by Douglas Ankney
Research from the University of Liverpool published in PLOS ONE reveals the impact notetaking by jurors has on their ability to recall evidence and on their verdicts.
Participants in a study had their handwriting speed, short-term memory, working memory, and attention assessed. They then watched a video ...
by Douglas Ankney
In two separate cases, the Supreme Court of Colorado announced that claims challenging the sufficiency of evidence are to be reviewed de novo on appeal even when the claims were not preserved at trial.
In the first case, David Lewis McCoy invited “P.K.” and “G.M.” to his ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Indiana held that a superior court abuses its discretion when it refuses to allow an attorney to make an offer of proof when the attorney has done nothing to delay or abuse the trial process.
In 2011, the Marion Superior Court sentenced Anthony ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that Massachusetts General Law, chapter 265, § 47 (“G.L. c. 265, § 47”), is overinclusive and is unconstitutional as applied to Ervin Feliz in requiring him to be subject to Global Positioning System (“GPS”) monitoring as a condition of his ...
by Douglas Ankney
Few nightmares can equate with being an innocent person wrongly convicted and incarcerated.
Since innocence projects began appearing in the 1990s, dozens of prisoners in Michigan have been exonerated. In 2017 a record number—14—were exonerated, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. This prompted Michigan Attorney ...
by Douglas Ankney
Simi Valley, California, and a wrongfully convicted man who spent nearly four decades in prison have reached a $21 million settlement.
Craig Coley was convicted of the 1978 murders of Rhonda Wicht and her 4-year-old son Donald. Wicht had been raped. Prosecutors sought the death penalty, but ...
by Douglas Ankney
According to an analysis of the National Registry of Exonerations performed by the Death Penalty Information Center, a record 151 exonerations were reported in 2018. Victims of wrongful homicide convictions accounted for 68 exonerations. The overwhelming majority of wrongful convictions were obtained by police/prosecutorial misconduct (107) or ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin held that neither Wisconsin Statute (“Wis. Stat”) § (Rule) 809.51 nor principles of equity impose a “prompt and speedy” pleading requirement in a habeas petition. In so doing, the Court overruled State ex rel. Smalley v. Morgan, 565 N.W.2d 805 (Ct. ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that when a testifying officer relates the statement of a non-testifying confidential informant that facially incriminates a defendant, it violates the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him.
Coy Marshall Jones was arrested on May ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that running from police, by itself, does not provide reasonable suspicion to justify stopping and frisking the person.
Sandra Katowitz — an employee of the YWCA in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington — called 911 and ...
