A school-assigned police officer could search a student on reasonable suspicion after a gun remark, and the student’s ten-minute physical obstruction supported a Penal Code section 148 finding.
The Ninth Circuit held that murder-for-hire can be charged as a continuing offense and that an undercover intermediary need not genuinely agree to the killing.
The Alaska Court of Appeals held that first-degree voter misconduct based on a false sworn statement requires proof that the defendant deliberately acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing, and it reversed the denial of Tupe Smith’s motion to dismiss her indictment.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a consent search but held that five of seven convictions impermissibly punished the same criminal transaction, requiring resentencing on the two surviving counts.
Case State of Kansas v. Troy Michal Chambers Court Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Malone, P.J.; Hurst, J.; Coble, J.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed molesting, incest, and attempted-obstruction convictions while construing the post-2022 obstruction statute and applying Wadle.
Case Commonwealth of Virginia v. Samuel Marvin Kuykendall Court Supreme Court of Virginia Judge D. Arthur Kelsey (elected 2015) Date
The Massachusetts Appeals Court vacated an involuntary-manslaughter conviction because substitute DNA analysts conveyed testimonial findings from an absent analyst and the error was not harmless.
The Second Department upheld Suffolk County’s DWI vehicle-forfeiture law and found forfeiture of a $21,000 Nissan proportionate to a repeat felony DWI involving extreme speeding.
The Court of Appeals reversed and ordered a new trial. Allowing thirteen jurors to deliberate violated both the governing statute and the North Carolina Constitution’s twelve-juror guarantee. The judge’s mixed instruction to restart but await directions to continue or begin was not the clear, unequivocal safeguard the law requires. The error was both structural in character and prejudicial, so the court did not reach the sentencing issue.
The Court of Appeals found no error. Counsel did not concede guilt to the Pender County charges; the argument attempted to connect incriminating statements to different allegations and focus the jury on the State’s burden. The on-record discussion showed Benson knowingly accepted that strategy. The court also held that the substantial evidence of guilt defeated any showing of Strickland prejudice.
Case State of Oregon v. George Albert Lundquist, aka George A. Lundquist Court Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Shorr, Presiding
A person accused of murders committed at 15 could not be transferred to adult court because he was apprehended while juvenile jurisdiction remained available.
Due process requires actual or constructive control over foreign property before a federal court may exercise in rem forfeiture jurisdiction.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a new trial for Jason Hubbell, holding that suppressed evidence pointing to another suspect undermined confidence in his murder conviction.
Case United States of America v. Joseph Paul Berger Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Judge Restrepo;
Case Hope Npimnee v. Mitchell Freeman Court Nebraska Court of Appeals Judge Riedmann, Chief Judge; Bishop, Judge; Freeman, Judge Date
The Massachusetts SJC held that corruption in an overlapping police investigation did not justify plea withdrawal without a concrete nexus to the defendant’s own case.
The Ninth Circuit held that federal arms-export authority supports the conspiracy regulation and rejected collateral attacks contradicted by the plea record.
The Superior Court reversed a 13-year-old’s residential placement because the juvenile court focused on firearm possession without adequately weighing his individualized needs and the availability of intensive in-home treatment.
The Superior Court held that SORNA II’s nonpunitive Subchapter I requires registration by an offender who began lifetime registration under Megan’s Law II, even though his offense predated Pennsylvania’s registration statutes.
A specific allegation that trial attorneys discussed conviction in racial terms cleared the low thresholds for appointed counsel and Racial Justice Act discovery.
The California Supreme Court affirmed a death judgment in a reopened 1978 murder, rejecting jury-selection and prior-sexual-offense evidence challenges.
Case Charles Morgan Carpenter v. State of Florida Court Florida First District Court of Appeal Judge Roberts; Winokur; Nordby Date