State v. Singleton — Disruptive pro se defendant was properly removed
The Court of Appeals upheld removal of a persistently disruptive self-represented defendant and continuation of trial without imposed standby counsel.
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Constitutional Law
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State v. Sandoval — Interpreter delay did not justify dismissing charges
The Court of Appeals reinstated charges because diligent efforts to find Spanish interpreters and no specific defense prejudice defeated the speedy-trial claim.
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State v. Davis — Uninvestigated juror communication requires new trial
The Court of Appeals reversed a murder conviction because the trial court failed to question a juror after credible evidence of discussions with an outsider.
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ACLU v. Wilson — Public execution-team information falls outside secrecy law
The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the execution-secrecy statute does not cover public or nonconfidential identifying information and does not punish its later repetition.
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State v. Manges — Court restores alleged victim’s testimony
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed an order barring an alleged victim from testifying, holding that a missing interview recording caused no demonstrated substantial prejudice and no due-process violation without police bad faith.
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Hempel — Appeals Court Vacates Convictions Over Invalid Counsel Waiver
The Massachusetts Appeals Court vacated convictions because the defendant took over core trial advocacy without a knowing and intelligent waiver of counsel under article 12.
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Solis and Diaz — SJC Upholds Delayed Cell Phone Warrants
The Massachusetts SJC held that 109- and 123-day delays in seeking cell phone search warrants were reasonable under article 14’s totality-of-the-circumstances test.
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People v. Jones
The Second Department affirmed a murder conviction despite a Confrontation Clause violation in fingerprint evidence, finding the error harmless because the testifying detective independently reached the same conclusions.
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People v. Garcia
The Second Department affirmed a weapon possession conviction, holding that the Bruen decision did not invalidate New York’s criminal possession of a weapon statutes and addressing Confrontation Clause and Sandoval issues.