S. Bruce should have recused himself before imposing a sentence on Atwood because of Bruce’s ex parte communications with the prosecuting U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Atwood appeared before Bruce for ...
by Douglas Ankney
The New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) has members who made the “naughty list” of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. The heavily redacted list — obtained October 7, 2019 by the New York Post through a Freedom of Information Request — names 75 current and former officers, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Nevada held that a district court must instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter when requested by the defense so long as it is supported by some evidence, even if that evidence is circumstantial.
Late one night in Las Vegas, witnesses heard rapid gunfire ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Hawai’i ruled that when police communicate a deliberate falsehood about the results of a polygraph test during interrogation the falsehood is an extrinsic falsehood that is coercive per se, and any subsequent inculpatory statements are inadmissible at trial.
Keith T. Matsumoto was the ...
by Douglas Ankney
In 2016, California voters legalized marijuana. They also approved a proposition that allowed the state to expunge past pot convictions. But the law places many hurdles in the path of expungement.
“The way the legislation was written really kind of puts it all on the people that ...
by Douglas Ankney
On November 4, 2019, the Supreme Court of Colorado announced clarifications and modifications to proportionality reviews of habitual-offender sentences.
Belinda May Wells-Yates was found guilty of second-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit second-degree burglary, theft, possession with intent to sell or distribute 7 grams or less of methamphetamine, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a confession is not voluntary when police induce a suspect to confess by saying to him, “Telling the truth will set you free,” assuring him he will not go to jail but instead will receive counseling and minimizing the ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime of violence as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3).
In 2014, Michael Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery in violation of 18 ...
by Douglas Ankney
On remand from the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that in the particular facts and circumstances of James McWilliams’ sentencing, the Alabama sentencing court’s violation of the provisions of Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 ...
