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Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Unprotected Google Searches

Article • January 1, 2026 • from CLN February, 2026

Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Probable Cause, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Privacy Act/Rights, State Constitutional Claims

Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court): No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Unprotected Google Searches by David Kim by David Kim In an issue of first impression, the Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court (“OAJC”) concluded that a person who conducts general, unprotected internet searches …

NEWS IN BRIEF

Article • January 1, 2026 • from CLN February, 2026

NEWS IN BRIEF by Alabama: WABM in Birmingham reported that former Eleventh Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Gilbert P. Self, 64, was sentenced to 51-1/2 years in state prison on December 17, 2025, following his conviction the previous month on public corruption charges. As CLN reported, a jury found him guilty …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Presentence Confinement on Probation Detainer Must Be Credited to New Sentence Where Same Conduct Triggered Both Detainer and New Charges

Article • December 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2026

Filed under: Pending Appeal/Sentencing, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Revocation Proceedings, Credits

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Presentence Confinement on Probation Detainer Must Be Credited to New Sentence Where Same Conduct Triggered Both Detainer and New Charges by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Clarke Addressing an issue of first impression, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a defendant held on a probation detainer …

NEWS IN BRIEF

Article • December 15, 2025 • from CLN January, 2026

NEWS IN BRIEF by Alabama: In a rare victory for ethics enforcement in the Cotton State, a Lauderdale County jury returned a guilty verdict on November 7, 2025, against a former state judge accused of public corruption. According to the Alabama Political Reporter, Gilbert Porterfield Self, Sr., former presiding judge …

SCOTUS Announces ‘Economic Loss’ Not Required  to Violate Federal Wire Fraud Statute

Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025

Filed under: Mail and Wire Fraud, Affirmative Defenses

SCOTUS Announces ‘Economic Loss’ Not Required to Violate Federal Wire Fraud Statute by David Kim In resolving a split among the United States Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a defendant who induces a victim to enter into a contract under false pretenses may …

News in Brief

Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Shootings, Dogs, Police--Excessive Force, Brady Violations, Home Search, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Brady Rule violations, Perjury/Perjured Testimony

News in Brief by Arkansas: The downward spiral of former Hot Spring County Sheriff Derek “Scott” Finkbeiner, 47, continued with his fourth arrest on May 2, 2025, reported KATV out of Little Rock. The arrest stemmed from Finkbeiner’s attempt to contact a witness, co-defendant Jordan Hammond, through the Signal app, …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On March 31, 2025, in State of Alabama v. Mac Marquette, Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott denied former Decatur Police Department officer Marquette’s motion for self-defense immunity in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins. According to the Associate Press, the denial depended legally on …

NEWS IN BRIEF

Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

NEWS IN BRIEF by Alabama: On February 19, 2025, a grand jury called for the immediate abolition of the Hanceville Police Department for its “rampant culture of corruption” that turned it into a criminal enterprise. The New York Post reported that an investigation followed the death of dispatcher Christopher Willingham, …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Commonwealth Must Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Offender Knew of SORNA Registration Obligations for Failure to Register Conviction

Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Unreasonable Application of Clearly Established Federal Law

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Commonwealth Must Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Offender Knew of SORNA Registration Obligations for Failure to Register Conviction by Sagi Schwartzberg by Sagi Schwartzberg The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that, to support a conviction for failure to register as a sex offender, the Commonwealth is …

Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who ...

Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Exculpatory No Doctrine, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas

Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court …

News in Brief

Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A former Huntsville, Alabama police officer, William “Ben” Darby, was sentenced again on October 26, 2024, to 25 years for the fatal shooting of a suicidal man in 2018, according to the Slate Report. Darby was convicted for the second time in May 2024 of …

Third Circuit District Court Erred by Failing to Consider Mitigating Evidence Under § 3553(a) Because It Mistakenly Believed Such Grounds Already Taken Into Consideration Based on Safety-Valve, Mino...

Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Disclosure Obligations

Third Circuit District Court Erred by Failing to Consider Mitigating Evidence Under § 3553(a) Because It Mistakenly Believed Such Grounds Already Taken Into Consideration Based on Safety-Valve, Minor Role, and Acceptance of Responsibility Departures in by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit …

Third Circuit Announces Rehaif Applies Retroactively to Cases on Collateral Review and Rules Second-in-Time § 2255 Petition Not Successive Where Defendant Resentenced Prior to Second Petition

Article • September 1, 2024 • from CLN September, 2024

Third Circuit Announces Rehaif Applies Retroactively to Cases on Collateral Review and Rules Second-in-Time § 2255 Petition Not Successive Where Defendant Resentenced Prior to Second Petition by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a federal prisoner’s second-in-time habeas corpus petition …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by

Third Circuit Orders Evidentiary Hearing on State Prisoner’s Petition Seeking Federal Habeas Relief Because Both State and Federal Courts Denied Relief Without Holding Hearing on IAC Claim That, if Pr...

Article • August 1, 2024 • from CLN August, 2024

Filed under: Evidentiary Ruling, Habeas Corpus, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Counsel - Effective Assistance of

Third Circuit Orders Evidentiary Hearing on State Prisoner’s Petition Seeking Federal Habeas Relief Because Both State and Federal Courts Denied Relief Without Holding Hearing on IAC Claim That, if Proven, Would Entitle Him to Relief by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit …

Third Circuit Denies Prosecutor’s Claim of Absolute Immunity Where Wrongfully Convicted Man’s Complaint Alleged Facts Sufficient to Support Finding That Prosecutor’s Actions Served ‘Investigatory Func...

Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024

Filed under: Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity

Third Circuit Denies Prosecutor’s Claim of Absolute Immunity Where Wrongfully Convicted Man’s Complaint Alleged Facts Sufficient to Support Finding That Prosecutor’s Actions Served ‘Investigatory Function’ by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Middle District …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Failure to Disclosure Mental Health Report Showing Key Witness Was a Sociopath Constitutes Brady Violation That Prejudiced Defendant

Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024

Filed under: Brady Violations, Brady Rule violations, Evidence - Failure to Disclose

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Failure to Disclosure Mental Health Report Showing Key Witness Was a Sociopath Constitutes Brady Violation That Prejudiced Defendant by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania upheld the ruling of a lower court granting a writ of habeas corpus upon finding that the …

Hammond v. Pennsylvania Dept of Corrections, PA, Complaint, Solitary Confinement, 2024

Brief • March 4, 2024

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Hammond v. Pennsylvania Dept of Corrections, PA, Complaint, Solitary Confinement, 2024 Case 2:24-cv-00922 Document 1 Filed 03/04/24 Page 1 of 63 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA KHALIL HAMMOND, DAVID THOMPSON, ANTOINE WALKER, MUWSA GREEN, TYRONE LEONARD, and MALIKA HENDERSON, on their own behalf …

Third Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective Under Strickland Where Counsel Sat Silent After Judge Threatened to Charge Witness With Perjury Unless Testimony Changed

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: AEDPA, False Statements/Perjury, Strickland Standard, Strickland v. Washington, Failure to Object/Late Objections

Third Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective Under Strickland Where Counsel Sat Silent After Judge Threatened to Charge Witness With Perjury Unless Testimony Changed by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Ronald Rogers was denied effective assistance of counsel when his attorney …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Testimonial References to Post-Arrest Silence Cannot Be Used Against Defendant at Trial, Pre-Arrest Harmless Error Analysis Does Not Apply

Article • February 15, 2024 • from CLN February, 2024

Filed under: Post-Arrest Statements, Comments on Defendant's Silence

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Testimonial References to Post-Arrest Silence Cannot Be Used Against Defendant at Trial, Pre-Arrest Harmless Error Analysis Does Not Apply by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed a defendant’s conviction in which his post-arrest silence was mentioned multiple times at trial, and …