The Alaska Supreme Court held that officers must stop substantive questioning and clarify an ambiguous request for counsel made after a Miranda waiver, providing broader protection than federal law.
A court conducting prison-prior resentencing may reimpose an upper term that was part of the original sentence without a new jury finding.
The Ninth Circuit denied habeas relief because California’s harmless-error rulings on confrontation and attempted-murder instructions were reasonable under AEDPA.
The Nevada Supreme Court held that requiring prosecutorial consent to waive a criminal jury trial does not violate separation of powers.
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed a murder conviction, finding overwhelming evidence that thirteen shots were retaliatory rather than justified defense.
The Utah Court of Appeals vacated an aggravated-assault conviction for insufficient evidence but affirmed sexual-abuse and object-rape convictions.
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed child-sex-abuse convictions while a concurrence criticized an unbalanced verdict-urging instruction.
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed rape and forcible-sodomy convictions, holding that an ambiguous reference to counsel did not end police questioning.
The Ninth Circuit held that a 270-day delay in obtaining a warrant to test lawfully seized suspected cocaine was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances.
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.
The Superior Court held that a passenger’s nod and glance toward his waistband, combined with a stolen plate and the surrounding circumstances, gave police reasonable suspicion for a Terry frisk.
The Court of Appeals upheld denial of suppression. Evidence in plain view could be seized where officers were lawfully present and its evidentiary significance was immediately apparent in the violent-crime investigation then underway. Relying on North Carolina precedent involving later comparison of lawfully obtained genetic material, the panel also held that secondary DNA analysis imposed no new physical intrusion a
The Indiana Court of Appeals suppressed drugs found after officers facilitated a detection dog’s entry into a vehicle before probable cause existed.
Case Roland Morales v. State of Florida Court Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judge LOGUE (Rick Scott, 2012); LINDSEY
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.
The Commonwealth Court held that prison discipline delaying parole eligibility does not deprive a Pennsylvania inmate of a protected liberty interest.
Case Richard L. Kerksiek v. State of Missouri Court Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer (appointment
Case Jeromy Jenkins v. State of Missouri Court Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer (appointment info
Case United States of America v. Ausarian Carney Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge BRENNAN (Donald
The Ninth Circuit upheld Mark Ridley-Thomas’s bribery and honest-services convictions based on an indirect $100,000 benefit for his son.
The Massachusetts SJC held that conviction-based constitutional claims must proceed under Rule 30 and remain subject to the § 33E gatekeeper process.
Case United States of America v. Gregory Turbe Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Judge Krause (Barack
Case People of the State of Michigan v. James Gregory Eads Court Michigan Supreme Court Judge Kimberly A. Thomas (elected
The Utah Court of Appeals declined to overrule State v. Heath and affirmed object-rape and sexual-abuse convictions against evidentiary and due-process challenges.