De Falco v. State — Prosecutor may block jury waiver
The Nevada Supreme Court held that requiring prosecutorial consent to waive a criminal jury trial does not violate separation of powers.
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Appellate Procedure
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Sanders — SJC orders new trial after exclusion of psychiatric records
The Massachusetts SJC ordered a new murder trial because excluding postarrest psychiatric records stripped the defendant’s criminal-responsibility defense of its medical foundation.
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People v. Marcus T. — Sentencing court must know the record before denying youthful-offender treatment
The First Department ordered a second resentencing because the judge denying youthful-offender treatment appeared unfamiliar with the defendant’s actual offense and personal circumstances.
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Commonwealth v. Sharpe — Superior Court vacates extreme downward sentencing departure
The Superior Court vacated a sentence more than six years below the mitigated guideline range because the record did not support the trial court’s reasons for immediate parole and house arrest.
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State v. Hall — Court rejects unanimity claim but warns against unbalanced Allen charge
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed child-sex-abuse convictions while a concurrence criticized an unbalanced verdict-urging instruction.
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People v. Allen — Court may reopen a SORA hearing to correct its own risk assessment
The Second Department held that a court may reopen a SORA hearing before final disposition to correct its risk calculation, provided the offender had notice and a meaningful opportunity to respond.
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Lindsay — Obstruction convictions upheld over sufficiency, instruction, and indictment attacks
The Court of Appeals allowed review but rejected the merits challenges. Viewed in the State’s favor, the evidence supported the obstruction charges and the theory submitted to the jury. The indictments alleged facts supporting the essential elements. Under recent North Carolina Supreme Court precedent, an asserted omission concerning factual detail did not automatically create a jurisdictional defect; Lindsay also fa
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Johnson — Court rejects evidentiary and trial-management challenges to statutory-rape conviction
The Court of Appeals found no reversible error. The trial judge acted within the broad discretion used to manage voir dire and questioning, including limited leading questions to a minor testifying about sexual abuse. The panel found no plain error in the challenged evidence and no gross impropriety requiring intervention during argument. Because evidence admitted without reversible error could be discussed in closin
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People v. Tedtaotao — Guam Supreme Court orders emerging-adult LWOP hearing
The Supreme Court of Guam ordered an evidentiary hearing on whether mandatory life without parole imposed for a crime committed at age nineteen violates the Organic Act, while leaving Guam’s unresolved compassionate-release gap for another day.
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Commonwealth v. Dominguez Alvarez — Superior Court requires evidence of guilty knowledge for receiving stolen property
The Superior Court held that towing a stolen truck, without evidence the driver knew it was stolen before police stopped him, did not establish a prima facie case of receiving stolen property.
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Hall — SJC requires Rule 30 route for conviction-based habeas claims
The Massachusetts SJC held that conviction-based constitutional claims must proceed under Rule 30 and remain subject to the § 33E gatekeeper process.
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R.M. — Alaska court allows public-interest factors in juvenile detention
The Alaska Court of Appeals held that juvenile detention decisions may consider offense seriousness, culpability, accountability, and deterrence alongside rehabilitation and public safety.
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Commonwealth v. Mitchell — Superior Court requires a defendant’s own motion for discretionary probation termination
The Superior Court held that a probation department petition did not preserve a defendant’s separate request for discretionary early termination under Section 9771.
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Commonwealth v. Felder — Superior Court narrows risking-catastrophe liability for reckless driving
The Superior Court discharged a risking-catastrophe conviction because reckless driving did not create the extraordinary, widespread danger the statute requires, while affirming evading arrest on foot.
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People v. Page — Codefendant motion delays excluded from CPL 30.30 clock
The First Department reinstated an indictment after recalculating the CPL 30.30 clock at 97 days, excluding codefendant motion practice, reasonable preparation time, and defense-caused delay.
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State v. Castillo — Court rejects expert, victim-label, and ineffective-assistance challenges
The Utah Supreme Court affirmed child-sex-abuse convictions after finding waiver, inadequate preservation, and no deficient performance across multiple trial challenges.
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Adams v. Robison — Court denies extraordinary relief from DUI plea ruling
The Utah Supreme Court held that a DUI defendant properly invoked extraordinary-writ review but denied relief because the requested constitutional ruling was unlikely to change his prosecution.
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Duncan v. State — Court Defines Explicit Sexual Conduct and Upholds Sentence
The Wyoming Supreme Court held that digital penetration and use of a sexual device qualify as explicit sexual conduct under the child-exploitation statute and upheld an aggregate 21-to-30-year sentence.
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Shaw — SJC defines attestation required for court records
The Massachusetts SJC held that a court seal and clerk’s stamped signature do not replace a written attestation that a docket copy is accurate.
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Pina — SJC affirms new trial based on cumulative new evidence
The Massachusetts SJC affirmed a new trial where witness records, third-party-culprit evidence, and modern DNA results collectively cast real doubt on a murder conviction.
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Glenn — Wyoming Supreme Court Upholds Bicycle Stop and Enforces Conditional-Plea Limits
The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a bicycle stop based on an objectively reasonable factual mistake and refused to review issues not specifically preserved in a conditional plea.
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Beedy — Wyoming Supreme Court Upholds Converse County Venue and Clothing Restitution
Wyoming’s high court held that vulnerable-adult exploitation spanning two counties could be tried in Converse County and affirmed restitution for clothing made inaccessible by the crime.
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Matter of Adams v. Martuscello — Sentencing judge’s shock-incarceration order binds DOCCS
The Third Department held that DOCCS must honor a sentencing judge’s shock-incarceration order when the same judge imposes a concurrent sentence for a non-disqualifying offense.
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State v. Marx — Court rejects Brady and ineffective-assistance challenges
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed child-sex-abuse and witness-tampering convictions, finding no material Brady violation or prejudicial attorney error.