The Sixth District affirmed a 13-to-16.5-year prison sentence for attempted RICO, burglary, and related offenses, holding that the trial court did not violate the defendant’s right to allocution by refusing a mid-hearing request to consult with counsel and that burglary and attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle are not allied offenses of similar import.
The Fifth District affirmed convictions for gross sexual imposition against a minor, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ruling a child victim incompetent to testify without an in-person hearing and that the Confrontation Clause does not guarantee the right to comment on a witness’s absence at trial.
The Ninth District partially reversed a criminal trespass conviction, holding that a represented defendant’s pro se motions did not toll the statutory speedy trial clock and remanding for a determination of whether the State violated the 45-day time limit.
The Ninth District affirmed a domestic violence conviction, holding that the trial court’s failure to advise the defendant of his right to a jury trial and right to remain silent at arraignment was not prejudicial where the defendant later knowingly waived a jury trial through written motion.
The Ninth District reversed the suppression of OVI evidence, holding that a state trooper’s observations of slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and the odor of alcohol during a valid traffic stop gave rise to reasonable suspicion to expand the stop into an OVI investigation.
The Second District affirms a 14-year UPWF sentence after a shooting, rejecting the necessity defense where the defendant advanced toward the victim and refusing to disturb the within-range sentence.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed drug and firearm convictions, holding that a free-air dog sniff conducted while a traffic citation was still being prepared did not unlawfully prolong the stop under the Fourth Amendment.
The Eighth District reversed the juvenile court’s denial of mandatory bindover, holding that a juvenile’s own recorded confession admitting he ‘put a gun on’ a victim established probable cause for the firearm display element without requiring victim testimony.
The Eighth District reversed the dismissal of a felony OVI enhancement, holding that the defendant failed to make a prima facie showing that a prior uncounseled conviction was constitutionally infirm where signed written waivers documented a knowing waiver of counsel.
The Fourth District conditionally reverses gang murder convictions, finding the trial court applied the wrong legal standards when denying Racial Justice Act motions and discovery requests based on the prosecution’s introduction of a rap song at trial.
The Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment for prison officials who denied a California prisoner prescription transitional lenses based on a blanket policy rather than individualized medical judgment, finding triable Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference issues.
The Ninth District reversed a zoning conviction because the trial court failed to conduct an adequate inquiry before accepting the defendant’s waiver of counsel, holding that the brief colloquy was insufficient given the complexity of the zoning regulatory scheme.
The Ninth District dismissed the State’s appeal of a trial court’s refusal to compel witness testimony, holding that R.C. 2945.44 requires full transactional immunity and that the State’s offer excluding murder was insufficient to compel testimony over a Fifth Amendment invocation.
The Third District reversed eight of nine rape convictions involving a minor victim, holding that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to distinguish each count as a separate act, while affirming convictions on one rape count and two gross sexual imposition counts.
The Third District affirmed a conviction under R.C. 4511.204, Ohio’s distracted driving statute, rejecting constitutional challenges based on equal protection, due process, and vagueness, and holding that holding a phone for GPS navigation while driving violates the statute.
The Eleventh District reversed and remanded for resentencing, holding that the trial court violated the defendant’s right of allocution by repeatedly interrupting her personal statement and preventing her from reading it herself, particularly where the court then penalized her perceived lack of remorse.
The Twelfth District reversed the trial court’s denial of a noncitizen defendant’s motion to withdraw his no-contest plea, holding that the court was required to apply the Strickland two-prong test when the motion was premised on counsel’s failure to advise of immigration consequences under Padilla v. Kentucky.
California appellate court rules that defendants must be allowed to argue aggravating sentencing factors to a jury, reversing an upper-term firearm enhancement where the trial court denied closing argument on those factors.
The Ninth Circuit held that hash-value matches between a suspect’s files and known child pornography can establish probable cause for a search warrant without agents first downloading and visually confirming the files.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of “Shrimp Boy” Chow’s habeas petition, finding his defense team’s strategic decisions did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel despite acknowledged shortcomings in trial performance.
California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal upholds lifetime sex offender registration for offenders convicted of lewd acts with minors under Penal Code section 288(c)(1), rejecting an equal protection challenge comparing them to section 288(a) offenders who face shorter registration periods.
Case State of Ohio v. Isaac Jovonni, 2026-Ohio-1889 Court Ohio Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, Montgomery County Judge MARY
The Ninth Circuit held that courts may not include departures when calculating the amended guideline range in sentence reduction proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), making defendants whose original sentences fell below the amended range ineligible for reductions.
Case Phun Kam v. The State Court Supreme Court of Georgia Judge LAND (Brian Kemp, 2025) Date Decided May 19,