by Douglas Ankney
A new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission reveals that the length of a defendant’s prison sentence increasingly depends on the whims of the judge. For example, in Philadelphia, some of the judges ordered sentences 63 percent longer than their colleagues for identical crimes. Doug Berman, ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a defendant’s misprision of felony conviction for failing to report a felony in which the defendant was herself involved violates the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
Elsa Solis was convicted of conspiring to possess with intent ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that when police obtain a suspect’s waiver of his right not to incriminate himself before informing the suspect of “the essence of the charges filed against him,” the State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect knowingly and ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a delay of 68 months between arrest and trial violates the right to a speedy trial enshrined in the Sixth Amendment when most of the delay is attributable to the Government.
On March 6, 2012, Rodshaun ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression for the Supreme Court of Georgia, it held that an unreasonable delay in obtaining a search warrant after items were lawfully seized requires suppression of the evidence.
In December 2015, police seized from Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum their iPhones, iPad, and ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that due process requires the appointment of a person to read questions submitted by a visually impaired defendant.
Richard Bishop was 76 years old when he shot and killed his girlfriend and injured her other boyfriend in August 2009. Just ...
by Douglas Ankney
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall of Chicago ruled that it is unconstitutional for Illinois to hold sex offenders in prison after their release date when they are so poor they cannot find a home placement that complies with state requirements.
Many sex offenders in Illinois ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that a district court must state the factual basis for a continuance or use language that invokes a particular provision of the Speedy Trial Act (“Act”) in order to exclude the delay from the 70-day time limit ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a search wherein FBI agents lied about an emergency in order to gain consent to search a suspect’s computers violates the Fourth Amendment.
On October 23, 2013, ten FBI agents arrived at the home shared by ...
by Douglas Ankney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that a district court must provide its rationale when denying a motion seeking a sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).
In this case, the Court consolidated the appeals of Paulette Martin and Luis Felipe Mangual, ...
